Come on GD,

We live in the most corrupt , most highly taxed, most densly populated state in the country. But we also have the highest per capita income in the country. Soooo, Trenton will keep the taxes coming... BOHICA?!

I can't wait till after this election to see what happens to taxes next year. Don't forget, we have one of the lowest, if not the lowest state fuel taxes in the country. I am surprised that they haven't gone up in the last 3 years with all the problems around here.
Maybe the pols in Trenton consider it the 3rd rail. To kick it is to die.
But now they can raise it in the name of looking out for us all. Republicans or Democrats, the guys in Trenton ain't looking out for you and me.


If the condition of some of Cape May County owned roads is any indication, I shudder to think of what's going on under water in places where there is strong tidal flow. The Cold Spring Inlet Bridge is just one that comes to mind. Townsends Inlet is another.
These bridges are all 50-70 years old !!

A bridge is only as strong as it's weakest rusty bolt!


More From Gloucester County Times | Subscribe To Gloucester County Times
State bridge repair funds lacking
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
By Trish G. Graber
tgraber@sjnewsco.com
TRENTON It would cost nearly $3 billion and take a decade to repair New Jersey's bridges, most of which are under county control a level of government severely underfunded by the state, top county officials said Tuesday.

"The fact is that we're neglecting our most basic government responsibility and the public is at risk," said New Jersey Association of Counties (NJAC) President Louis Magazzu.

The association released information that showed 4,164 county-owned bridges across the state were either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete in 2003. Some of the bridges have since been fixed; however, the association later said the numbers represented a snapshot of the need in New Jersey.

"We cannot wait until there is a catastrophe to take our obligation seriously," Magazzu said.

The state budgeted $509 million for bridge repairs in Fiscal Year 2008, $80 million of which goes to counties, according to the NJAC. However, after bridge resurfacing costs, only $10 million is left, the association said.

NJAC estimated it would take $268 million a year for 10 years to repair all county-owned bridges.

Gloucester County officials announced this week that all 14 bridges deemed structurally deficient in 2003 are under the county's replacement program. One of the state's worst bridges, the Wilson Road bridge in Washington Township with a sufficiency rating of 2 out of 100 on the standard scale used by the DOT, is currently being replaced.

Magazzu called on the state to take action by increasing funding, saying legislators have an "infinite" number of ways to raise revenue. Counties are limited in raising property taxes by the cap imposed by the state to slow the growth of property taxes.

The state currently funds transportation projects in part with the Transportation Trust Fund, funded with the state's gasoline tax of 14.5 cents per gallon. Gov. Jon S. Corzine is considering a plan to capitalize off the state's toll roads in order to fund transportation needs as well as other state needs by paying down state debt. However, he has yet to unveil a proposal.

Damien Newton, New Jersey coordinator for the non-profit Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said the state will need to find a new revenue source for transportation projects soon.

"The state's Transportation Trust Fund is going to run out of money in just a few years," he said.

Newton pointed out that in the past the state Legislature has opposed increasing the gas tax, and in an election year, it's unlikely.

"No one likes a new tax, now one likes a new revenue fee," he said. "But it's a fee that's going into fixing our infrastructure."

Earlier this week, Corzine called on the Department of Transportation to submit a report on the condition of the state's bridges and the cost of repairing them within 45 days.

Newton said the DOT has been doing "as well as can be expected" in bridge repairs with the resources available.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.