<p>A central component of the New Jersey: Link to the 21st Century project is the calibration of TRANUS, a land use-transportation model, for use in the study of northern New Jersey. The model will be used to forecast the impact of transportation investments on economic activity in the study area. Within TRANUS, the distribution of population within the region will be a function of basic (e.g., manufacturing) economic activity, which will be exogenous to the model.

<p>This working paper describes employment trends and patterns in New Jersey over the last decade. Its focus is on the relocation of firms and jobs, into New Jersey, and their transportation implications.

<p>An improvement in the transportation system in a certain area will have an impact on accessibility, which in turn may affect land use, economic development and travel patterns in that region. How large is this impact on each of the above mentioned issues? This can be measured by observing the changes in certain indicators such as population, income level, employment rate, land use patterns, and transportation system characteristics of this region.

<p>The importance of commuter rail as a transit mode has increased with the expansion of services to new metropolitan areas, such as San Diego, Los Angeles, South Florida, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., and with the expansion of existing services in areas of New York, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco. This expansion of services can have economic impacts in the communities served by rail stations. Some of the economic impacts of a commuter rail service have been studied.

In the last 10 years, New Jersey has invested heavily in its transportation infrastructure, and numerous additional projects are planned or proposed for the next decade. Collectively, these projects have significantly improved accessibility in northern New Jersey. Highway and commuter rail travel times have dropped throughout the region as projects such as Midtown Direct and the completion of Interstate 287 connected networks and provided commuters with new travel choices.

In the last 10 years, New Jersey has invested heavily in its transportation infrastructure, and numerous additional projects are planned or proposed for the next decade. Collectively, these projects have significantly improved accessibility in northern New Jersey. Highway and commuter rail travel times have dropped throughout the region as projects such as Midtown Direct and the completion of Interstate 287 connected networks and provided commuters with new travel choices.

<p>This report presents the results of a research project aimed at providing insights into the human factors associated with nighttime work zones on the New Jersey Department of Transportation construction and maintenance projects. It examines the impacts that nighttime construction activity has upon the workers and seeks to define work standards to mitigate these factors. These impacts are assessed through field surveys, focus group and interviews that included: highway engineers, construction workers (laborers), field supervisors, and contractors.</p>

<p>This paper presents the results of a research project aimed at providing insights into the human factors associated with nighttime work zones on the New Jersey Department of Transportation construction and maintenance projects. It examines the impacts that nighttime construction activity has upon the workers, from their perspective. These impacts were assessed through field surveys and interviews that included: highway engineers, construction workers, field supervisors, and contractors. The research methodology is briefly discussed.

The project examined the impacts that nighttime
construction activity has upon the workers and sought
to define work standards to mitigate these factors.
Thirty construction workers on four highway
construction projects, along with a focus group of union
laborers, were interviewed for their opinions and
comments to questions on human factors related to
work on nighttime work zones in the fall of 2000. Field
data from interviews were analyzed for human factors
such as sleep deprivation, eating habits, commuting