N.J. Democrats say drivers shouldn't have to pay $1.25B in tolls for 'something else'
A New Jersey Turnpike toll plaza. New Jersey plans to take bids in December for private operators to take over highway-toll collectionTRENTON — Every time drivers pass through a New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway toll, they’ve been paying extra for a Hudson River rail tunnel that will no longer be built. Gov. Chris Christie canceled the tunnel project in October, citing cost overruns that could leave state taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars.
Now Democrats say drivers shouldn’t have to pay $1.25 billion in tolls that were supposed to fund the tunnel, called the Access to the Region’s Core. They introduced a bill today to cut the tolls, a direct shot at Christie’s plans to use the toll money to shore up funding for transportation projects.
"I have a problem with money being earmarked for something and that money being used for something else," said Sen. Nicholas Sacco (D-Hudson), who is sponsoring the bill. "I see no reason why that toll increase should stay in place."
The Corzine administration approved a plan increasing the cost of the average Turnpike trip by 50 cents in 2008 and by 90 cents in 2012, to a total of $2.60. After the tunnel's cancellation, the toll money became a significant piece of Christie’s $8 billion, five-year plan to patch the Transportation Trust Fund, which he announced last week.
Democrats did not offer an alternative way to support the fund, but criticized the governor’s plan. Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said it’s wrong to redirect toll increases that were approved for a specific purpose.
"People said the tolls were being raised for one reason and one reason alone: the tunnel," he said. "We don’t have a tunnel now. Why should people be paying more money in tolls when we don’t have a tunnel that was promised?"
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the bill is another way to complain about the tunnel’s cancellation.
"What is disingenuous is the failure of the sponsors and supporters of this legislation to recognize the extraordinarily difficult fiscal times we live in and the need to use very limited resources to best benefit the transportation system as a whole," he said. "Once again, the wild-eyed spenders are complaining and offering nothing positive or realistic."
Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), sponsor of the bill, rejected Republican criticism, saying Christie’s plan is already "Swiss cheese." He said it’s wrong for Christie to rely on $1.8 billion from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey because the money is shared by both states.
"What he’s saying is, I want to give Gov. (Andrew) Cuomo veto power over our transportation funding," Wisniewski said. "What magic formula do they have to command the governor of New York to give us a set sum of money over the next five years?"
The Democrats’ bill has an uphill climb. Even if it passes both the Senate and the Assembly, Christie can veto it. It’s unclear if Democrats could muster two-thirds of each house to overturn a veto, which would require finding Republican support.