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Official says Turnpike and Parkway potential gold mines for financing road repairs
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Christie administration officials are attempting to develop a method to refund New Jersey's $895 million Transportation Trust Fund, but the Transportation Department commissioner Thursday assured legislators road projects will not come to a halt if the fund goes broke on June 30, 2011.
Appearing before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee in Trenton, Commissioner James S. Simpson said as a way to raise money for highways and mass transit, the DOT is examining contracts for concession on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, selling naming rights to them, enlarging turnpike rest stops to handle more traffic, and reopening and providing concessions at other highway rest stops.
Simpson said the administration will not hike the state gas tax to help solve the DOT's financial problems. He described the turnpike as his department's biggest asset and told legislators that if it's operation and that of the parkway could be improved, the state could realize as much as $100 million more in revenue annually.NJ Transit Director James Weinstein told the committee, his agency is considering privatizing its commuter parking lots. He said that although he does not foresee such a move would cause an immediate rate hike, he did concede fees would eventually increase. NJ Transit fares for bus and rail riders will rise 10 percent to 25 percent on May 1.
Simpson said that since taking office with Gov. Chris Christie, he found the DOT's 10-year highway construction plan "nothing more than a wish list.
"Basically, we are out of cash, we can't pay the mortgage, we can't pay for the lights,‘' he said in reference to the trust fund nearing running out of money "That is where we are in basic terms.''
The administration and Legislature must agree on a funding method for the trust fund by next spring.
Simpson said the DOT's transportation plan takes into account the need to cut spending, operate efficiently, prioritize projects and to do it all without sacrificing safety and traffic flow.
"The capital (construction) program request for (2010-11) -- combining the needs of NJDOT and NJ Transit -- is estimated at $3.23 billion,'' Simpson said. "This program is supported primarily by federal and state sources. The transportation budget as proposed requests nearly $1.25 billion in state appropriations, including; $895 million from the Transportation Trust Fund. The TTF funding will leverage approximately $1.43 billion for the capital program.''
Simpson listed as construction priorities for the 2010-11 year the Route 3 Passaic River Crossing Bridge, a major commuter route, the replace of the Route 7 Wittpenn Bridge, a key truck route between Kearny and Jersey City, the Route 52 Causeway Bridge between Somers Point and Ocean City, the Route 46 Hackensack River Bridge in Bergen County, and the major rehabilitation of Route 295 in South Jersey.
"We're investing more than 4650 million in state and local bridges with projects that range from rebuilding the decks for smoother rides to rebuilding entire structures to add the lanes and capacity they need to handle current traffic volumes,'' the commissioner said.
