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The Commissioner's Report
(archived)
Update on NJDOT's Accomplishments
Autumn is a season of transition at NJDOT, a time to complete paving and other construction projects before the weather turns our attention to
snow plows and salt.
It also provides the opportunity to reflect on what NJDOT has accomplished this year. As you may recall, it was this time last year that
Governor Corzine urged us and other state agencies to accelerate projects and create jobs more quickly whenever possible.
The list of projects started, underway, or finished this year is very impressive. In fact, in FY 2009 (July 2008 – June 2009) NJDOT
awarded more than a billion dollars in construction awards, the highest total ever.
At a time when our ability to create jobs with worthy investments in roads and bridges was sorely needed to help boost the economy, NJDOT
stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park.
Our $3.6 billion capital program with NJ Transit is one of the most aggressive in the nation. We have been able to spend public dollars quickly
and wisely in the last two years because we have worked hard at streamlining our design-to-procurement process.
As a result, we’ve sliced an average of three months off the time it takes us to get a project to the construction phase. And we’ve done this
without sacrificing quality or oversight.
The value of our project list for FY 2009 and FY 2010 approaches $2 billion, supporting 116 projects in FY 09 and about 120 projects
this year.
All told, $652 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding is supporting transportation projects at the state and local
levels, including 40 here at the DOT worth $469 million. Almost all of DOT ARRA projects are now underway.
A few simple statistics provide perspective on just how busy we have been. We’ve performed major pavement work on 27 percent of the state’s
highways in the past four years, and invested more in resurfacing in the past two years than the previous five years combined.
And our investments in bridge repair and replacement have increased by 50 percent since 2006, to $600 million annually now.
Earlier this year, the Governor and Legislature ensured counties and towns will have additional funds for critical local projects. Local
transportation aid, which helps control local property taxes, was increased by $25 million for FY 10, to nearly $104 million for towns and $104
million for counties.
NJDOT is proud to be part of a larger transportation team that is helping to put New Jersey residents to work. We’re building and rebuilding a
transportation system for the future that will promote economic strength, ease congestion and improve roadway safety.
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