ACCOUNTING PROBLEMS:NJ Turnpike Accounts Questioned by Auditor

The opening letter of the Auditor says that the Turnpike’s interpretation of these two matters makes the overall accounts out of conformity with GAAP. It also draws attention to part of the accounts which are “marked unaudited,” which we couldn’t find in the report. At least one bond rating agency has been crtical of the NJTA for the way it has used reserve funds for purposes other than intended, and for its failure to raise toll rates in line with a financial plan presented before the last major bond sale. It has been downrated for this loose financial practice and may have to pay more for borrowed funds in future.

The annual report says E-ZPass will be available for patrons May 2000. It says the off-peak discount for trucks has attracted an additional million trucks per year since it was introduced That’s about 2,800 truck trips per day out of about 44k heavy trucks carried each day. The discount varies between 7.5% and 15%.

Major work under way is reconstruction of the toll plaza on Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension, the stub connector to the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276). This will provide for new connections to US-130, a major arterial paralleling the mainline of the Turnpike. The new IC has the classic ticket toll road double trumpet IC with the toll plaza between the mouthpieces.

IC-13A at the southern end of Newark airport and providing important connections to the port of Elizabeth is being enlarged. Entry toll lanes where patrons grab their magstripe ticket from a dispenser are being increased from 5 to 9 and payment/exit lanes from 10 to 12.

57 of the NJTA’s 495 bridges were worked on during the year.

IC-1 at the far southern end of the turnpike will have a new toll plaza at a cost of $45m. It will be a split plaza with utility buildings in the middle and an overhead walkway served by elevators for staff to move between toll booths and the utility building. It will have 23 toll lanes vs 15 at the present IC-1. The turnpike is obviously investing heavily in continued cash toll collection, as this must be one of the most expensive toll plazas built anywhere in the US in recent years.

Noo Joisie Barrier

The famous Jersey barrier named after this turnpike is being renewed in the median, 1067mm (42") high.

The NJTA reports progress on permitting for the Secaucus IC, an elaborate system of loops and ramps that will provide a stub eastward off the Eastern Spur, midway between ICs 15E and 16E. The new IC and the ramps will support port, rail and road yards and a major new commercial development in the Meadowlands.

The NJTA also continues to try to get federal permits for the 10km NJ-92 spur westward from IC-8A to US-1 north of Princeton. The USEPA has been hostile to the proposal. It is intended to make the Turnpike more accessible for traffic from the Trenton-Princeton area.

The authority also opened a memorial garden to 7 employees who have died on the job since the Turnpike opened. And the traffic operations center was named after William J Flanagan, exec-director 1962-1988, who died last year. The Turnpike is planning 50th anniversary celebrations of its opening Nov 2001. (Contact Ed Gross 732 247 0900,1x5000)