NJDOT/NJ
TRANSIT announce proposed FY2006 Capital Program
$2.7
billion to maintain and improve transportation network
(Trenton)
Today, New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner
Jack Lettiere and NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George D. Warrington
announced the proposed Fiscal Year 2006 Transportation Capital
Program. The $2.7 billion program funds capital construction for
NJDOT and NJ TRANSIT.
"The
Capital Program will support over 100,000 jobs and will help ease
congestion and improve safety on our crowded highways," stated
Acting Governor Richard J. Codey. "We must continue to invest
in quality of life and safety improvements."
"While
this year's program demonstrates our continued commitment to our
‘Fix-it-First,' ‘Safety First,' and ‘Smart Growth' strategies,
the program also advances new initiatives,” said Lettiere. “The
new Hyperbuild program to speed up project completions and our
effort to link land-use and transportation planning to prevent
development from outpacing the transportation network are both
supported by the capital program.”
"This
capital program is structured to make the most efficient use of
every dollar we spend to maintain a state of good repair and meet
demand growth," said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George
D. Warrington. "It also enables us to continue preliminary
work on the Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel, which we've identified
as our highest capacity priority."
Roughly
$1.6 billion of the capital program is for use by the NJDOT, and
$1.1 billion by NJ TRANSIT. The program has been approved by all
three metropolitan transportation planning organizations in the
state and was presented to the Legislature for its approval earlier
this month. The proposed program would be funded with $1.2 billion
in state funding and $1.5 billion in federal funding.
NJ
TRANSIT will continue to implement its “Back to Basics” approach
by investing $426 million in core transit infrastructure to maintain
the State's rail, bus and light rail systems at a state of good
repair.
Funding
is provided for preliminary work to overhaul 148 NJ TRANSIT Comet
III and IV rail cars, to replace of 230 Arrow III rail cars, for
mid-life overhaul of NJ TRANSIT buses and system-wide bus infrastructure
improvements. $88 million will be invested in rail station improvements
at various stations including Newark
Broad Street ,
Metropark, South Amboy and Trenton
. The
program also includes funding for bridge and tunnel work, security
improvements, and Americans-with-Disabilities Act Station improvements.
NJ
TRANSIT will be moving forward with critical initiatives to meet
growth and travel demands over the next decade including a new
trans-Hudson rail tunnel, the Meadowlands rail link, expanding
parking capacity and investments in technology to improve business
practices and efficiency.
NJDOT
will continue its balanced effort to improve safety and attack
congestion on our highways. Key safety programs receiving funding
include: the Median Cross-Over Prevention Program, designed to
eliminate dangerous cross-over accidents, the Safe Corridors initiative,
which implements improvements in high hazard corridors, and the
Intersection Improvement Program, which targets dangerous intersections
for safety improvements.
In
an effort to complete projects faster and reduce the amount of
time drivers are sitting in construction related congestions,
the 2006 Proposed Capital Program supports Commissioner Lettiere's
Hyperbuild initiative. Hyperbuild will accelerate
the construction by utilizing innovative design and construction
techniques. The initiative will save motorists thousands of hours
of delays and will save millions of dollars on construction costs.
As
a part of the Fix-it-First initiative, NJDOT is investing $390
million for the repair of 77 bridges across the state. Repair
includes large scale projects such as the repair of the Route
52 Causeway in Somers Point and Ocean
City
, which
will be one of the largest bridge reconstruction projects in state
history, and smaller local bridges repairs like the replacement
of the 69
th Street
Bridge in North
Bergen .
The
2006 program supports NJDOT's efforts to link land-use and transportation
planning. The department is working with local communities to
identify areas that are targeted for growth to simultaneously
create comprehensive transportation plans, so that development
does not outpace the transportation network.
The
Capital Program invests heavily in repairs to local roads with
$325 million in direct local aid going towns and counties for
roadway improvements. Local Aid dollars will provide significant
property tax relief to New
Jersey counties and municipalities
by funding roadwork that would otherwise be paid for with local
property tax dollars.
The
entire Proposed
Fiscal Year 2006 Capital Program is available on NJDOT's
web site and is broken down by projects, counties and routes.
