Bill Text: NJ SR27 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges United States Congress to dedicate additional federal funds for highway maintenance and infrastructure improvements in New Jersey.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [SR27 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-SR27-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES W. HOLZAPFEL
District 10 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Urges United States Congress to dedicate additional federal funds for highway maintenance and infrastructure improvements in New Jersey.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
A Senate Resolution respectfully urging the United States Congress to dedicate additional federal funds for highway maintenance and infrastructure improvements in New Jersey.
Whereas, The New Jersey Department of Transportation estimates that motorists travel more than 180 million miles per day on the approximately 39,000 miles of public roadways in the State; and
Whereas, According to a report released in 2016 by TRIP, a national non-profit transportation research group, 37 percent of New Jersey's roads were in poor condition, 41 percent of New Jersey's roads were in mediocre or fair condition, and 35 percent of New Jersey's bridges exhibited significant deterioration or did not meet design standards at the time, of which nine percent were structurally deficient and 26 percent were functionally obsolete; and
Whereas, TRIP estimated that in 2016 roads in poor condition cost motorists in the State approximately $3.9 billion per year in vehicle repairs and operating costs and $6.2 billion a year in congestion-related delay costs; and
Whereas, TRIP estimated that roadway conditions were a significant factor in one-third of the approximately 600 annual traffic-related deaths in the State; and
Whereas, In the Annual Highway Report issued by the Reason Foundation, New Jersey's highway system ranked 30th in percent of bridges in structurally deficient condition, 50th in urbanized area congestion, and 47th in urban interstate pavement condition; and
Whereas, According to the Reason Foundation's Annual Highway Report, New Jersey has spent more on the maintenance of roads and bridges per mile of state-controlled road than any other state, and although New Jersey invests more per mile of highway than any other state, its roads and bridges continue to rank among the worst in the country making additional federal investment in the State's roads and bridges crucial to the safety and convenience of those who use them; and
Whereas, New Jersey is a key corridor state located between two major metropolitan areas, and the benefits derived from a well-maintained transportation infrastructure not only support commerce and economic activity between those metropolitan areas but also provide significant benefits to the region and the nation as a whole making it imperative that adequate funding be provided by the federal government to support the State's transportation infrastructure; and
Whereas, New Jersey's location in relation to the Port of New York and New Jersey, which handles over 3.3 million containers per year and provides much needed goods and inventory to businesses throughout the region and the nation, demonstrates a critical need for adequate transportation infrastructure; and
Whereas, In addition to benefiting New Jersey residents, additional federal investment in the State's roads and bridges will make it safer and more reliable to transport goods through the State, extending the impact of such investment to the entire country; and
Whereas, It has been documented that for every dollar New Jersey sends in taxes to the federal government, the State receives a fraction in highway dollars in return; and
Whereas, This disparity needs to be diminished and adequate funding provided to New Jersey to support the maintenance of the State's highways and improvements to the State's transportation infrastructure; and
Whereas, In a struggling economy, investing in improvements to the transportation infrastructure creates much needed jobs in the construction and engineering industries and in every industry that relies on both intrastate and interstate commerce; and
Whereas, It is altogether fitting and proper and in the best interests of the citizens of this State and the nation for this House to respectfully urge the United States Congress to invest additional dollars in maintaining highways and improving the transportation infrastructure in this State; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House respectfully urges the United States Congress to invest additional federal dollars in maintaining the highways and improving the transportation infrastructure in this State.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives, and every member of Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This resolution respectfully urges the United States Congress to invest additional federal dollars in maintaining the highways and improving the transportation infrastructure in this State.
