Official Site of The State of New Jersey

When conditions warrant, a design exception may be granted for a project design that proposes one or more controlling substandard design elements (CSDEs). A design exception may be approved when it can be documented that a lesser design value is the best practical alternative. The factors to be considered when determining if a lesser design value should be elected shall include social, economic and environmental impacts together with safe and efficient traffic operations.

Section Index

• Section 1 - General
• Section 2 - Controlling Design Elements
• Section 3 - Design Standards and Relative Resources
• Section 4 - Project Types Requiring a Design Exception
• Section 5 -Projects Exempt from the Design Exception Procedure
• Section 6 - Design Exception Report Format
• Section 7 - Crash Analysis
• Section 8 - Geometric Review (Concept Development Phase)
• Attachment 1 - Cover Letter
• Attachment 2 - List of Controlling Substandard Design Elements for Design Exception Type 1 (Design Speed = 50 Mph)
• Attachment 3 - List of Controlling Substandard Design Elements for Design Exception Type 2 (Design Speed < 50 Mph)
• Attachment 4 - List of Controlling Substandard Design Elements for Design Exception Type 3 (Major Access/Developer Projects; All Design Speeds)
• Attachment 5 - Tables (Design Exception Type 1, 2, or 3 as appropriate)
• Appendix A - Vertical Curve Conversion from SSD to V (Calc.) & Superelevation Safe Speed Calculation
• Appendix B - Low Cost Safety Measures
• Appendix C - Intersection and Link Crash Tables
• Appendix D - Sample Design Exceptions

BDC announcement BDC19T-01 (August 21, 2019)

Design Exception Manual (pdf 871k)