Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Tahesha Way

Department of Transportation

Overview

NOTICE

The Access Code Regulations (N.J.A.C. 16:47) have been modified to include a new fee schedule. The modified fee schedules were adopted effective November 3, 2014. Any application received on or before November 3, 2014 will continue with the old fee schedules for applications, permits and renewals. Any application received after November 3, 2014 will be required to utilize the new fee schedules for both applications, permits, and renewals.

Property owners seeking traffic access to state roadways and transportation infrastructures must submit applications for access to New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT). Access applications with fewer than 500 daily trips are considered minor, while those with more than 500 are considered as major. For further guidance, see the New Jersey State Highway Access Management Code below. Roadway designers should also consult the code to determine access requirements for design plans.

New Jersey State Highway Access Management Code

The rules governing access to state roadways can be found in the New Jersey State Highway Access Management Code.

Application Forms
Note: All of the Application Forms (MT32, MT155, MT156, MT159, MT160) that were formally located on this page are now listed on the Engineering Forms page within the Maintenance section.

Highway Access Management Data
Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 16:47-4.38, Background Traffic Growth Rates must be used for traffic studies by applicants in order to compute average anticipated traffic.
Note: The background traffic growth rate chart below has been updated for November 2023 – November 2025. NJDOT also provides Trip Generation Rates used in its Highway Access Permit System (HAPS). The rates used in HAPS generally have been updated to the ITE Trip Generation Manual 10th edition. All land uses in the ITE 10th Edition have not been included in HAPS.

New ITE land uses have been included in HAPS for the following:
  • High-Cube Transload and Short-Term Storage Warehouse (154), High-Cube Fulfillment Center Warehouse (155), High-Cube Parcel Hub Warehouse (156), High-Cube Cold Storage Warehouse (157), Multifamily Housing (Low Rise) (220), Multifamily Housing (Mid Rise) (221), Multifamily Housing (High Rise) (222), Off-Campus Student Apartment (225), Public Park (411), Campground/Recreational Vehicle Park (416), Golf Driving Range (432), Private School (K-8) (534), General Office Building (710), Small Office Building (712), State Motor Vehicles Department (731), Convenience Market (851), Liquor Store (899), Fast Food Restaurant with Drive-Through Window and No Indoor Seating (935), Automobile Parts and Service Center (943), Self Service Car Wash (947), Automated Car Wash (948), Truck Stop (950), Super Convenience Market/Gas Station (=3,000 SF) (960)
The following NJDOT approved rates not included in the ITE 10th edition are also included in HAPS:
  • (W09) Banquet Hall, (X01) Service Station with Gas Only, (X02) Service Station with Gas & Service Bays, (X04) Service Station with Gas & Car Wash, (Y01) Water Tower, (Y02) Water Treatment Facility, (Y03) Maintenance Yard, (Y07) Ice Cream Parlor (Sit-Down, No Take Out), (Y09) Firehouse, (Y10) State Police Headquarters, (Y14) Parking Lot, (Y15) Farm Stand, (Y16) Emergency Entrance, (Y17) Parking Lot (Long Term Parking), (Y18) Funeral Home, (Y23) Cellular Tower, (Y27) Car Rental, (Y31) Auction Facility, (Y32) Rita’s Water Ice, (Y33) Motorcycle Dealer, (Y40) Cultural Center, (Y53) Specialty Retail Center, (Y55) Recreation Parking Lot, (Y56) Boat Sales/Service Facility, (Y60) Automobile Sales (New & Used), (Y61) Convenience Market/Gas Station with Drive Through (<3000 SF), (Y62) Convenience Market/Gas Station with Drive Through (=3000 SF), (Y63) Movie Theater without Matinee
Note: The Land Use Code for Specialty Retail Center is now (Y53). ITE has chosen to eliminate this LUC but the Department has chosen to retain it. The rates remain unchanged from those in use previously.

The previous land use code for Service Station with minimart has been replaced by land use code 853 Convenience Market with Gasoline Pumps (< 3,000 SF) and will be used for convenience markets up to 3,000 SF. The previous land use code for Service Station w/ Minimart, Carwash & Gas has been eliminated from HAPS.

In general the trip generation rates for all land uses from the ITE 10th edition will be for the peak hour of the generator. The Department acknowledges that for some land uses, the peak hour of the generator utilized for establishing permit volumes does not fall within the peak hour of the highway. The analysis hours and associated peak hour traffic generation to be utilized for preparation of the traffic impact study may differ from the peak hour of the generator trip generation utilized in the permits. The peak hours to be analyzed and associated use trip generation should be discussed and approved as part of a pre-application meeting with the Department before proceeding with the analysis. Designers are reminded that the Access Code requires the traffic analysis to include”…the combination of site and background traffic which causes the most critical impacts.” (N.J.A.C. 16:47-4.30(d) 3.i.) As such, where legitimate questions as to which combination results in the most critical impact, the Department may require a comparative analysis of trip generation of the peak of the generator versus peak of the highway. Also, the Department will only accept the application of pass-by rates in analysis if the peak hour of the highway is used in the traffic analysis.

In order to more accurately capture the differences in peak hour traffic for various combinations of uses, the Department will calculate the trip generation for shopping centers that include either a Fast Food Restaurant with Drive Thru or a Coffee/Donut Shop with Drive Thru as part of the main shopping center building as two separate uses. The Fast Food Restaurant with Drive Thru or the Coffee/Donut Shop with Drive Thru square footage will be considered separately from the remainder of the shopping center square footage. This only applies if drive thru windows are being incorporated into the main shopping center building. If there is no Drive Thru window facility, the total square footage will be considered shopping center even if one of the occupants is a fast food restaurant or coffee/donut shop.

If the Fast Food Restaurant with Drive Thru or the Coffee/Donut Shop with Drive Thru is in a separate building such as an out parcel in a shopping center, the Department will determine on a case by case basis how best to calculate the trip generation (multiple use or all shopping center). Factors that will be considered are the size of the shopping center, the layout of the shopping center, the ease of interaction between the uses, the access driveways for the various uses, and the driver perception of the development. The same will be true for developments proposing to include a convenience market with gas within a small shopping center.

Recently the Department has seen an increase in applications for a variation of one of our common land uses. The new use is a Convenience Market with Gas Pumps and a drive for a thru Fast Food Restaurant or Coffee/Donut Shop within the facility. The Department has determined that the addition of the Drive Thru facility to the Convenience Market will increase the trip generation of the standard land use. Accordingly new Land Use Codes have been developed which will increase the Convenience Market with Gas Pumps and the Super Convenience Market /Gas Station peak hour and daily rates by 20% when a Drive Thru facility is incorporated in the Convenience Market. The new Codes are Y61 & Y62 and can be found in the table on the Department’s Web site.

Internal Trip Capture
The NJDOT will adopt the following policies with regard to internal trip capture for mixed use developments:

Since the Trip Generation Handbook Third Edition does not include information for Retail to Retail uses and recognizing that in reality this interaction occurs, that a reasonable alternative is to use the rates contained in the Trip Generation Handbook Second Edition for Retail to Retail uses on a trial basis. Further, in the absence of AM peak hour rates for retail to retail in the Trip Generation Handbook, the PM rate should also be used in the AM on a trial basis. Rates for AM & PM peak hours contained in the Third Edition for other uses will be utilized where appropriate such as Restaurant, Cinema/Entertainment or Hotel. Midday rates will be used as discussed above where available.

Since the Third Edition contains rates for Restaurants, these rates should be used for the AM & PM peak hours for Fast Food Restaurants and Coffee/Donut Shops. The Week Day Midday rate from the Second Edition for retail should be used for the Weekend Peak Hour as discussed above on a trial basis. Since there will be some interaction between adjacent land uses as parents drop off and pick up their children from Day Care Centers but that neither the Second nor the Third Edition of the Trip Generation Handbook contains rates for this land use, the Residential rates from the Third Edition should be used for this land use (LUC 565) for the AM and PM peak hours. No Internal trip credit will be allowed for the Weekend Peak Hour. .
Pass-By Rates
Since the ITE Trip Generation Handbook Third Edition does not include published pass-by rate data for Coffee/Donut Shop with Drive Through (LUC 937), the pass-by rates used for Convenience Store with Gas will be used for this land use on a trial basis until further notice for the AM & PM weekday peak hours (63% & 66%). Further, a 50% weekend mid-day peak hour pass-by rate will be used on a trial basis.

Since the ITE Trip Generation Handbook Third Edition does not include any published pass-by rate data for Super Convenience Market/Gas Station (=3,000 SF) (LUC 960), for the weekend peak hour, a 50% weekend peak hour pass-by rate will be used on a trial basis.
ITS-Mobility Engineering
Developers and their consultants are required to ensure that their proposed development will not impact existing NJDOT facilities and systems at the time of construction. Mobility Engineering (formerly ITS Engineering) should be contacted throughout the design process to obtain the latest information on any ITS facilities that could be impacted by or impact the construction of the development.
Access Management Presentation
Consultant designers working on access cutouts for New Jersey state highways may find information in the Access Design training presentation helpful. Call NJDOT if you have any questions relating to this training program.

The training presentation was prepared by the NJDOT Major Access Permit Bureau Office of Access Design, which administers the New Jersey State Highway Access Management Code. The Office evaluates the access impacts of properties during the Scoping stage, prepares access cutouts for in-house designs, reviews access cutouts for projects designed by consultants and notifies property owners about access.

Last updated date: June 20, 2024 8:25 AM