TIP Includes $2.5 Billion for FY 2007 Projects
The NJTPA Board of Trustees has approved its annual Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), a four-year investment agenda of more than $9.7 billion for 13 counties in northern and central New Jersey.
The Fiscal Year 2007-2010 TIP, which was approved by the NJTPA Board at its July meeting, authorizes approximately $2.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2007 for spending on road, bridge, rail, bus, pedestrian, bicycle and passenger ferry projects and programs in the region. That makes it the largest annual capital program in the NJTPA’s history.
“Approval of the TIP is, perhaps, the single most important action the NJTPA Board will take this year,” said NJTPA Chairman Daniel P. Sullivan, Freeholder, Union County. “By authorizing the program, we make the region eligible to receive billions of federal dollars in transportation improvements,” he said, pointing to the significant need to remake and upgrade key aspects of the transportation system.
“This TIP is a balanced program that reflects the NJTPA’s vision for the region’s transportation system,” 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 development of the TIP. “Our goals include repairing existing infrastructure as the first priority, improving roads by focusing on bottlenecks and ‘hot spots,’ and expanding and enhancing transit. The TIP addresses major regional infrastructure needs and projects of local significance throughout the region.” Fully 73 percent of the program is dedicated to repair and maintenance of the region’s roads, bridges and rail network, Freeholder Zellman noted.
A sampling of major projects in the TIP is listed below. 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.
Here are some of the key highway, bridge, and transit projects being funded over the next four years in the FY 2007-2010 TIP:
Bergen/Passaic Counties
$220 million to begin replacing the aging Route 3 bridge over the Passaic River, including related safety and operational improvements throughout the corridor.
Essex/Hudson Counties
$13 million for the rehabilitation of the critical Stickel Bridge on Route 280 over the Passaic River. This project will include structural, electrical, and mechanical upgrades, among other improvements.
Hunterdon County
$8 million for extending Frontage Road along I-78 in Union Township to connect to an access road. This will facilitate direct access between the Edna Mahan correctional facility and the interstate for a significant workforce in the county.
Middlesex County
$75 million to complete major reconstruction, operational and safety improvements, and other upgrades — including bicycle/pedestrian accommodations — along Route 18 in New Brunswick.
Monmouth/Ocean Counties
$34 million for the rehabilitation of the Manasquan River Bridge on Route 35 between Brielle and Point Pleasant. The work includes upgrades to the moveable bridge’s deck as well as its electrical and mechanical systems.
Morris County
$23 million for pavement resurfacing of 15 miles of I-80 westbound. The highway’s pavement, including the outside shoulder lane, is currently rutted and cracked with numerous patches from previous repairs.
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This deteriorated, one-lane bridge between Sparta and Stanhope, Sussex County will be replaced with a new structure featuring a new alignment and two lanes, plus shoulders and crosswalks. The design will look like the existing historic bridge, which will be preserved as a bicycle-pedestrian facility.
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Somerset County
$33 million for a major interchange at Route 22 and Chimney Rock Road in Bridgewater Township, where several key employment centers are located.
Sussex County
$10 million for the replacement of the existing one-lane bridge on Sparta-Stanhope Road (see photo at right).
Union County
$18 million for completing the rehabilitation of the Rahway River Bridge on Routes 1 & 9 between Rahway and Woodbridge. This part of the project will provide widening, new ramp connections, and intersection improvements.
Warren County
$16 million for resurfacing about 8 miles of I-80 through Hardwick and Knowlton townships. This project includes both directions of this increasingly busy east-west commuter route.
Transit Highlights
$300 million is being allocated to begin engineering and right-of-way work on a new Hudson River rail tunnel.
$400 million is set aside for procurement of new rail cars and locomotives. (see photo at right).
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| One of NJ Transit's much-anticipated bi-level rail cars sits behind a new, high-tech locomotive (left) at Newark Penn Station during a recent test run |
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The NJTPA has launched a Truck Rest Stop Study. This study analyzes truck movements and the possible need for rest/service stops. It will be coordinated with other truck stop studies being conducted by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. A final tri-state regional report will result from the three studies.
The NJTPA study stems from the lack of adequate truck rest and service stops — especially near the port — currently available to truck drivers who are subject to new federal rules reducing drivers’ hours of service. As a result, truckers are often forced to pull over on streets or highway shoulders to rest. Few, if any of these locations, offer truck drivers legal parking space and amenities such as food, showers, and repair services. This raises safety and environmental concerns throughout the region and also creates a potentially dangerous situation for the drivers themselves.
The NJTPA, under guidance from its Freight Initiatives Committee, will assess the availability and adequacy of truck rest/service stops throughout its 13-county region. Extensive stakeholder and broad public outreach will be undertaken as a part of this study. In addition, future Freight Initiatives Committee meetings will include Truck Rest Stop Study reports and discussions among stakeholders.
The result of this study — scheduled for completion in February 2007 — will be recommendations for new candidate sites or expanding existing sites. The lead consultant for the study is Gannett Fleming, assisted by subcontractors Eng-Wong, Taub, Fitzgerald & Halliday and Future Fuels Consulting. For further information, go to the project website: www.njrest.org.
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With the start of a new school year just around the corner, the Morris County Division of Transportation is putting the finishing touches on a Safe Routes to School Plan. The plan stems from a two-year pilot project in Wharton Borough’s school district which received $145,000 in funding from the NJTPA’s Subregional Study Program.
Morris County Senior Planner Patrick Franco explains the pilot project, which runs through April 2007, promotes safe walking and bicycling to and from one elementary school and one middle school in Wharton. County officials now want to use this pilot as a model for other interested school districts and plan to pursue additional federal funding.
Ultimately, Mr. Franco said, officials plan to develop and publicize a “how-to” guide based on the Wharton pilot. In the meantime, the Wharton program, which began last year with data gathering and public education, will shift this fall to implementation. The Wharton schools will participate in International Walk to School Day in October, and officials will focus on future funding and program sustainability as the county begins to phase out its role “and let the school district make this program its own,” explained Mr. Franco.
The Safe Routes to School program has five components: engineering of infrastructure and safety improvements; educating the public; encouraging walking and biking to school through special promotions; enforcing speed limits and other laws; and evaluating participation and program effectiveness. For more information, visit mcdot.org.
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Main streets play a crucial role in the economic and social life of the state's towns and more must be done to improve them. That was the message delivered at the July NJTPA Board meeting by Jeffrey Buehler, Coordinator of the Main Street New Jersey (MSNJ) program at the NJ Department of Community Affairs.
Buehler said the MSNJ program is an effective tool for older downtown areas. Towns receive technical support and training to assist in restoring and promoting town centers. Participating towns form an organization of local residents, merchants, property owners, civic groups, banks, public officials and others to oversee and sustain their downtown improvements.
The program supports façade upgrades, coordinated marketing and business development. Under the program, many local businesses receive free architectural and small business consultations to increase their "curb appeal." Well-planned downtowns Buehler said are pedestrian-friendly and often serve as transit hubs. The payoff is a more visually appealing and economically viable downtown that creates jobs and adds to the local tax base. For information, call 609-633-9769 or visit msnj@dca.state.nj.us.
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As part of ongoing efforts to foster cooperative transportation planning, the NJTPA on June 20th hosted a meeting of the I-95 Corridor Coalition’s Intermodal Committee.
The Coalition is a multi-state and federal government initiative to encourage coordinated planning along the East Coast’s busy I-95 highway corridor. State departments of transportation and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) from Florida to New England are among its participants. The meeting included a presentation on the new tri-state regional truck rest stop study being conducted by the NJTPA and other MPOs (see article, above).
Following the Coalition meeting, the NJTPA hosted a separate meeting attended by eight MPOs to discuss common freight planning issues and opportunities for leveraging information and resources. This meeting resulted in an agreement to inventory freight-related projects and information databases.The MPOs plan to meet as a caucus again in the context of future I-95 Corridor Coalition meetings.
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Ocean County Freeholder James F. Lacey fishes off the new pier adjacent to the recently completed Mantoloking Bridge after the June 26 ribbon cutting festivities. The state-of-the-art span over Barnegat Bay connects Brick Township and Mantoloking. The moveable bridge offers greater clearance than the deteriorated old bridge it replaced, meaning fewer openings, less wear and tear, and reduced traffic tie-ups. $22 million in federal funding for the bridge replacement came through the NJTPA. |
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The NJTPA recently hosted the first statewide summit of public officials and planners working to complete the East Coast Greenway. Sixty-four miles of the nearly 3,000-mile Greenway — a continuous bicycle and pedestrian on- and off-road path that will eventually connect all major East Coast cities — will be located in 22 towns in five counties of the NJTPA region.
At the June 14 summit, about 50 planners and other stakeholders worked on strategies to close the gaps in New Jersey’s portion of the Greenway. New Jersey’s efforts have so far proven significant: although the East Coast Greenway is only 20 percent complete overall, the Garden State has designated 80 percent of its segment to off-road routes — mainly a 28-mile stretch running along the D&R Canal Towpath.
Brent Barnes, Director of Planning at the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), emphasized the importance of pushing for one continuous trail, while NJDOT Director of Local Aid and Economic Development David Kuhn discussed possible funding sources for developing future Greenway corridors. NJDOT Bicycle-Pedestrian Program Manager Sheree Davis conducted a general review of the Greenway Association’s “Blueprint for Action.”
Summit participants later broke up into working sessions to study maps and aerial photos of potential gaps, analyze other issues, and assess opportunities for expediting the process of completing the Greenway.
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The summer issue of the NJTPA publication Mobility Matters features an overview of commuting patterns and profiles of eleven typical commuters. The commuters describe their daily travels, problems they face and improvements they'd like to see. They travel by car, train, truck, bus, bicycle, and on foot. To get a copy: 973-639-8400 or www.njtpa.org, click on "publications."
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The NJTPA website, www.njtpa.org, is being redesigned and reorganized. The web design firm Earthsky Studios is working with a committee of NJTPA staff to accomplish the overhaul. The website was launched in 1997 and added to and enhanced numerous times over the years. The redesign project seeks to improve and unify the design of the site, add new features and content, reorganize the content so information is easier to find, provide better site navigation, improve access for those with handicaps and make the site easier to update. The redesigned site is expected to be completed this fall. In the meantime, the NJTPA would like input and ideas from users of the site. Contact njtpa@njtpa.org.
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A Newark Light Rail car pulls into Broad Street Station for the July 17 grand opening ceremony. The $207 million dollar system takes riders one mile between Broad Street and Newark Penn Station in about 10 minutes. NJTPA Board members participating in the ceremony included NJDOT Commissioner Kris Kolluri, NJ Transit Executive Director George Warrington, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker.
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Newest NJTPA Board Member
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Cory A. Booker, Mayor
City of Newark
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NJTPA Board of Trustees
Monday, September 11, 2006
NJTPA Ofices
Regional Technical Advisory Committee (RTAC)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
NJTPA Offices
NJTPA Committees
Monday, October 23, 2006
NJTPA Offices
Please note that all meetings are subject to change. Contact the NJTPA for confirmation at 973-639-8400 or check the agency's website at www.njtpa.org. |
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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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