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BY NICHOLAS ANDRE
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
New Jersey has racked up quite a bill in terms of its outdated infrastructure. One that will cost the state $70 billion dollars to fix.
In a report, “Facing Our Future,” compiled by a bipartisan and independent group of senior officials, it is estimated that $21.3 billion is needed to improve the roads, highways, bridges, and mass transit system alone.
As NJSpotlight.com reports, these numbers may very well be understated. A comprehensive study has not been done by the state in over 10 years.
A large portion of the report is dedicated to calls for better allocation of power and water. The report argues that economic growth will be hard to achieve unless these areas are improved. But this isn’t just an issue for the state leaders and legislators. The public needs to embrace this issue as well.
“We need expanded public understanding of the importance of infrastructure and its importance when it fails,” the report said. It’s main emphasis was on preserving clean drinking water by making the appropriate treatment facilities and on upgrading the power distribution throughout the state.But the biggest wake up call was in the area of transportation, where the report outlined some radical changes. According to the report, the motor fuels tax should be increased. New Jersey has the third-lowest motor fuels tax in the country, and it has not been raised in over 20 years. This is creating a huge gap in funds.
“The gap between what is needed to invest in New Jersey’s transportation infrastructure and the amount we have been spending is a minimum of $1 billion to $2 billion a year,” according to the report.
Governor Christie has said in the past that he will not raise any taxes.
The biggest suggestion of the report was to combine all seven transportation agencies associated with New Jersey, including New Jersey Transit, the Department of Transportation, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, into one, all-encompassing agency.
The report suggested that those transportation agencies be merged into one group that would be “regulated by an independent board, rather than elected officials.” This board would hopefully bring about effective use of funds and resources and consolidate spending, which is very important after Hurricane Sandy.
“Before Sandy, we had budget problems and a deteriorating infrastructure,” said the report. “After Sandy, inconceivable new challenges compounded these existing problems.”
