Truckers Avoid Secondary N.J. Roads

Commercial trucks drivers accustomed to using two major roads in New Jersey are heeding the governor’s month-old order banning them from those and other thoroughfares, even though enforcement has not begun.

According to a study by the state Department of Transportation, the daily average truck traffic on Route 31 this month has been 17% lower than the volume in August 1998. The weekday average of truck traffic on Route 31 this month was 20% lower than July.

The agency’s numbers for Route 206 were less precise because recent year-to-year figures were unavailable, but the average daily truck traffic this month is 20% lower than in 1996.

Routes 31 and 206 are the flashpoint for the ban-the-truck campaigns by local communities.

John Dourgarian, a transportation department spokesman, said the numbers show the ban on interstate trucks is working even though enforcement hasn’t started. He said greater reductions may occur when enforcement begins.

Gov. Christie Todd Whitman had signs posted on July 21 along affected roads informing truck drivers of the ban, but state police cannot enforce it until lawmakers put some legislative teeth into the prohibition (7-26, p. 3).

The governor’s order established emergency restrictions for trucks without a destination or origin within the state that have trailers longer than 48 feet and wider than 96 inches. The ban affects all state roads not part of the 545 miles that are federally designated for truck travel in New Jersey — essentially Interstates and the New Jersey Turnpike.

Whitman’s action came in response to years of pressure from residents angered by trucks barreling down their rural, two-lane highways.

For the full story, see the Aug. 30 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.