Anne Strauss-Weider’s Freights and Ports graduate class visited the Raritan Center industrial park this semester. The students received a briefing and were able to ask questions about the development and operation of the park. They also were provided with a tour of a brand new industrial building that is in the final stages prior to client occupancy in about a month.
Raritan Center was developed on a former arsenal, has three freight modes available (trucking, rail and water), and has a variety of tenant types. It is also one of two examples in New Jersey of a “freight village” which contains non-industrial uses that serve both the daytime workforce and the community. The class will be having another field visit in April to Port Newark/Elizabeth to see first hand and learn about the largest container port in North America, as well as other operations and environmental initiatives at the Port.
Anne Strauss-Weider is the Director of Freight Planning for the North Jersey Transportation Authority and has been a part-time lecturer for the Bloustein School since 2013.