Highway robbery? Bill seeks probe of New Jersey road costs
By Mark Lagerkvist | New Jersey Watchdog
Why does New Jersey spend more on its highway system than any other state?
On the heels of reports by New Jersey Watchdog, a state senator is introducing legislation Monday to create a task force to address that question.
“When we’re spending two or three times more per mile than any other state, it’s extremely likely that significant savings can be found by the task force,” said Sen. Mike Doherty, R-Washington Township, the bill’s sponsor.
New Jersey pays in excess of $2 million a mile per year — more than 12 times higher than the national average — to maintain 3,338 miles of state-administered roads, according to a Reason Foundation study.
State transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox responded by calling the study “inaccurate and unfair” in a column published by NJ.com. However, Fox did not offer alternative figures, nor did he dispute that New Jersey has the costliest roads in the country.
“Some may quibble over how much more New Jersey spends on our highways than other states, but nobody disputes that we do spend more than everyone else,” said Doherty. “With New Jersey drivers already shouldering such a heavy tax and toll burden, it’s imperative that we find out why millions we spend on our roads get us so little in return.”
That weight will only get heavier if lawmakers pass a proposed 25-cents a gallon hike in the state gas tax. According to its proponents, the state must to raise $2 billion a year to fund its transportation projects.
The Transportation Trust Fund is almost out of cash and must repay $17 billion in debt for money already spent. That figure equals half of New Jersey’s entire annual state budget.
“It leaves us with this very, very long tail of debt,” testified David Rosen, budget officer for the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, at a public hearing in November. “Literally, out to the next 25 years, we still have over $1 billion a year in debt service for stuff we’ve already done.”
Even though TTF soon will run out of money, the state continues to build roads and bridges.
“We just don’t have any cash to do it, so we’re borrowing all the cash,” said Rosen.
The task force proposed by Doherty would be composed of 15 state officials, legislative leaders and transportation representatives. It would release its findings within six months of its organization.
Hey Doherty,wake up. Why waste more tax payer dollars on a useless task force when the answer is right in front of you? Everyone knows it’s Sweeney (Iron workers union official) and Sarlo (on the Sanzari payroll) who have diverted BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars in to the black hole of NJ’s Transportation Fund, which now is $17 billion in debt thanks to their outright theft of tax payer dollars. $2 million per mile of NJ state road versus the next highest state at $675K/mile ! NJ state roads must literally be paved with gold, or someone is stealing from us all. Sweeney and Sarlo are nothing more than thugs and union hacks. Where’d the money go? Must be Swiss bank accounts. The Feds will have to investigate and take these thugs down just like they took down Silver in Albany. Maybe your task force can focus on some other scam, like why we are still subsidizing free health care for state & municipal workers (see Newark) ?