I-95/Penna Turnpike Interchange

[Mr. Matté]

The lack of an interstate number on the NJ Turnpike south of exit 6 is odd, but does not decrease the road's utility. So, that's strictly for NJ to worry about, and they have chosen not to care.

"Secret" N.J. 700 (and N.J. 444 and N.J.446 (ACE)) are remnants of the days when most toll roads in the United States had names only and not route numbers (at least for public use).  But drivers are used to all major highways having route numbers now, and it is time for NJTA, SJTA (and maybe NJDOT) to get with the program.

I would bet good money (on a "What if..." of course) that had NJ not been behind the times with speed limits in the 1980s and wanted to raise the limits to 65 back then, that part of the Turnpike would definitely have an Interstate number on the basis of allowing it to have that speed limit (see also I-495 (ME), I-88 (IL), I-355 (KS)).

[Alps]

The opportunity is available north of 7A, but I also like to stop at one of the Turnpike's service plazas for full-service Diesel fuel, which is the cheapest I have seen on the East Coast, with the possible exception of South Carolina.

By law, the Turnpike (and Parkway) gas prices are set weekly based on the statewide average. So if you think the Turnpike has cheap diesel, you'll by definition find even cheaper diesel by leaving the freeway (unless every station is exactly matching, which is essentially impossible).

[bzakharin]

The opportunity is available north of 7A, but I also like to stop at one of the Turnpike's service plazas for full-service Diesel fuel, which is the cheapest I have seen on the East Coast, with the possible exception of South Carolina.

By law, the Turnpike (and Parkway) gas prices are set weekly based on the statewide average. So if you think the Turnpike has cheap diesel, you'll by definition find even cheaper diesel by leaving the freeway (unless every station is exactly matching, which is essentially impossible).

You have to factor in the extra toll cost of getting off the Turnpike and then back on. Also, diesel is usually self service in NJ. Not Really sure how widely available full service diesel is (and how much it costs), but at gas stations I use, diesel is self serve only. Finally, (and this may not apply to diesel) NJ turnpike only changes their gas prices once a week, so when prices are rising, the service areas often have cheaper gas than most surrounding areas.

[MrDisco99]

Also, diesel is usually self service in NJ. Not Really sure how widely available full service diesel is (and how much it costs), but at gas stations I use, diesel is self serve only.

By state law, all gas stations in NJ are full service only.

[NJRoadfan]

Diesel fueling in not mandatory full serve in NJ, only gasoline. Pretty much every station will extend full service to diesel customers though since the pump is usually next to the gasoline ones.

[cl94]

Self-service gasoline is illegal in New Jersey and Oregon. Starting next year, self-service will be legal in "rural areas" in Oregon, but New Jersey will remain as-is for the near future. Diesel can be self-service.

[bzakharin]

Diesel fueling in not mandatory full serve in NJ, only gasoline. Pretty much every station will extend full service to diesel customers though since the pump is usually next to the gasoline ones.

Like I said, my experience at New Jersey gas stations I frequent is that diesel is self serve. I don't go to service areas for gas much, though, so don't know what it's like there.

[Pete from Boston]

I-95 doesn't enter Trenton. True. Now tell those people in southern Maine, southeast New Hampshire, northeast Massachusetts and Providence that I-95 never enters Boston, although they use it as a control city in many cases.

I-84 ends roughly 55 miles west of Boston. Tell that to people in Connecticut from roughly Exit 45 in Hartford (Flatbush Avenue) to the Massachusetts state line.

Anyways...one still sees Trenton as a southbound control city at the I-95 exit from I-87 (Major Deegan Expressway).

My issue with "Trenton" on the sign is not that the road never enters it, but rather that it is probably not that big a draw for motorists on the Deegan or Cross Bronx.  "Newark" was always the better option, and thankfully, the relevant agencies in New York have come around on this.

[Zeffy]

From what I read, a lot of Trenton area commuters commute to New York for work. Plus, Trenton just refers to the actual metro area surrounding the city, which encapsulates most of Mercer County. The only signs that point into Trenton are Exit 1, 7 and 67 on I-95. Most other signs seem to refer to the Trenton area. Trenton exists as a destination because most if not every exit can lead you into Trenton on I-95.

That's what I think anyway...

[cpzilliacus]

The opportunity is available north of 7A, but I also like to stop at one of the Turnpike's service plazas for full-service Diesel fuel, which is the cheapest I have seen on the East Coast, with the possible exception of South Carolina.

By law, the Turnpike (and Parkway) gas prices are set weekly based on the statewide average. So if you think the Turnpike has cheap diesel, you'll by definition find even cheaper diesel by leaving the freeway (unless every station is exactly matching, which is essentially impossible).

I am not at all certain that I have ever purchased Diesel fuel in New Jersey at any station that was not on the Turnpike.

Back between about 2000 and 2005, the NJTA was providing a subsidy to Sunoco to lower Diesel prices in an effort to lure long(er) haul trucks  onto the Turnpike (but any Diesel-powered vehicle could take advantate of the low price).  I believe that subsidy has gone away, but Diesel prices are still very reasonable at the Sunoco stations on the Pike. 

I filled-up the tank at a no-name gas station on N.Y. 112 in Medford, N.Y. on the Sunday of the Long Island meet, and the per-gallon price was between 20¢ and 30¢ higher than what I observed on the New Jersey Turnpike. Some of that was due to higher motor fuel taxes in New York.

[MASTERNC]

Now you've done it.  You even have Philly's newspaper asking why control cities on I-95 skip Philly to list New York

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20151115_Philly_won_t_be_overlooked__Give_us_a__road__sign.html

[Alps]

Now you've done it.  You even have Philly's newspaper asking why control cities on I-95 skip Philly to list New York

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20151115_Philly_won_t_be_overlooked__Give_us_a__road__sign.html

OK, who's the mole?

[CtrlAltDel]

I filled-up the tank at a no-name gas station on N.Y. 112 in Medford, N.Y. on the Sunday of the Long Island meet, and the per-gallon price was between 20¢ and 30¢ higher than what I observed on the New Jersey Turnpike. Some of that was due to higher motor fuel taxes in New York.

The state gas tax for New Jersey is 14.5¢/gal and for New York it's 46.0¢/gal, so pretty much the entirety of the price difference can be attributed to the difference in taxes.

[Alps]

I filled-up the tank at a no-name gas station on N.Y. 112 in Medford, N.Y. on the Sunday of the Long Island meet, and the per-gallon price was between 20¢ and 30¢ higher than what I observed on the New Jersey Turnpike. Some of that was due to higher motor fuel taxes in New York.

The state gas tax for New Jersey is 14.5¢/gal and for New York it's 46.0¢/gal, so pretty much the entirety of the price difference can be attributed to the difference in taxes.

And yet there are still potholes in NY.

... but a lot lower percentage of failing bridges.

[cpzilliacus]

For a while, it was claimed by the PTC and others that the project would be complete enough to re-route I-95 onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 2017. 

Now it seems that the schedule is sometime in 2018 (seen on the Turnpike's Web site for this project, and also here in this 2014 article on Philly.com by transportation beat writer Paul Nussbaum).

[cpzilliacus]

I filled-up the tank at a no-name gas station on N.Y. 112 in Medford, N.Y. on the Sunday of the Long Island meet, and the per-gallon price was between 20¢ and 30¢ higher than what I observed on the New Jersey Turnpike. Some of that was due to higher motor fuel taxes in New York.

The state gas tax for New Jersey is 14.5¢/gal and for New York it's 46.0¢/gal, so pretty much the entirety of the price difference can be attributed to the difference in taxes.

Makes sense.  I also wonder if some of the higher cost could be due to "zone" pricing, and to higher costs associated with transportation of any hazardous materials into Nassau and Suffolk Counties via New York City.

[Duke87]

There is a tanker terminal in Inwood, NY that supplies a lot of fuel to Long Island, Brooklyn, and Queens. It was unusable for several weeks after Sandy, which is why there were ensuing gas shortages.

But normally fuel is the one product that doesn't need to be transported through NYC to get to Long Island.

[cpzilliacus]

There is a tanker terminal in Inwood, NY that supplies a lot of fuel to Long Island, Brooklyn, and Queens. It was unusable for several weeks after Sandy, which is why there were ensuing gas shortages.

But normally fuel is the one product that doesn't need to be transported through NYC to get to Long Island.

Rode right by there and was not aware of its existence. 

From looking at the site on Google, it appears that product is brought in by barge, perhaps from Elizabeth in North Jersey?

[ARMOURERERIC]

My New Year's wish is that we are given reason by the PTC to spend more time on this thread talking about the actual construction progress as not.

[jeffandnicole]

My New Year's wish is that we are given reason by the PTC to spend more time on this thread talking about the actual construction progress as not.

The NJ Turnpike widened 25 miles of highway, literally building a 2nd highway around the 1st highway, along with associated work, in the same time it's going to take the PTC to build 2 ramps to move people between 2 highways.

[SignBridge]

Jeffandnicole's point is very well taken; I couldn't agree more. But it is worth pointing out what another poster mentioned a while back, that PTC has quite a number of construction projects ongoing, so you can see where their construction efficiency statewide might suffer.

[cpzilliacus]

Jeffandnicole's point is very well taken; I couldn't agree more. But it is worth pointing out what another poster mentioned a while back, that PTC has quite a number of construction projects ongoing, so you can see where their construction efficiency statewide might suffer.

More than its own construction program, PTC is bleeding enormous sums of money ($450 million annually) to projects and subsidies that have nothing to do with the Turnpike.  This started in 2007 with Act 44, the provisions of which (but not the amount of money paid every year) were changed in 2013 by Act 89 (details here).

[jeffandnicole]

When the contracts are approved, they are approved with start and ending dates.  Most likely, the ending date is just really drawn out, giving the contractor a LOT of time to work on the project.  Many contracts are set up so the authority pays the contractor a % of the money due as the project hits certain milestones.  As the project is worked on at a slower pace, the % completed takes longer to hit, so the PTC can defer payments.

When people complain how long it's taking to complete a project and that it's just the unions collecting a lot more money, that's not really the case.  If the winning bid was $10 million, the contractor involved is going to get $10 million, regardless if the project is done in a day or a decade (excluding incentives and penalties).

[vdeane]

It seems like the PTC has overextended itself.  Granted, that's not hard to do when you're hobbled with extremely large payments for something that isn't even slightly related to the Turnpike.

Perhaps they could try a few things to get out of them:
-Simply not make the payments any more and dare the state to try to do something about it
-Halt all construction until the payments are repealed (after all, they can't afford both)
-Jack up tolls to levels so high that only Warren Buffet can afford to even go one interchange down the road, ESPECIALLY in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

[jeffandnicole]

It seems like the PTC has overextended itself.  Granted, that's not hard to do when you're hobbled with extremely large payments for something that isn't even slightly related to the Turnpike.

Perhaps they could try a few things to get out of them:
-Simply not make the payments any more and dare the state to try to do something about it
-Halt all construction until the payments are repealed (after all, they can't afford both)
-Jack up tolls to levels so high that only Warren Buffet can afford to even go one interchange down the road, ESPECIALLY in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The Governor would simply dismiss the commissioners and staff responsible and replace them with people that will follow his...and the laws'...orders.