Murphy Administration announces $30.1 million for new Local Freight Impact Fund grants

New program funds improvements to heavy truck routes on local roads

(Trenton) - The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced the first grants in the new Local Freight Impact Fund program totaling $30.1 million to help municipalities provide for the safe movement of large truck traffic.

“New Jersey roads and bridges carry some of the heaviest amount of commercial truck traffic in the country every day,” NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “The Local Freight Impact Fund is an example of your gas tax dollars at work. The new program provides State funds to municipalities to make critical improvements to truck routes to keep our infrastructure in a state of good repair and keep our regional economy moving in the right direction.”

The Local Freight Impact Fund (LFIF) is a competitive $30.1 million program, which was created as part of Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) reauthorization in October 2016. The program helps New Jersey’s municipalities fund projects that emphasize and enhance the safe movement of large truck traffic, renew aging structures that carry large truck traffic, promote economic development, and support new transportation opportunities.

As part of the first grants of their kind in New Jersey history, 21 projects in 16 municipalities are receiving funding. Click here for a full list project awards.

Under the program, projects that fall into four categories are eligible for funding: bridge preservation, new construction, pavement preservation, and truck safety and mobility. The grants are administered by the NJDOT Division of Local Aid and Economic Development. NJDOT staff evaluate projects using a variety of criteria including: existing conditions, overall traffic volume, percentage of large truck traffic, crash frequency, connectivity to freight nodes, among others.

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