If funds are approved, certain state highways in need of repair will be slated for work, including Route 139, which brings thousands of drivers to the Holland Tunnel and back each day.
According to a recently released state report, 50 percent of all state roadways are deficient. That same report outlines 438 pavement resurfacing projects in need of completion.
The proposed New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund for fiscal year 2012 amounts to $3.5 billion and if it is passed when the state introduces and votes on its budget this summer, $284 million would be set aside for roadway work.
“Hopefully they won’t interfere with what’s being done right now.” — Nicholas Sacco
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These funds are a part of Gov. Christopher Christie’s larger five-year Transportation Capital Plan, which has suggested pouring $8 billion into improving New Jersey’s roads.
According to the NJDOT Roadway Pavement System report, following the department’s proposed 10-year plan would leave 80 percent of the state’s roads in good or fair condition.
Hudson County has 11 projects on the list, of which five are ranked 59 and below. They include Route 1&9 and Route 440.
“I feel good about the projects being ranked competitively and hopefully the money will be set aside for them,” said state Sen. Nicholas Sacco (D-Hudson), who is the Senate Transportation Committee chairman and North Bergen’s Mayor.
Most needed in Hudson County
The NJDOT considered the average daily traffic, pavement rating, and benefit in its listing of roadways.
The 11th pavement project listed in the ranking is 0.5 miles of Route 138 West, while the 28th project is 0.6 miles of the east portion of this roadway, which exists in Jersey City and is close to the Hoboken border. This highway sees an average of 11,823 drivers each day. The combined cost of both sides would equal $660,000.
“Yes, the state owned roadways are in need of repair and maintenance,” said Jennifer Morrill, spokeswoman for Jersey City. “Rapid repair of deteriorated roadways will improve roadway safety and prevent damage to personal vehicles, and extend the useful life of the roadways.”
Repaving slated for Route 1&9
Some 16.4 miles of Route 1&9 is listed, which includes a 10 mile stretch from Essex to Hudson County, which is listed as the 36th most important; a 1.6 mile section from Jersey City through North Bergen; and a 4.8 mile stretch from Bergen County to North Bergen. Combined work would cost $13.2 million to complete.
Different sections of this roadway receive an average of 29,000 to 33,000 motorists per day.
Sacco fears that more work on North Bergen’s Route 1&9, also known as Tonnelle Avenue, could cause “additional heartache” for motorists using the roadway, which has been plagued with traffic since the state began the roadway’s widening and repaving project there several years ago.
“Hopefully they won’t interfere with what’s being done right now,” said Sacco.
Work on Route 440
Several segments of Route 440, which runs from Jersey City into Bayonne, are listed, equaling 10.7 miles of roadway work estimated to cost $5 million.
Route 185, a highway that connects motorists on Route 440 to Liberty State Park in Jersey City, is the last project in Hudson County listed, with a price tag of $360,000.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.
Sidebar
Other important projects may finally be funded
The proposed Transportation Capital Program for fiscal year 2012, which was released in March, also lists several roadway projects, some of which public officials said have been waiting for funding for quite some time.
Sacco said he was pleased that $10 million was set aside for North Bergen’s 69th Street Bridge, an overpass that will extend from Tonnelle Avenue to West Side Avenue, allowing both motorists and freight trains to travel without stopping for one another.
He also said that the $13.4 million allocated for the Bergen Arches, train tunnels that run through the Palisades in Jersey City, was important.
Some $1.8 million is set aside for operational and safety improvements to Hoboken’s Observer Highway, while $216,000 will go toward improvements to Newark and First Streets.
“With this funding, we have an opportunity to make Newark Street more pedestrian friendly and transform Observer Highway into ‘Observer Boulevard’ by creating a more welcoming gateway to our city that is safer for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians,” said Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
Morrill said that from Jersey City’s perspective the $150 million put toward the Pulaski Skyway is the most important repair project.