Murphy Signs Off On Toll Hike and Destructive Hwy Widening Plan

Governor Murphy has officially approved the NJ Turnpike and Garden State expansion plan and the Atlantic City Expressway expansion in the Pinelands. He signed the meeting minutes on May 27 and sent confirmation letters to the NJ Turnpike Authority and South Jersey Transportation Authority. Earlier that day, the boards of both agencies held public hearings and approved the toll increases.

“Governor Murphy just hit us in the wallets and lungs by signing off on these toll hikes and destructive widening plans. People in NJ will be paying more money to be stuck in traffic longer. These plans will pave over environmentally sensitive areas while bulldozing Environmental Justice Communities. This goes against everything Murphy has said on reducing greenhouse gases, protecting EJ communities, and protecting our clean air. The NJ Turnpike Authority and SJ Transportation Authority rushed through these major highway widenings without appropriate public input even though they will negatively impact NJ for decades to come,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “These major sprawl projects will cut through neighborhoods, increase greenhouse gases, and impact public health.”

The NJ State Legislature is considering A4175 (Pintor Marin). The bill, also known as the “New Jersey COVID-19 Emergency Bond Act”, authorizes the issuance of State bonds totaling $5 billion and authorizes borrowing from the federal government. Meanwhile, NJ Transit has just released a $16.985 billion capital and strategic plan, but only $11.2 billion is funded so far.

“This is a time of financial uncertainty. NJ Transit has no money, and the state is facing a massive budget shortfall that could be up to $10 billion. The legislature is considering a $5 billion emergency bond act. Meanwhile, we’re spending over $16 billion on highway widenings that will hurt the environment and cost us more later. New Jersey would be better off closing the budget gap and helping NJ Transit with the money slated for these widening projects,” said Jeff Tittel. “Spending this money on highway widenings will create more flooding and more headaches for commuters. It will also mean more traffic going through Environmental Justice communities like East Orange and Jersey City. We would be better off using it to help NJ deal with its financial emergency.”

Governor Murphy has disagreed with the idea that the projects are inconsistent with his green energy policies. He has stated, “I’d say two things on the environment,” “No. 1, there’s a whole lot of idling that goes on of cars and, over time, once this plan is executed, that will go down dramatically. There are untold emissions that are coming out as a result of that idling and congestion … And secondly, the Turnpike Authority — and this is not by accident — (is) going to put a lot of electric vehicle charging infrastructure into their rest areas.”

“Governor Murphy’s response that widening highways will reduce idling is false thinking. When you widen roads, you increase traffic and just move the bottleneck from one place to another. It’s like creating wider parking lots with even more idling. These projects will add almost 1 million more cars on our roads and add over 100 million tons of GHG’s per year,” said Tittel. “We are driving ourselves back to the 1950s if we think adding a million more cars on our roads during rush hour is okay. It will undo and offset any benefits from EV improvements in our state. There is only a small number of electric vehicles on our road and putting more charging stations along our highways will not offset the millions of tons of pollution created from these widening projects.”

A more responsible way for these agencies to reduce traffic and protect our air quality would be to look at expanding mass transit. It is a better option that will promote a greener future that is more walkable and breathable.

“Instead of spending billions of dollars for widening, we should invest it in mass transit. Investing in mass transit will reduce traffic, air pollution, and create more jobs for our economy. Instead of widening the NJ Turnpike in the Meadowlands, we can expand the Bergen Light Rail into Bergen County. Instead of widening the Garden State Parkway, we can finally build the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex line. Instead of widening the NJ Turnpike in South Jersey, we can build the South Jersey Light Rail System,” said Jeff Tittel. “NJ Transit recently came out with a capital plan that they don’t have the money for. The money from these highway widenings would be better spent helping NJ Transit implement their capital plan.”

The Governor has said that New Jersey is a corridor state. He said, “To be able to maximize that hand and at the same time do it in a responsible way — and I believe it is in a responsible way —that gives us a huge asset that we have heretofore not had for far too long.”

“The Governor doesn’t get it. If you build it, they will come. Since New Jersey is a corridor state, widening these highways will mean even more cars, bottlenecks, and pollution. These are the wrong projects at the wrong place at the wrong time. These agencies pushed through this plan during a pandemic without public scrutiny. Hundreds of people testified against the plan but fell on deaf ears. Governor Murphy needs to understand that these highway widenings will determine our land use and greenhouse gas use in the state for decades to come,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.