newjerseynewsroom.com

Sen. Bucco calls vote critical

The Legislature’s Joint Budget Oversight Committee, Thursday voted to authorize the state Transportation Trust Fund Authority to use of $1.3 billion of unused bonding capacity to fund bridge, highway and mass transit projects.

The New Jersey State League of Municipalities urged the vote, maintaining that the action was essential in order to insure that the existing state transportation improvement programs remain solvent.

"This vital action will contribute, in the short-term, to our state’s economic recovery,” League Director Bill Dressel said. “ And it will provide crucial funding that is critical to our state’s long-term prosperity.”

Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris) a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the joint panel, said the vote is given added importance by a new report issued by Transportation for America, which cited the poor state of North Jersey bridges.

“The report issued by Transportation for America is further proof that we can no longer delay the funding of critical transportation projects, including bridge repair and replacement,” Bucco said. “I am glad that members of both parties were able to break through the legislative gridlock that was preventing us from getting to work on making our transportation infrastructure safe. Just as importantly, this funding will help create new jobs for many in the construction industry who have been hit especially hard by the down economy.”

The report by Transportation for America ranked the New York metropolitan area, which includes northern New Jersey, 10th on the list of large metropolitan areas based on the percentage of bridges in the region that are considered structurally deficient. The report, which is based on federal highway data, notes that 778 bridges in the metropolitan area, 9.8 percent of all bridges, are rated to be deficient. According to the report, more than 17.5 million vehicles pass over those bridges every day, including more than 200 every second.

Bucco said that the classification of a bridge as “structurally deficient” is more than just a rating – it represents a very real threat. He cited the 2007 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, which resulted in the deaths of 13 people as cars traveling on the bridge were suddenly plunged into the Mississippi River. The I-35W bridge had been classified as structurally deficient long before the collapse occurred.

“Nobody wants a tragedy like the Minneapolis bridge collapse to happen here in New Jersey,” added Bucco. “The approval of new funding for transportation projects will ensure that our bridges are safe while giving a much needed boost to idle construction workers who are waiting to get back to work.”

—TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM