New Jersey Transportation Funding Crisis Should be Addressed Immediately
The transportation funding crisis in New Jersey has hit the critical stage and must be addressed immediately, according to an official from the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. Thomas Bracken, the chairman of the State Chamber and president & CEO of Sun Bancorp & Sun National Bank, said at a Dec. 8 Trenton press conference that the business community is concerned that if nothing is done before the legislative session ends to develop a stable, long-term funding program, vital transportation projects will be mothballed starting in January, making it more difficult to move people and goods around the state and to other regions of the country.
"If New Jersey loses its ability to keep our roads, bridges, and public transportation up-to-date, we put our economy in jeopardy. There is no way around it," said Bracken, at the press conference organized by Transportation New Jersey. "One of our main strengths compared to other states has always been our superior transportation network, but our infrastructure has been eroding over the years. Companies looking to invest in New Jersey and create quality high paying jobs will shy away from our state if we just ignore these problems and hope they simply go away."
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 36.6% of New Jersey’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The U.S. DOT also reports that 23.3% of our roads have poor surface quality. The roads are also dangerous. The National Transportation Research Group blames poor roadway conditions in New Jersey as a factor in approximately 30% of state traffic fatalities. New Jersey workers also have the third longest commute in the nation and poor roads are responsible for an average $554 a year in extra auto repairs and costs.
The time to act is now – and not right before the June 30 deadline – because lawmakers will be grappling with a $5.1 billion budget deficit next year, which will make tackling the funding issue more difficult. New Jersey will also forfeit almost $8 billion in federal aid if New Jersey does not develop a funding plan of its own.
"New Jersey’s economic success and the direction our state is headed in the coming years is closely linked to this issue," added Bracken. "We applaud Assemblyman Wisniewski for providing leadership by developing legislation that makes sure monies in the Transportation Trust Fund are used for only transportation projects. However, this legislation is only half of the equation. We still need the members of the Legislature to develop a stable, long-term funding plan that best serves all New Jersey residents. Let’s finally roll up our sleeves and put this funding issue behind us, so that it no longer hangs over Legislature after Legislature and Administration after Administration."
Solving the transportation funding problem is a top priority of the Platform for Progress Coalition, which is a group of New Jersey companies, chambers of commerce, associations and individuals working in partnership with the State Chamber. The coalition is dedicated to bringing solutions to long-term challenges our state is facing in six key areas – economic development, education, environment, government reform, healthcare and transportation. Visit www.platformforprogress.com to learn more about the coalition agenda.
December 2005 |
