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| NJTPA Chairman Daniel P. Sullivan (at podium) speaks at the Board's July 9 meeting prior to the approval of the TIP. Seated at right is NJTPA First Vice Chairman Susan Zellman |
The NJTPA Board of Trustees has approved its annual Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), a four-year investment agenda of more than $9.74 billion for 13 counties in northern and central New Jersey.
The Fiscal Year 2008-2011 TIP, approved by the NJTPA Board of Trustees at its regular July meeting, authorizes approximately $2.5 billion in FY 2008 for spending on road, bridge, rail, bus, pedestrian, bicycle, and passenger ferry projects and programs in the 13-county region (see highlighted projects below).
“This is the largest annual capital program in the NJTPA’s history,” said NJTPA Chairman Daniel P. Sullivan, Freeholder, Union County. “The TIP is more than a bureaucratic exercise—it sets in motion projects that have important practical benefits for citizens of the region.”
In the FY 2008 program, $1.5 billion is designated for road and bridge projects and just over $1 billion goes to transit, with funding roughly split evenly between federal and state funds.
“The program has a high degree of consistency with the Board’s adopted Regional Capital Investment Strategy,” said NJTPA First Vice Chairman Susan Zellman, a Sussex County freeholder who also serves as Chairman of the NJTPA’s Project Prioritization Committee, which oversees the TIP’s development.
Repair and maintenance dominate the program at a combined level of 78 percent for road and transit projects, Zellman pointed out. This reflects a “fix it first” approach, one of the cornerstones of the NJTPA’s investment strategy priorities, as outlined in the NJTPA’s Access & Mobility 2030, the long-range transportation plan for northern and central New Jersey.
Here is a sampling of major highway, bridge, and transit projects being funded over the next four years in the FY 2008-2011 TIP. Once the TIP goes into effect on October 1, details and maps of projects will be included in NOTIS, the NJTPA On-Line Transportation Information System.
Bergen County
• $34 million for the replacement of the Route 17 Essex Street Bridge.
Essex County
• $40 million for interim repairs on the Routes 1&9 Pulaski Skyway.
Hudson County
• $193 million (two phases) for the repair and preservation of the Hackensack River (Wittpenn) Bridge.
Hunterdon County
• $27 million for the operational improvements and replacement of the Route 31 Raritan Valley Line Bridge.
Jersey City
• $190 million to replace the Route 1&9T St. Paul’s Avenue/Conrail Bridge.
Middlesex County
• $51 million for the rehabilitation of the Route 18 Hoes Lane Extension to I-287.
Monmouth County
• $108 million for the replacement of the Route 36 Highlands Bridge over Shrewsbury River.
Morris County
• $42 million for the realignment and widening of Route 46 and the replacement of the NJ Transit/Rockaway River bridges.
City of Newark
• $30 million for operational improvements and replacement of the Route 1&9 Haynes Avenue Bridge.
Ocean County
• $37 million for the repair to the Route 37 Mathis Bridge Eastbound over Barnegat Bay.
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The Route 3 bridge between Passaic and Bergen counties is structurally deficient and obsolete. Its replacement will also include safety and operational improvements along the bridge approach corridor. |
Passaic County
• $124 million for the replacement of the Route 3 bridge over the Passaic River (see photo above).
Somerset County
• $75 million for the construction of the Route 206 Bypass, Belle Mead-Griggstown Road to Old Somerset Road.
Sussex County
• $36 million for the construction of the Route 23 Sussex Borough Realignment and the replacement of the Papakating Creek Bridge.
Union County
• $180 million for the construction of two ramps at the Route 78 Garden State Parkway, Interchange 142.
Warren County
• $23 million for the resurfacing of Route 80 Eastbound, West of Hope-Johnsonburg Road to East of Ledgewood Avenue.
Transit Highlights
• $271 million for new rail cars and locomotives to expand capacity and improve system reliability (see photo, left).
• $539 million for the Access to the Region's Core tunnel, designated by the NJTPA as the region's top transit priority.
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| The TIP provides funding that will enable NJ Transit to continue adding new "rolling stock" such as the bi-level rail car pictured above at Newark's Penn Station. |
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The NJTPA Board of Trustees has awarded nearly $2 million in federal funds to eight safety projects targeting high-priority crash locations in northern and central New Jersey.
“The projects funded address acute safety needs, are quick-fix in nature, and are construction-ready,” said NJTPA First Vice-Chairman Susan Zellman, a Sussex County freeholder who also serves as Chairman of the NJTPA’s Project Prioritization Committee.
The Board’s July 9 approval of the NJTPA Local Safety Program for Fiscal Year 2008 is part of its ongoing effort to improve transportation safety in the region, as outlined in Access & Mobility 2030, the NJTPA’s long-range transportation plan. The program provides federal funding for high-priority bicycle, pedestrian or vehicular safety projects on the region’s county and local roads. Traffic signal upgrades, new signage, safety striping and other improvements are eligible for funding through the program.
For the FY 2008 program, a Technical Review Committee of planners and engineers from NJTPA Central Staff and the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Office of Local Aid and Bureau of Safety Programs considered a pool of nearly two dozen proposals. The Committee reviewed the applications, conducted site visits, and then scored and ranked the applications.
Based on the program’s ongoing success, the Board’s approval nearly doubles the funding for Fiscal Years 2008 through 2011, up from the $1 million awarded in previous years.
The eight FY 2008 projects funded include the following:
• Essex County: Environmental Center Pedestrian Safety Improvements, $236,393
Installation of a traffic signal with pedestrian count-downs, crosswalk striping, signage, and a left-turn bay to improve safety at the center’s busy entrance at Route 611 and Eagle Rock Road in Roseland.
• Hudson County: Improvements to Pedestrian Signal Displays, $310,000
Replacement of all existing pedestrian crossing signals at 39 intersections in the busy multi modal corridor along Route 510/JFK Boulevard from 36th St. to Bergenline Avenue in North Bergen, Union City, West New York and Guttenberg.
• Morris County: Railroad Bridge Advance Warning, $116,000
Installation of warning signs with motion-activated flashers en route to a rail overpass on Route 642 in Roxbury Township, where numerous trucks have hit the bridge in recent years.
• City of Newark: Pedestrian Safety/Signal Countdown Heads, $127,050
Upgrade existing pedestrian signals at more than 50 Newark intersections with high pedestrian volumes and a history of crashes involving pedestrians.
• Ocean County: Toms River Bus Terminal/ Park-and-Ride Pedestrian Access Improvements, $242,390
Construct new sidewalks within existing right-of-way and make other pedestrian improvements along Highland Parkway and West Water Street.
• Passaic County: Wet Reflective Tape Supplemental Pavement Markings, $302,613
Install pavement markings on more than 100 miles of various county roads to enhance visibility of the center line.
• Union County: Stuyvesant/Chestnut Intersection, $250,000
Improve safety and visibility at this intersection in Union Township by widening the left turn lane, coordinating signals, and making related upgrades.
• Warren County: Sign and Pavement Marking Upgrades, $325,500
Upgrade all road signs with ultra-high-performance reflective sheeting and upgrade existing pavement markings with highly visible reflective markings along Route 517 in Hackettstown, Independence and Allamuchy.
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Staff from the NJTPA's subregions and partner agencies participate in a June 20 workshop focusing on potential transportation improvement strategies. |
The NJTPA recently held the fifth in a series of workshops for its city and county and partner agencies to discuss the ongoing Strategy Evaluation project, an examination of transportation needs and strategies to address them. The project will serve as a foundation for the next update of the NJTPA’s Regional Transportation Plan in 2009.
While previous workshops dealt with issues related to needs, places and performance measures, the focus of the June 20 session was transportation improvement strategies. Participants indicated preferences for various strategy types, ranging from bicycle/pedestrian facility improvements to highway operational improvements and transportation demand management. Information collected from the workshop will be used in further analysis and evaluation of strategies for specific locations. For more information, contact Deva Deka at deva@njtpa.org.
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The NJTPA Board at its July 9 meeting approved more than $3.4 million in federal funding to continue 17 shuttle services through the end of 2009 as part of its ongoing Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program. This grant program of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds services helping welfare recipients and others to reach jobs and employment-related programs. Eligible ser-vices include shuttles, van pools, new bus routes, connector services to mass transit, and guaranteed ride home programs. In addition to these job access services, the program funds a reverse commute component linking urban residents with jobs in the suburbs and other outlying areas. All funded services must also have a 50 percent local match in funding.
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The NJTPA Board approved a resolution at its July 9th meeting calling for the suspension of a project to reconfigure the Interstate 78 and Diamond Hill Road interchange pending the completion of additional study and community consultations. Residents and officials of Berkeley Heights have expressed concerns about community impacts and the effectiveness of this project, while officials of Watchung and other neighboring towns have indicated support for the project. Proposed improvements include lane upgrades, a ramp, underpass, and retaining walls. NJDOT is undertaking additional analysis of traffic issues and potential community impacts near the interchange. Its findings will be presented in early fall.
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Middlesex County's Transportation Management Association, Keep Middlesex Moving (KMM), reports ridership is growing steadily on the Jersey Avenue Shuttle. Ridership in May 2007 (627 riders) was more than 600 percent higher than it was when the shuttle was launched in December 2006 (96 riders). "As you know, it often takes months for a new service to catch on," says KMM's Morteza Ansari. "That doesn't appear to be a problem with the Jersey Avenue Shuttle."
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In step with its transportation planning activities, the NJTPA also works to ensure compliance with air quality regulations. To that end, this summer, the NJTPA has held meetings concerning its Transportation Clean Air Measures (TCAMs) project and air quality analysis of the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
In the TCAM project, the NJTPA is evaluating measures that will reduce vehicle emissions and/or vehicle-miles traveled and developing action plans to implement the measures that eventually will be recommended. Potential measures include clean diesel technology, enhanced transit and park-and-ride facilities, and anti-idling technologies for trucks. Members of Central Staff and partner agencies including NJDOT, NJ Transit, NJDEP, and EPA participated in working group meetings held at the NJTPA, most recently on July 25. Action plans are scheduled for later this year, with an eye toward developing actual projects for inclusion in future TIPs. Potential projects may be funded through the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) program, which funds transportation projects or programs that will contribute to the attainment of national air quality standards.
In June, the NJTPA held a meeting designed to educate the public about its annual analysis of the region’s air pollution and emissions. This meeting was held in advance of the NJTPA Board’s July 9 approval of the TIP. Federal regulations require the NJTPA to demonstrate that the transportation improvement projects contained in each new TIP do not, in the aggregate have adverse impacts on air quality and contribute to the achievement of air quality goals.
For more information on NJTPA’s air quality work, contact Megan Schuster at mschuster@njtpa.org.
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The draft recommendations from the NJTPA’s I-78 Corridor Transit Study are now available for public review and comment at www.I-78.org. The study looks at potential improvements to increase the use of public transit in the 60-mile, east-west corridor between Lehigh County, PA and Somerset County, NJ.
The recommendations, discussed during the July 9 NJTPA Board meeting, include: identifying bus service to new destinations and adding bus service to existing destinations; adding or expanding park-and-ride-facilities and shuttle services, and identifying ways to increase bus service efficiency.
During the July 9 presentation, consultant William Crowell, of Urbitran, Inc., said congestion has grown in the corridor in recent years due to population and employment trends. However, rail and bus transit services (as well as shuttles) are limited and park-and-ride facilities are bursting at the seams.
The study is the first phase of a comprehensive look at transit in the corridor. NJ Transit will soon initiate the second phase, examining potential rail service extensions in the corridor.
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www.njtpa.org
The NJTPA has launched a redesigned website providing easier access to information about the transportation planning process in northern and central New Jersey. New menus on the site offer clearer choices and multiple avenues for accessing information. Commonly used links and resources are now available at the top and bottom of all pages. In addition, the site includes an "In the News" feature offering links to recent news articles on transportation, improved accessibility for the disabled and a host of other features. The website redesign and restructuring was accomplished by the NJTPA staff with the assistance of Earthsky Studios, Inc.
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North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Inc.
One Newark Center, 17th Floor. Newark, NJ 07102
(201) 639-8400; Fax 639-1953
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