Lawmaker Suggests Adding Tolls To New Jersey Interstates To Replenish Transportation Fund
SECAUCUS, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A New Jersey lawmaker has floated an idea to put tolls on some interstate highways, so as to create much-needed funding to fix the state roads.
As CBS2's Raegan Medgie reported Friday, drivers have mixed feelings about the idea.
Each day, tens of thousands of people commute on Interstate 78 and Interstate 80. Over time, the roads have shown wear and tear.
But the dollars to fix the roads, and fund future large-scale transportation projects in the state, is about to run out. And with a $30 billion deficit growing, adding tolls to the expressways has been proposed as a solution.
Not everyone was thrilled about the idea.
"I think they should look at trying to use the money they have more efficiently, and not trying to get more money from us," said Ed Spinelli of Yorktown Heights.
"I like tolls," said Fran Roth of Bensalem, Pennsylvania.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said someone recently pitched the idea his way.
"It's possible. There are legal impediments to doing some of that because of the federal funding of those roads and there would have to be all kinds of things done," Christie said. "Is it possible? It's possible. Do I advocate for it? I do not."
According to the Federal Highway Administration, tolls can be added to the interstates. But a proposal must be submitted to the agency for review.
An administration representative said no plans to add tolls to Interstates 78 and 80 have been submitted.
New Jersey State Assemblyman Scott Rumana (R-Wayne), who is part of the Transportation Committee, is in favor of looking into the possibility of putting tolls on the two interstates as one of the options to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund.
Many said the idea could backfire.
"I think we've had so many years of overburdens and taxes of all sorts, and if they're going to put any type of tax on the average person, I think it's going to be a negative for state," said Matt Smith of Flemington, New Jersey.
"I just think that they should, more than likely, bring up the gas tax," said Angela Rivera of the Bronx.
Acting New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Richard Hammer has warned that while the Transportation Trust Fund will likely have enough cash to carry it beyond the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, it will likely run out of money in early August without a cash infusion.
Christie and the Democrat-led Legislature have so far failed to agree on how to pay for the fund in the new fiscal year. Democrats have called for an increase in the gas tax, but Christie says any deal must result in ``tax fairness'' for the state's residents, but neither side has put forward a concrete plan to bridge the funding gap.
Authorization for the roughly $1.6 billion fund expires June 30.
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