Transportation Capital Program
Fiscal Year 2007

Introduction

• Significantly increases spending for projects and programs which promote the safety of motorists and pedestrians (“Safety First”)



• Significantly increases investments in bridge and roadway preservation



• Promotes Smart Growth through targeted investments, including developing new ways of fighting congestion through new initiatives


• Continues to accelerate the project delivery process through the Hyper-Build initiative



• Implements the Trust Fund reform provisions of the Governor’s plan by removing “operating” type programs from the Trust Fund program.

Program Highlights

• The program provides funding for state and local bridge needs of approximately $525 million, an increase of about $150 million over last year. Bridge investments range from funding for high-cost bridges to implementation of a variety of rehabilitation programs, including safety upgrades for our movable bridges.



• The program also provides significantly increased funding for highway pavement resurfacing and rehabilitation work, focusing especially on fixing deteriorated sections of our interstate highway network.



• Funding for safety programs is also increased. Key programs funded under NJDOT’s Safety First initiative include the Median Cross-over Crash Prevention program, Safe Corridors (implementing improvements identified by Safety Impact Teams in high-hazard corridors), the Safe Streets to Schools program, and the new Route 29 safety initiative in Mercer County.



• The program funds a balanced attack on highway congestion, with increased investment in highway operational improvements, which focus on relieving high-congestion bottlenecks. The Emergency Service Patrol program is expanded and a new program is funded to improve the functioning of traffic signals. Funding for highway capacity increase projects (major widenings and construction of new highways) is limited to less than 3% of the total program in order to provide funding for lower-cost congestion relief projects and Fix-it-First projects.



• Regarding state of good repair and reliability, the program budget allots $467 million to address many of NJ TRANSIT’s state of good repair needs.
  
  
  • The program provides ongoing funding for track replacement, bridge and tunnel inspections and improvements, security improvements, signal system upgrades, overhead power line and electric substation upgrades and other rail station and bus terminal improvements throughout New Jersey.
  
  
  
  • The program addresses critical rail rolling stock overhauls and acquisitions. The program includes engineering funds to replace 230 Arrow III self-propelled 1970’s vintage rail cars. These cars operate primarily on the Northeast Corridor. NJ TRANSIT will also improve the reliability of rail service by initiating engineering for rehabilitating 148 Comet III and IV rail cars and replacing 42 over-aged diesel locomotives.
  
  
  
  • The program also begins to provide funding levels to support the replacement of 1200 transit-style buses in NJ TRANSIT’s fleet over the next seven years. These buses run primarily on intercity routes. (NJ TRANSIT cruiser and articulated buses were recently replaced.)
  
  
  
  • This program also invests in long overdue major bridge rehabilitation projects including the rehabilitation of the 100+ year old Newark Drawbridge, replacement of the timber approaches of the Coast Line’s Shark River Drawbridge, replacement of bridges along the Raritan Valley Line and initiating preliminary engineering to replace the Northeast Corridor Portal Bridge.


• The program provides funding for rail station improvements at MetroPark Station, Edison Station, Newark Penn Station, PSNY 31st Street, South Amboy Station, Little Falls Station, Waldwick Station, Watchung Avenue Station, Whitehouse Station and Wood-Ridge Station. Improvements will also be continued with the completion of construction of the Trenton Station rehabilitation, Newark Broad Street Station rehabilitation, Red Bank Historic restoration and high-level platforms, reconstruction of high-level platforms at Woodbridge Station, M&E Station Improvements and Viaduct rehabilitation and Madison Station historic restoration and accessibility improvements.



• The Fiscal Year 2007 Capital Program attacks congestion through providing for park-and-ride projects. In the past year, NJ TRANSIT has opened over 700 new spaces on Hudson Bergen Light Rail Line, 285 spaces at Allwood Road, 228 spaces at Clifton Station, 230 spaces at Plauderville Station and 300 spaces at Rahway Station. The Fiscal Year 2007 Capital Program continues to design and construction another 1,100 new spaces at Route 23, Wayne Park and Ride; 700 spaces at Edison Station; 600 spaces at South Amboy Parking Deck; 1900 spaces at the Hamilton Station parking deck and 50 spaces at Mount Arlington Station.



• NJ TRANSIT will also be moving forward on other critical initiatives to meet forecasted market growth and travel demand over the next decade in New Jersey and the surrounding region, including a new trans-Hudson tunnel, the Meadowlands rail link and other planned investments to expand core capacity of the railroad to allow for more frequent service. The program provides enough funding to advance preliminary engineering and property acquisition for THE Tunnel project and funds the early action platform extension at New York Penn Station. The program also provides funding for modest expansion of the system targeting funding to critical projects using an incremental approach.

Financing our transportation needs