TRENTON — New Jersey's Transportation commissioner says the state and its towns and cities have spent $250 million on snow removal in the past two winters. Commissioner Jim Simpson says the state's tab was $132 million to clear roads and parking lots during consecutive intense winters. Simpson said today that there have been 45 "snow events" since Republican Gov....
TRENTON — New Jersey's Transportation commissioner says the state and its towns and cities have spent $250 million on snow removal in the past two winters.
Commissioner Jim Simpson says the state's tab was $132 million to clear roads and parking lots during consecutive intense winters.
Simpson said today that there have been 45 "snow events" since Republican Gov. Chris Christie took office 14 months ago.
He joked that he's "beginning to think Mother Nature is a Democrat."
Christie was criticized for taking off for Disney World with his family just ahead of a late-December blizzard with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno also vacationing out of state.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney declared a state of emergency as up to 2 feet of snow piled up, stranding hundreds on roadways.
Related coverage:
• N.J. officials say snow removal costs have reached $44.4M
• N.J. officials say blizzards have wiped out snow-removal budgets
• N.J. towns are now dealing with costs of snow storm cleanup
• New Jersey Turnpike Authority plans to spend extra $4M for salt, snow removal
• N.J. DOT says it exhausted entire snow budget before most recent storm