NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Implementation of Statewide Incident Management/Service Patrols

RACM Analysis

Michael Baker Jr., Inc. Page 1

Control Measure:

Reduce delays and idling emissions associated with accidents and incidents by 

providing emergency service patrols and other systems to help detect, respond 

and decrease the duration of these events.

Description:

Non-recurring congestion associated with accidents and incidents is a significant 

source of delay, particularly on roadways already experiencing congestion due to 

existing high peak period traffic volumes. Non-recurring incidents can cause 

extensive and long lasting queues which in turn result in high emissions due to 

slow moving and idling vehicles. Programs such as the Emergency Service 

Patrols (ESP) and highway monitoring systems allow for quicker detection and 

response to incidents and accidents as they occur. By reducing the duration of 

each event the extra emissions associated with the slow moving, backed-up 

vehicles can be significantly reduced.

Methodology:

The New Jersey Congestion Management System (NJCMS) contains a nonrecurring congestion model that was used to test the impact of deploying 

Emergency Service Patrols along major roadways in the state that do not already 

have them. The roadways on which to implement new service patrols were 

determined by NJDOT staff after an extensive review. The non-recurring model 

in the NJCMS was run both with and without the potential service patrols, and the 

total reduction in vehicle travel time was estimated. Not all the delay associated 

with an incident is idling, some is simply slower moving traffic that results when 

there is a partial blockage or when traffic volumes are not very high. As a result, 

of the total non-recurring delay estimated by the NJCMS, only 60% was assumed 

to be idling delay. This final estimate of idling delay was then multiplied by idling 

emission rates developed from MOBILE 6.2 to estimate the total emission 

benefits associated with the expanded Emergency Service Patrol Program. A 

summary of the calculations and results is provided at the end of this document.
NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Implementation of Statewide Incident Management/Service Patrols

RACM Analysis

Michael Baker Jr., Inc. Page 2

Results: Typical Summer Day/Annual Emissions

Benefits (Emission Reductions Due to Reduced Queuing and Idling):

Pollutant

Type

Analysis Year 2009

Tons/Day Tons/Year

VOC 0.0968

NOx 0.0438 10.9499

PM2.5 1.8623

SO2 0.0682

Ozone Analysis – Daily Benefits in New Jersey

Benefits 

(Reductions)

Ozone Non-Attainment Area

New York-N. New 

Jersey-Long Island,

NY-NJ-CT

PhiladelphiaWilmington-Atlantic City

PA-NJ-MD-DE

VOC (Tons/Day) 0.0870 0.0097

NOx (Tons/Day) 0.0390 0.0048

PM2.5 Analysis – Annual Benefits in New Jersey

Benefits 

(Reductions)

PM2.5 Non-Attainment Area

New York-N. New 

Jersey-Long Island,

NY-NJ-CT

PhiladelphiaWilmington

PA-NJ-DE

NOx (Tons/Year) 9.9396 0.2342

PM2.5 (Tons/Year) 1.6991 0.0308

SO2 (Tons/Year) 0.0621 0.0012

Cost/Benefit Analysis

Total costs were estimated as follows:

For the NJTPA Region

Current Cost of Emergency Service Patrols: $4.4 Million/Year

Current length of roadway Patrolled: 114.73 Miles

Estimated length of Roadway in Expanded system: 246.94 Miles

Estimated Annual Cost of Expanded system:

$4.4 Million x 246.94/114.73 = $9.47 Million/Year
NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Implementation of Statewide Incident Management/Service Patrols

RACM Analysis

Michael Baker Jr., Inc. Page 3

For the DVRPC Region

Current Cost of Emergency Service Patrols: $4.9 Million/Year

Current length of roadway Patrolled: 88.79 Miles

Estimated length of Roadway in Expanded system: 115.42 Miles

Estimated Annual Cost of Expanded system:

$4.9 Million x 115.42/88.79 = $6.37 Million/Year

Cost/Benefit Results

Pollutant

Cost/Benefit for Each Pollutant

Ozone* PM 2.5

NY-NJ-CT

PA-NJ-DEMD NY-NJ-CT PA-NJ-DE

VOC ($/Ton/Day) $435,190 $2,762,470 - -

NOx ($/Ton/Day) $970,085 $5,665,402 - -

NOx ($/Ton/Year) - - $952,754 $28,737,523

PM2.5 ($/Ton/Year) - - $5,573,642 $218,784,049

SO2 ($/Ton/Year) - - $152,461,496 $5,430,078,541

*Daily Costs used in calculation of cost/benefit ratio are Annual costs divided by 250