New Jersey

[cpzilliacus]

N.Y. Times: With No Deal on New Jersey Gas Tax, Christie Orders Shutdown of Road Projects

Gov. Chris Christie has ordered the shutdown of most road work in New Jersey after state lawmakers failed to reach a deal this week on transportation funding.

Mr. Christie issued an executive order late Thursday declaring a state of emergency after negotiations to raise the state's famously low gas tax stalled that day. Without new funding, the state's transportation trust fund is nearly out of money to pay for road, bridge and transit projects.

The governor directed the state transportation commissioner and New Jersey Transit's executive director to submit plans for an "immediate and orderly shutdown"  of most state-funded work by Saturday night. Any work that is federally funded or necessary for safety reasons could continue, Mr. Christie said.

Earlier in the week, Mr. Christie, a Republican, reached a deal with the Democrat-led State Assembly to raise the state's gas tax in exchange for lowering the sales tax. But on Thursday, Democratic leaders in the State Senate said they could not support the agreement because it would harm the state budget.

[jeffandnicole]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/traffic/speeding.asp
Funny how many state variations include the infamous "1-xx" highways.

That Snopes posting and commentary is at least 11 years old.

One line that definitely shows its age is (emphasis added):

They have issued 30 brand new unmarked Crown Victoria cruisers

Ford stopped producing its Panther platform (that the Crown Victoria is based on) almost 5 years ago.

Here's one story in 2013 regarding this email.  At that time, the email had been sent for 9 years in a row.  I guess we're up to 12 years now of this same email going around...and amazingly some people still believe it!  http://ramapo.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/new-jersey-state-police-speeding-ticket-frenzy-nope/636121/

This is how a real news story reads regarding some sort of crackdown: www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/03/state_police_set_for_6-day_crackdown_on_nj_turnpike_drivers.html

[roadman65]

This in from a friend of mine on Facebook.  NJ State Police is supposed to be cracking down on speeders on 9 NJ highways including the Parkway real soon with the deployment of 50 24/7 patrol cars all unmarked of course.  I cannot confirm it for sure, so basically this is just a be careful thing. 

My friend has a friend who's dad is retired from the NJ State Police, and he confirmed it to him.  The ad on FB was handwritten by the son of the retired officer and not a link from a website, otherwise I would share it here.  So its just rumor at this point and no need for panic yet.

However, if someone in NJ would research it to see if the info is correct, because if so driving all of New Jersey's interstates would be like driving US 301 in Starke, FL.  For those of you unfamiliar with Starke and some of its neighbors, those towns love making revenue off speeders even if its 5 mph over the posted speed zone. 

Not this shit again...

It's an email/facebook forward that's been going out for several years now.  They simply change the month when it's supposedly going to occur.  Also, the email uses funky language...they would never say they're going to target I-95 North & South, for example...why would they target just one direction?  They would just say I-95. 

Everyone has a friend of a friend who's Mother's Uncle's Sister's Pet Dog is related to someone who could somewhat may have authority somewhere.

Trust me...it's not true.

Thanks on that one.  That is why it did not say it was for sure, as many of my NJ friends think it is.  However we have the US 301 towns if Florida who do this everyday for a living.  Only Waldo ceased to do this for reasons already discussed here, but they would be out 24/7 when they were and so is Starke.

[jeffandnicole]

This in from a friend of mine on Facebook.  NJ State Police is supposed to be cracking down on speeders on 9 NJ highways including the Parkway real soon with the deployment of 50 24/7 patrol cars all unmarked of course.  I cannot confirm it for sure, so basically this is just a be careful thing. 

My friend has a friend who's dad is retired from the NJ State Police, and he confirmed it to him.  The ad on FB was handwritten by the son of the retired officer and not a link from a website, otherwise I would share it here.  So its just rumor at this point and no need for panic yet.

However, if someone in NJ would research it to see if the info is correct, because if so driving all of New Jersey's interstates would be like driving US 301 in Starke, FL.  For those of you unfamiliar with Starke and some of its neighbors, those towns love making revenue off speeders even if its 5 mph over the posted speed zone. 

Not this shit again...

It's an email/facebook forward that's been going out for several years now.  They simply change the month when it's supposedly going to occur.  Also, the email uses funky language...they would never say they're going to target I-95 North & South, for example...why would they target just one direction?  They would just say I-95. 

Everyone has a friend of a friend who's Mother's Uncle's Sister's Pet Dog is related to someone who could somewhat may have authority somewhere.

Trust me...it's not true.

Thanks on that one.  That is why it did not say it was for sure, as many of my NJ friends think it is.  However we have the US 301 towns if Florida who do this everyday for a living.  Only Waldo ceased to do this for reasons already discussed here, but they would be out 24/7 when they were and so is Starke.

What's amazing is how many people see this post year-to-year and never remember it, and take it for fact.  Tells a lot about people's short-term memory.  No wonder how politicans can get re-elected year after year.  And when someone doesn't like something, unless the media keeps an issue alive, most people will forget about it within a few days, or at minimum screw up the facts.

Surprisingly, I know 301 pretty well down there in Florida, as we've taken yearly trips to The Villages over the past 5 years or so.  I can only recall one time seeing a cop in hiding around Starke,  But I have seen the billboard a few times...and yep, I will drive at or below the speed limit in that area!  Generally if the limit is 60 or 65 I figure there's some leeway there, but once the speed limit drops in the towns, best just to do that limit.

[roadman65]

My friend is believing it as Christie just declared the state broke.  He claims that there is a new gas tax being implemented and that some much needed road projects have been put on the back burner for now.

Of course the tone here is that NJ has been broke for a long time in discussions.  It was when I lived there many decades ago, hence Jim Florio raising taxes in 1989 exactly about this time in the year because the previous leaders spent us out from what little we had before.  Look at how long  it took the US 1 & 9 Elizabeth River Viaduct to be replaced as it was needed way back in the Keene Administration, because the money was just not available.

I do not know how tough US 301 cops are, but Flaroads did not take a chance when we came back from Jax on a mini road meet with his right headlight out, but for years it was the talk of the town when I moved to Orlando, and in other talk throughout the years.  I always obeyed when I drove it and actually saw Waldo's finest sitting in a school zone while the light was flashing.  In Florida our school zones are not 25 mph like in the Garden State and can range from 5 to 20 mph so its tougher to follow. So that one cop could have gotten me for even one over, but I stayed within as I had a feeling that he would be there.

[jwolfer]

This in from a friend of mine on Facebook.  NJ State Police is supposed to be cracking down on speeders on 9 NJ highways including the Parkway real soon with the deployment of 50 24/7 patrol cars all unmarked of course.  I cannot confirm it for sure, so basically this is just a be careful thing. 

My friend has a friend who's dad is retired from the NJ State Police, and he confirmed it to him.  The ad on FB was handwritten by the son of the retired officer and not a link from a website, otherwise I would share it here.  So its just rumor at this point and no need for panic yet.

However, if someone in NJ would research it to see if the info is correct, because if so driving all of New Jersey's interstates would be like driving US 301 in Starke, FL.  For those of you unfamiliar with Starke and some of its neighbors, those towns love making revenue off speeders even if its 5 mph over the posted speed zone. 

Not this shit again...

It's an email/facebook forward that's been going out for several years now.  They simply change the month when it's supposedly going to occur.  Also, the email uses funky language...they would never say they're going to target I-95 North & South, for example...why would they target just one direction?  They would just say I-95. 

Everyone has a friend of a friend who's Mother's Uncle's Sister's Pet Dog is related to someone who could somewhat may have authority somewhere.

Trust me...it's not true.

Thanks on that one.  That is why it did not say it was for sure, as many of my NJ friends think it is.  However we have the US 301 towns if Florida who do this everyday for a living.  Only Waldo ceased to do this for reasons already discussed here, but they would be out 24/7 when they were and so is Starke.

What's amazing is how many people see this post year-to-year and never remember it, and take it for fact.  Tells a lot about people's short-term memory.  No wonder how politicans can get re-elected year after year.  And when someone doesn't like something, unless the media keeps an issue alive, most people will forget about it within a few days, or at minimum screw up the facts.

Surprisingly, I know 301 pretty well down there in Florida, as we've taken yearly trips to The Villages over the past 5 years or so.  I can only recall one time seeing a cop in hiding around Starke,  But I have seen the billboard a few times...and yep, I will drive at or below the speed limit in that area!  Generally if the limit is 60 or 65 I figure there's some leeway there, but once the speed limit drops in the towns, best just to do that limit.

I live about 20 minutes from Starke and rarely see Starke police out on 301, the speed limit of 30 and heavy truck traffic can make it very slow going on have travel weekend or Gator games. So going the speed limit is easy

They are supposed to start on a 301 freeway bypass of Starke next year

Starke is no worse than the myriad of boroughs in New Jersey. At least 301 is 4 lanes and outside town there is a 65 mph speed limit

[roadman65]

Yeah well for the longest time it was talk of the town and even AAA wrote about it in travel literature. 

Then again I-4 used to have a well established 24/7 speed trap at MM 71.  It was well known in the late 80s and early 90s, but vanished. That was just after the speed limit dropped from 65 to 55 just west of Exit 71, that everyone ignored completely.  The cops would be there catching eastbound cars who would continue their 65 and up pattern well into the 55 zone. 

I can imagine Starke and Lawtley could just be scaring people just like FDOT and their $100 toll violation signs for running tolls which is totally untrue.  Unless a rental car company charges near that the sign is false. FDOT allows  you ten days to pay the toll at regular rate, and even if you don't the unpaid toll fee is only 3 bucks.

[jwolfer]

Yeah well for the longest time it was talk of the town and even AAA wrote about it in travel literature. 

Then again I-4 used to have a well established 24/7 speed trap at MM 71.  It was well known in the late 80s and early 90s, but vanished. That was just after the speed limit dropped from 65 to 55 just west of Exit 71, that everyone ignored completely.  The cops would be there catching eastbound cars who would continue their 65 and up pattern well into the 55 zone. 

I can imagine Starke and Lawtley could just be scaring people just like FDOT and their $100 toll violation signs for running tolls which is totally untrue.  Unless a rental car company charges near that the sign is false. FDOT allows  you ten days to pay the toll at regular rate, and even if you don't the unpaid toll fee is only 3 bucks.

Of the 3 speed trap towns on 301,  Lawtey and Waldo were always  worse than  Starke.. i guess cuz they are smaller shit hole towns... Starke is the county seat for whatever that is worth

[jeffandnicole]

New Jersey's Governor announced $3.5 Billion in projects that will be shut down this Friday due to the Transportation Trust Fund's lack of funding.

The complete list of projects is here: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/07/roads_closed_list.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

(Note...my original post was edited. The paper's ability to display the full list is very clunky.)

[Alps]

New Jersey's Governor announced $3.5 Billion in projects that will be shut down this Friday due to the Transportation Trust Fund's lack of funding.

The complete list of projects is here: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/07/roads_closed_list.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

(Note...my original post was edited. The paper's ability to display the full list is very clunky.)

I find that it helps to highlight the list and hit the down arrow while holding shift. Otherwise it doesn't scroll.

Hard to figure out which, if any, of my design projects are in this list. I guess I'll find out shortly. Hope for me!

[Mr. Matté]

New Jersey's Governor announced $3.5 Billion in projects that will be shut down this Friday due to the Transportation Trust Fund's lack of funding.

The complete list of projects is here: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/07/roads_closed_list.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

(Note...my original post was edited. The paper's ability to display the full list is very clunky.)

I find that it helps to highlight the list and hit the down arrow while holding shift. Otherwise it doesn't scroll.

Hard to figure out which, if any, of my design projects are in this list. I guess I'll find out shortly. Hope for me!

Someone in the comment section (the first really useful comment ever on NJ.com) posted an excel sheet with the projects: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0tXO60a8qKsSkpabHIxdXAyOUE/view

Hopefully this is the same as the chart in the article. Note that there's only one canceled project in Mendham Township...

[jeffandnicole]

Other than ongoing tunnel/bridge maintenance funding and the Rt. 322/54 project that replaces overpasses over 322 and a rail line, most of NJDOT's affected projects are fairly small.  A repaving project near me, using just state funds, will be shut down for example.  Major ones, such as the 295/76/42 project and the Pulaski Skyway, aren't affected (for now).

[civilmaher]

New Jersey's Governor announced $3.5 Billion in projects that will be shut down this Friday due to the Transportation Trust Fund's lack of funding.

The complete list of projects is here: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/07/roads_closed_list.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

(Note...my original post was edited. The paper's ability to display the full list is very clunky.)

I find that it helps to highlight the list and hit the down arrow while holding shift. Otherwise it doesn't scroll.

Hard to figure out which, if any, of my design projects are in this list. I guess I'll find out shortly. Hope for me!

Someone in the comment section (the first really useful comment ever on NJ.com) posted an excel sheet with the projects: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0tXO60a8qKsSkpabHIxdXAyOUE/view

Hopefully this is the same as the chart in the article. Note that there's only one canceled project in Mendham Township...

Awesome! Thanks Matt. Ugh, quite a few projects on here that will stall in our office. Good thing there are toll roads

[Alps]

New Jersey's Governor announced $3.5 Billion in projects that will be shut down this Friday due to the Transportation Trust Fund's lack of funding.

The complete list of projects is here: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/07/roads_closed_list.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

(Note...my original post was edited. The paper's ability to display the full list is very clunky.)

I find that it helps to highlight the list and hit the down arrow while holding shift. Otherwise it doesn't scroll.

Hard to figure out which, if any, of my design projects are in this list. I guess I'll find out shortly. Hope for me!

Someone in the comment section (the first really useful comment ever on NJ.com) posted an excel sheet with the projects: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0tXO60a8qKsSkpabHIxdXAyOUE/view

Hopefully this is the same as the chart in the article. Note that there's only one canceled project in Mendham Township...

Awesome! Thanks Matt. Ugh, quite a few projects on here that will stall in our office. Good thing there are toll roads

You and me, man. I just got another 3 days worth of non-DOT assignments to tide me over.

[Roadrunner75]

New Jersey's Governor announced $3.5 Billion in projects that will be shut down this Friday due to the Transportation Trust Fund's lack of funding.

The complete list of projects is here: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/07/roads_closed_list.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

(Note...my original post was edited. The paper's ability to display the full list is very clunky.)

I find that it helps to highlight the list and hit the down arrow while holding shift. Otherwise it doesn't scroll.

Hard to figure out which, if any, of my design projects are in this list. I guess I'll find out shortly. Hope for me!

Someone in the comment section (the first really useful comment ever on NJ.com) posted an excel sheet with the projects: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0tXO60a8qKsSkpabHIxdXAyOUE/view

Hopefully this is the same as the chart in the article. Note that there's only one canceled project in Mendham Township...

Awesome! Thanks Matt. Ugh, quite a few projects on here that will stall in our office. Good thing there are toll roads

You and me, man. I just got another 3 days worth of non-DOT assignments to tide me over.

Now's the time to take some of those vacation days.

[jeffandnicole]

Here's the list from the NJDOT website itself for transportation projects, in PDF form: http://nj.gov/governor/news/news/552016/pdf/20160706a/TTFProjectContractShutdownList.pdf

What's a bit interesting is that at least some of these projects are either completed or nearly completed.  And a lot of the projects shown are really local projects that NJDOT has provided some funding for.  A repaving project I noticed on the list is all but complete from what I've seen...maybe a few punchlist items are left.

Also interesting is the list of projects in conceptual phases, design/engineering phases, etc.  It's hard getting a complete list thru the NJDOT website on a normal basis - you can see a fair amount, but generally not everything (especially when numerous projects may be lumped together).  This list is the most detailed list of projects I've seen in a long time!

[Alps]

Turns out only one or two of my projects are affected. Interesting note about how projects are awarded - I think that all of the lump sum projects are safe. Since they've already committed those funds and we just draw down out of them ourselves, they don't have to pay us and therefore no shutdown effect.

[NJRoadfan]

This 1950s promotional film for relocating your business to NJ has some nice vintage highway shots:

For the young-ins in the audience, yes, they used to make things in the United States.

[KEVIN_224]

Vintage highway shots alright! I see the New Jersey Turnpike northbound at roughly mile marker 90 in Woodbridge. As far as I can tell, these two bridges are still there. Check out the 1 mile advance sign for Exit 11! The Garden State Parkway is placed as a supplemental destination. (Yes, I'm aware the exit was only directly for US Route 9 then.)

[storm2k]

Vintage highway shots alright! I see the New Jersey Turnpike northbound at roughly mile marker 90 in Woodbridge. As far as I can tell, these two bridges are still there. Check out the 1 mile advance sign for Exit 11! The Garden State Parkway is placed as a supplemental destination. (Yes, I'm aware the exit was only directly for US Route 9 then.)

The two bridges are still there, but the Parkway one has both had extra bridges added and refaced. The Main St (CR 514) overpass looks just like that still, and was recently repainted.

Great shot, hope you have more to share.

[noelbotevera]

Found a video on the NJ Turnpike. The description also has some interesting information. Sorry if this was posted before, but I don't want to have to sift through 57 pages and links to see if it was posted before.

EDIT EDIT: I should TRULY finish the video. I'm a procrastinator! So I'm thinking the video is dated 1954 or 1955 (though it's probable it's dated 1953), because the guy with the fan belt says it's lasted this long, and high compression engines didn't kick off until 1955, but still were moderately popular in 1953-1954.

This channel is pretty good with road related videos. I've found a driver's ed video dating to 1937, and another with the PA Turnpike, probably dating to 1941 (it mentions the Turnpike was new, but it didn't say that it opened).

[KEVIN_224]

At the 5:05 mark, this film shows the same tri-level roadway near Exit 11 in Woodbridge like elsewhere. However, the supplemental "Parkway" street blade is not atop the sign! Interesting! 

[noelbotevera]

At the 5:05 mark, this film shows the same tri-level roadway near Exit 11 in Woodbridge like elsewhere. However, the supplemental "Parkway" street blade is not atop the sign! Interesting! 

Yeah, I think this video predates the Camera Eye on NJ video by a few years.

[storm2k]

At the 5:05 mark, this film shows the same tri-level roadway near Exit 11 in Woodbridge like elsewhere. However, the supplemental "Parkway" street blade is not atop the sign! Interesting! 

I think this is in the period between when the 287 exit opened and became Exit 10 and the dual-dual roadways were built, so listing Exit 11 for the Parkway makes sense.

[Alps]

At the 5:05 mark, this film shows the same tri-level roadway near Exit 11 in Woodbridge like elsewhere. However, the supplemental "Parkway" street blade is not atop the sign! Interesting! 

The Parkway may not have been sufficiently built out by 1953 to warrant mention. What I find interesting is that the Route 9 interchange really only makes sense for the southbound Parkway. Turnpike SB to Parkway NB, and the corresponding movement, really aren't accounted for back then.