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Corzine caves on tolling NJ440 - says "not central"
Posted on Fri, 2008-02-15 00:47
After two key supporters in the legislature said they wouldn't support a monetization bill with tolling the presently free NJ440, Gov Jon Corzine has caved on the proposal. At a meeting Feb 10 in Middlesex County after hearing criticism the governor said: "Since it's not central to the plan, I don't think we'll be moving forward on that..."
Immediate toll revenue yield from NJ440 would have been about $20m/yr. By 2022 NJ440 was due to generate $54m/yr in toll revenues under the Corzine scenario of toll rate increases.
State senator Raymond Lesniak (Dem, Union) and assembly transport chair John Wisniewski (Dem, Middlesex) had both declared inclusion of the NJ440 tolling proposal would make the overall state
tollroads monetization a "non-starter" in the general assembly.
Weaves through spaghetti of many interchanges
NJ440 is a connector expressway in the Woodbridge/Metuchen/Edison/Perth-Amboy area of northern NJ, near the mouth of the Raritan River. It is an expressway that picks up the eastern end of I-287 at the Exit 10 interchange with the New Jersey Turnpike (MP0).
Here it is part of a mindboggling number of intersecting highways with some of the densest collection of interchanges anywhere. Within 3km (1.8mi) of its western end it has ramps to local streets, then to the Garden State Parkway (IC 127) and US9. In this section it is 7 lanes (4WB, 3EB). It is 3+3 lanes as it swerves north and east again around Perth-Amboy for another interchange with State St (MP4), then heads as 2+2 lanes to the Outerbridge Crossing bridge over the Arthur Kill channel into Staten Island NY.
Tolling was proposed from the Turnpike IC to State Street - 6.4km (4mi). From that point east motorists are commted to the PANYNJ's Outerbridge Crossing tolled into New York City.
Nooyorkers main users
The majority of users of the NJ440 are traveling between southern New Jersey and New York City - Staten Island itself or Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Long Island via the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
It was chosen for tolling based on longdistance travel characteristic and the fact that many New Yorkers use it. It was first proposed for tolling in Dec 2006 report by Michael Baker company.
Cashless all electronic tolling was proposed.
Steer Davies Gleave assumed base tolls of 7.5c/km (12c/mile) and 28c/km for trucks (45c/mile) over the 6.4km (4 miles) between the NJTP and State Street. Traffic is about 85k/day (8% trucks).
Forecasts
SDG's forecasts were for toll revenues on NJ440 of $20m in 2010 with no increase in toll rates.
However with the first installment of the Corzine plan of four 50 percenter cap toll increases at 4 yearly intervals and inflation indexation the revenue stream (at 2006 prices) went:
2010 $25m
2014 $33m
2018 $46m
2022 $54m
Traffic was expected to drop 36% by 2022 under this scenario and take until about 2070 to recover to 2008 levels - most of the loss being of trucks dropping 75% in volume.
Corzine has also softened his overall proposal during the meetings around the state by promising a 25% frequent user discount.
COMMENT: Just looking at that 75% number - the drop in truck volumes - even a supporter of Corzine's objectives has to think this was way too radical a toll increase plan to be adopted without further serious study of the consequences.
75% fewer truck trips triggers the question: where did they go? To Smith Street (656), New Brunswick Av (616) and State Street (611) in Perth-Amboy? To US9 and US1&9? To rail? To Texas? Or what?
TOLLROADSnews 2008-02-14
After two key supporters in the legislature said they wouldn't support a monetization bill with tolling the presently free NJ440, Gov Jon Corzine has caved on the proposal. At a meeting Feb 10 in Middlesex County after hearing criticism the governor said: "Since it's not central to the plan, I don't think we'll be moving forward on that..."Immediate toll revenue yield from NJ440 would have been about $20m/yr. By 2022 NJ440 was due to generate $54m/yr in toll revenues under the Corzine scenario of toll rate increases.
State senator Raymond Lesniak (Dem, Union) and assembly transport chair John Wisniewski (Dem, Middlesex) had both declared inclusion of the NJ440 tolling proposal would make the overall state
tollroads monetization a "non-starter" in the general assembly.Weaves through spaghetti of many interchanges
NJ440 is a connector expressway in the Woodbridge/Metuchen/Edison/Perth-Amboy area of northern NJ, near the mouth of the Raritan River. It is an expressway that picks up the eastern end of I-287 at the Exit 10 interchange with the New Jersey Turnpike (MP0).
Here it is part of a mindboggling number of intersecting highways with some of the densest collection of interchanges anywhere. Within 3km (1.8mi) of its western end it has ramps to local streets, then to the Garden State Parkway (IC 127) and US9. In this section it is 7 lanes (4WB, 3EB). It is 3+3 lanes as it swerves north and east again around Perth-Amboy for another interchange with State St (MP4), then heads as 2+2 lanes to the Outerbridge Crossing bridge over the Arthur Kill channel into Staten Island NY.
Tolling was proposed from the Turnpike IC to State Street - 6.4km (4mi). From that point east motorists are commted to the PANYNJ's Outerbridge Crossing tolled into New York City.
Nooyorkers main users
The majority of users of the NJ440 are traveling between southern New Jersey and New York City - Staten Island itself or Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Long Island via the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
It was chosen for tolling based on longdistance travel characteristic and the fact that many New Yorkers use it. It was first proposed for tolling in Dec 2006 report by Michael Baker company.
Cashless all electronic tolling was proposed.
Steer Davies Gleave assumed base tolls of 7.5c/km (12c/mile) and 28c/km for trucks (45c/mile) over the 6.4km (4 miles) between the NJTP and State Street. Traffic is about 85k/day (8% trucks).
Forecasts
SDG's forecasts were for toll revenues on NJ440 of $20m in 2010 with no increase in toll rates.
However with the first installment of the Corzine plan of four 50 percenter cap toll increases at 4 yearly intervals and inflation indexation the revenue stream (at 2006 prices) went:2010 $25m
2014 $33m
2018 $46m
2022 $54m
Traffic was expected to drop 36% by 2022 under this scenario and take until about 2070 to recover to 2008 levels - most of the loss being of trucks dropping 75% in volume.
Corzine has also softened his overall proposal during the meetings around the state by promising a 25% frequent user discount.
COMMENT: Just looking at that 75% number - the drop in truck volumes - even a supporter of Corzine's objectives has to think this was way too radical a toll increase plan to be adopted without further serious study of the consequences.
75% fewer truck trips triggers the question: where did they go? To Smith Street (656), New Brunswick Av (616) and State Street (611) in Perth-Amboy? To US9 and US1&9? To rail? To Texas? Or what?
TOLLROADSnews 2008-02-14
