NEW JERSEY – Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips’ bill helping to cover the cost of emergency bridge repairs in various counties and municipalities throughout New Jersey was signed into law Tuesday.
The bill (A2609/S742) reallocates unspent funds that had been appropriated in a 1989 bond act for bridge improvements and railroad rights-of-way. The state Transportation Department will receive approximately $2.36 million from the act to offset the costs of emergency bridge repairs.
“More than half of New Jersey’s bridges are at least 50 years old, which means we need to anticipate significant repairs,” DePhillips (R-Bergen) said. “New Jersey’s transportation infrastructure is critical to supporting the state and national economy. Bridges that are chronically out of commission because repairs are needed disrupt business and commuters, increasing traffic congestion and travel times.”
A report by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association found 2,563 of New Jersey’s 6,827 bridges are in need of repair and 410 are structurally deficient.
According to the Reason Foundation, New Jersey commuters spend 48 hours per year stuck in traffic. The state’s traffic congestion is the worst in the nation – even higher than New York where drivers are on the road for about 43 hours each year.
“This law taps into what is now dormant funding to complete emergency bridge repairs, ensuring commuters are able to get to their destinations safely and the logistics industry can move goods more efficiently,” DePhillips said.
Funds that are not expended or obligated within two years will be consolidated into a single account and redistributed to each county based on a formula established by the Transportation Department, DePhillips said.
