Home » (UPDATED) State Funding of Transportation Projects on Hold

(UPDATED) State Funding of Transportation Projects on Hold

by Angela Jacobs

The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) provides millions in grants to counties and municipalities for projects such as road resurfacing, bridge repairs, sidewalk improvements, airport runway repairs, and maintenance of the NJ Transit system.

If you’ve wondered why construction projects on your way into work or in your neighborhood haven’t been completed, or even started, the reason is that a shutdown was ordered on June 30th, per Executive Order 210.

Dublin Road open

Dublin Road open

UPDATE: Lawrence Township: 

  • Repaving Fackler Rd. and portions of Cold Soil Rd. are on hold due to the TTF suspension.

 UPDATE: Hopewell Township: 

  • Construction on Wargo Rd. will be completed in approximately one month.
  • The Dublin Rd. bridge has been fixed and the road is now open for thru traffic.
  • Construction of the Route 31 bridge, over the CSX railroad, is ongoing.  

The TTF is nearly depleted with no additional funding sources in sight. The remaining funds are being rationed, per the order, and used on projects deemed essential “for the protection of the health, safety and welfare” of New Jersey residents. Federally funded projects will continue unaffected.

The following links show “non-essential” TTF projects that have been stopped until further notice:

Click here for the full list of bridge and road construction projects.

Click here for the full list of transit projects.

The State Assembly proposed a bill that would have provided a financial stream for the beleaguered fund while the Senate opted not to vote on any TTF bill. The Assembly bill provided for an increase in the current gas tax by 23-cents while decreasing the sales tax by 1%.

For projects that had begun but were then shut down, additional costs could be incurred by counties and municipalities. This month, Hudson and Union counties filed “notices of claim” to the state, warning that lawsuits may follow.

When Hopewell Township Administrator, Paul Pogorzelski, was asked whether the taxpayer would be incurring any costs due to the shutdown he said, ”None — at this point — the only projects affected are in design-only and the grant funding does not pay for design.”

About Us

MercerMe is the only hyperlocal, independent, online news outlet serving Hopewell Valley in Mercer County, New Jersey.

Contact us: [email protected]

Search Our Archives