Transportation Capital Program
Fiscal Year 2006

Introduction

• Continues our commitment to the safety of motorists and pedestrians (“Safety First”)



• Continues major investments in bridge and roadway preservation



• Promotes Smart Growth through targeted investments, including developing new ways of fighting congestion through new initiatives



• Begins to accelerate the project delivery process through the new Hyper-Build initiative

• The program invests about $390 million in improvements to New Jersey’s aging highway bridges. New Jersey will take advantage, for the first time, of a federal innovative financing program (“GARVEEs”) to fund one of the largest bridge projects in the state’s history, the replacement of the Route 52 viaduct connecting Ocean City and Somers Point. Without the GARVEE option, NJDOT would not have the means to move forward with this project in Fiscal Year 2006. A total of 78 bridges are funded for some phase of work, in addition to projects in early “study and development” stages.



• The program provides significant funding for highway pavement resurfacing while continuing funding for all elements of NJDOT’s new pavement management program, including highway rehabilitation and preventive maintenance projects.



• Funding for safety programs is maintained at a high level. Key programs funded under NJDOT’s Safety First initiative include the Median Cross-over Crash Prevention program, Safe Corridors (implementing improvements identified by Safety Impact Teams in high-hazard corridors), the Safe Streets to Schools program, and the low-cost Intersection Improvements program.



• The program funds a balanced attack on highway congestion, with increased investment in highway operational improvements, which focus on relieving high-congestion bottlenecks. The Emergency Service Patrol program is expanded and a new program is funded to improve the functioning of traffic signals. Funding for highway capacity increase projects (major widenings and construction of new highways) is limited to less than 3% of the total program in order to provide funding for lower-cost congestion relief projects and Fix-it-First projects.



• $88 million will be invested in Rail Station improvements at Newark Broad Station, Ridgewood Station, Madison Station, and Morristown Station. All these station accessibility improvements are required to keep NJ TRANSIT in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Improvements will also be continued with the construction of the Trenton Station Rehabilitation, construction of high level-platforms at South Amboy Rail Station, and reconstruction of platforms at Metropark Station and Woodbridge Stations.



• Regarding state of good repair and reliability, the program budget allots $205 million to replace up to 13 miles of track, over 50,000 new rail ties, improve as many as eight culverts, and continue installation of the automatic train control and positive train stop rail safety system. Funding is provided for engineering assistance to overhaul 148 Comet III and IV rail cars, replace 230 Arrow III rail cars and purchase of a rail switcher locomotive. Also provided is funding for the mid-life overhaul of transit buses and bus/LRT infrastructure improvements systemwide. The program includes funding for bridge and tunnel inspections, security improvements, Federal Railroad Administration mandates, and Americans-with-Disabilities-Act station improvements.



• The FY06 program attacks congestion through providing over $15.6 million for park-and-ride projects. In the past year, NJ TRANSIT has opened over 6,000 new spaces on the River LINE (3,300), and will open an additional 1,500 spaces at Montclair State University and 1,260 spaces at Route 17 in Ramsey. The NJ TRANSIT Fiscal Year 2006 Capital Program includes funding to design and construct another 3,000 new spaces at Route 23, Wayne Park and Ride, Edison Station, Rahway Station, and Howard Boulevard.



• NJ TRANSIT will also be moving forward on other critical initiatives to meet forecasted market growth and travel demand over the next decade in New Jersey and the surrounding region, including a new trans-Hudson tunnel, the Meadowlands rail link and other planned investments to expand core capacity of the railroad to allow for more frequent service. Stations and terminals will be improved and modernized and rail and bus equipment will be overhauled or replaced. More parking and improved access are also key elements of the makeover, as is better use of technology to produce a more rapid transit-like fare collection system that is faster and easier to use.