Billions to repair bad roads, bridges

Wednesday, April 04, 2007
BY RON MARSICO
NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

Transportation officials plan to pour $3.3 billion into repairing bridges and roads, including some in Hudson County, while upgrading mass transit throughout New Jersey, under a program dubbed "Fix It First" unveiled yesterday.

Along with repairing infrastructure to boost "economic growth," Kris Kolluri, the state's transportation commissioner, said the capital program for the 2008 fiscal year that begins July 1 also is geared toward congestion relief and safety improvements.

Kolluri said $1.6 billion of the total bill would be financed through the state's Transportation Trust Fund, with the remaining $1.7 billion from the federal government.

Of the $3.3 billion, a total of $1.29 billion will go to NJ Transit improvements, including outlays for new trains and buses, as well as early funding for the proposed second trans-Hudson rail tunnel project.

More than $400 million also is earmarked for aid to towns and counties for local road repair work. Almost $100 million is slated for safety initiatives, including programs to prevent median cross-over accidents, as well as protecting pedestrians and students on their way to school.

Overall, roughly $125 million more is targeted in fiscal 2008 for congestion, safety, bridge and related roadway improvements over the prior year, according to Kolluri.

Gov. Jon Corzine issued a statement praising the planned outlays as a means to "enact economic development by improving access to jobs and mass transit, advancing the (rail tunnel) project and providing direct property tax relief through local aid."

While the largest bridge improvement project is a $142 million plan to fix the Route 52 causeway in Cape May, significant projects are slated for North Jersey as well, Kolluri said.

They include repairs to the upper and lower decks of Route 139 in Jersey City, the Route 3 bridge over the Hackensack River and the Pulaski Skyway.

Additionally, the state plans to infuse $50 million into the Liberty Corridor project and almost another $35 million into projects in the Meadowlands area.

NJ Transit bridge improvements include rehabilitation of the Newark Drawbridge and preliminary engineering work to eventually replace the troublesome Northeast Corridor Line's portal bridge.

Kolluri said 1,000 new park-and-ride spaces will be added at Route 23 in Wayne, with 700 more spaces planned at the Edison station and 600 more at South Amboy.