Officials hail widened New Jersey Turnpike stretch

CRANBURY, N.J. - In a collective sigh of relief, top state leaders met outside a New Jersey Turnpike service area Friday morning to hail a long-anticipated expansion of the major roadway that is expected to ease commuter frustration.

The $2.3 billion turnpike-widening between Mansfield in Burlington County and East Brunswick in Middlesex County is expected to prove its worth in coming days, with the added northbound lanes set to open Sunday.

Between Exits 6 and 8A, lanes in each direction were doubled, from three to six. North of that, to Exit 9, one lane was added on each side, bringing the whole turnpike portion in question to a span of 12 lanes. All told, about 170 lane miles were added.

Crews along the 35-mile stretch of the project could be seen early Friday, like artists affixing the final touches to a work, carrying out final preparations such as striping on the road for a coalition of fed-up motorists.

At the Molly Pitcher Service Area in Cranbury, officials said they knew the pain of the infamous bottleneck all too well.

"As a parent of college students, I know the Wednesday before Thanksgiving what this used to look like," Gov. Christie said, "[and what] I suspect and hope now it will not look like."

On average, backups in the corridor that day, Christie said, were 10 miles southbound and 13 miles northbound.

The project - the largest added-capacity project in the turnpike's 63-year history - began in 2009.

Southbound lanes are slated to open next weekend.

Brigida Suquilanda, who manages a kiosk of sunglasses and electronics at the rest stop, said the expected easing of traffic congestion and an end to construction would likely attract more tourists (and customers) to the highway.

"This means business for us," said Suquilanda, 42, of Hamilton Township. "We have to celebrate."

The expansion was paid for by toll increases approved by the Turnpike Authority in 2008. The increases financed a $7 billion capital program and a new rail tunnel into Manhattan, which was canceled. For example, a 23-mile trip on the turnpike that cost $1.20 in 2008 now costs $2.60. More than 225 million vehicles traveled on the turnpike in 2013.

Nearly 2.4 million tons of asphalt and 140,000 cubic yards of concrete were needed for the construction, which, at its peak, employed more than 1,000 workers a day.

Officials said the expansion cost about $200 million less than anticipated, in large part because of low bids secured as a result of poor economic conditions at the time.

The savings are being reinvested in other projects, including added lanes on the Garden State Parkway.

While the extra capacity is expected to relieve drivers' traffic-induced headaches along one of the state's main arteries, transportation funding remains a critical dilemma.

How to replenish the nearly depleted Transportation Trust Fund, which pays for transportation projects, has remained an issue weighing on state leaders. Revenue collected through a state tax on gasoline is reserved for more than $1 billion in debt service.

The challenge was noted by both Christie and Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (D., Gloucester) during their remarks.

"This couldn't have happened any sooner or at a better time," Sweeney said. "We have a major problem in this state with Transportation Trust funding, and we're going to have to figure it out."

Following the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, both Sweeney and Christie said conversations about transportation financing were ongoing, but would not talk specifics.

"There's many options out there," Sweeney said. "We're going to look to see what works best."

Some critics of the widening project, such as the New Jersey Sierra Club, have maintained that the massive undertaking could have been completed cheaper and quicker, citing earlier proposals.

"Everybody can criticize things after the fact, but I think this is a great achievement," said Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox, a Democrat appointed by Republican Christie last month. "The people who take this road from north to south know that."

Others have worried about "induced demand" - when added road space attracts more motorists and congestion remains.

Martin E. Robins, director emeritus at the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University, said the concept is "losing some of its steam," adding that he did not think it would be an issue for the turnpike.

Robins said the Turnpike Authority was right to recognize a long-standing congestion problem that had become a "feature" of the highway - and that he had personally experienced.

So, too, had Fox.

"Anybody who's from New Jersey and traveled the turnpike has sat in traffic here," Fox said with a laugh following the news conference. "And if not, they're not from New Jersey."