New Jersey, Pennsylvania to embark on major road repair projects

That annual herald of spring, the yellow-vested road worker, has emerged from hibernation once again to fill potholes, widen lanes, and frustrate drivers throughout the region.

Crews with state, county, and municipal departments are taking advantage of warmer weather and longer days to tackle scores of projects.

The mild, rainy winter created more potholes than usual, and Hurricane Sandy destruction requires extensive reconstruction of several South Jersey highways.

"We are characterizing this as an above-average year for potholes," said Eugene Blaum, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. "With all the precipitation and freezing and thawing since February, it may have been a mild winter, but it is not a mild pothole season."

PennDot also is spending nearly a half-billion dollars on eight major construction projects in the five Southeastern Pennsylvania counties - especially along I-95. The New Jersey Department of Transportation has started work on more than a billion dollars' worth of projects in South Jersey, including the long-awaited "direct connection" of I-295, I-76, and Route 42 near Bellmawr.

The work will mean delays and detours for drivers, but it will also boost employment in construction and other industries.

A general estimate is that $1 billion in road contracts creates 25,000 to 30,000 jobs in construction and at related manufacturers and suppliers, Blaum said.

Because of state budget constraints, PennDot is spending about $100 million less this year in the region than last year: $520 million compared with $618 million.

In South Jersey, it will be a banner year for highway spending. In addition to the $900 million "direct connection" project, $200 million will be spent to rebuild a 12.5-mile storm-damaged stretch of Route 35 along the Barnegat Peninsula, and $350 million on the Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Causeway that links Long Beach Island to the mainland.

Both states face serious challenges to their ability to pay for highway construction.

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Corbett is asking the legislature to boost revenue by removing the cap on the "oil franchise tax," paid by gas-station owners and often passed on to motorists at the pump.

In New Jersey, Gov. Christie plans to collect $250 million for roads by agreeing to pay higher interest rates to bondholders. The state Transportation Trust Fund has been tapped out by previous borrowing, and now, every penny of the state's dedicated tax revenue must go to make the trust fund authority's $991 million payment on existing debt.