$14 Million Awarded to
Municipalities
for Local Road Projects
Governor Christie Whitman and Transportation Commissioner James Weinstein today announced the award of $14.3 million in grants for 85 local road projects throughout the state. The funds are being allocated in a second round of funding through New Jersey Department of Transportation=s (NJDOT) FY00 Local Aid program.
AOur roads are the very lifeline of community life around New Jersey,@ Gov. Whitman said. AWe use them to travel to visit relatives and friends, to enjoy leisure time with our families and to get to and from our work. The grants announced today will ensure that our roads are safe and that we can travel more efficiently to save time and money. Caring for our local roads is one more way we can make New Jersey a better place to live, work and raise a family.@
AA transportation system as complex as New Jersey=s should not only allow people to move from one part of the state to another, but it should support community objectives by helping to rebuild local roads,@ said Commissioner Weinstein. AThe investments we make today in preserving and enhancing our local transportation system will pay for itself and then some, especially for future generations of New Jersey residents.@
The grants represent discretionary allotments. Discretionary funding is awarded to those projects that are deemed critical to a municipality or county but did not rate highly enough for formula allocations announced last year.
The NJDOT=s Local Aid Program is supported by the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund. Under legislation signed into law by Governor Whitman in 1995, the Transportation Trust Fund was renewed and local aid funding was increased from $100 million to $130 million minimum per year. In addition to the $130 million, the FY00 Local Aid program includes an additional $20 million for repair of local bridges, $6.7 million for bicycle accommodation and $4.7 million for pedestrian safety projects.
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