Corzine's Toll Plan Details Emerge

by: Juan Melli

Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 01:36:00 AM EST

Deborah Howlett and Joe Donohue have all the fun juicy details:

Tolls would rise every four years and be extended to Route 440 as part of the financial restructuring plan Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to offer up in his State of the State speech today, according to individuals involved in crafting the plan.
The Star-Ledger has learned that any new or increased tolls proposed in the plan would not be collected until at least 2010, the year after Corzine would stand for re-election. A source with direct knowledge of the plan confirmed Statehouse reports of a 50 percent toll hike every four years mixed with annual cost of living increases.
That would mean the average Turnpike toll for a motorist paying in cash would rise from the current $1.92 to nearly $10 by 2022. [...]
The individuals involved in drawing up the plan said Corzine agreed to tolls on Route 440 -- five miles of highway between the New Jersey Turnpike and the Outerbridge Crossing to Staten Island -- because 30 percent to 40 percent of the motorists using the road are from out of state.

Juan Melli :: Corzine's Toll Plan Details Emerge

Tags: Jon Corzine, monetization, fancy schmancy plan, toll roads, budget, (All Tags)

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Corzine's Toll Plan Details Emerge | 5 comments

interesting, but (0.00 / 0)

I predict the really interesting details will be in the ownership and obligations of the state and this new entity.

Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

by: Hopeful @ Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 07:29:03 AM UTC

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not collected until 2010? (0.00 / 0)

You mean, tolls won't increase until AFTER the gubernatorial election?

Well, I'm shocked.

Sure, I know it takes time to implement but two years?

by: huntsu @ Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 11:40:05 AM UTC

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Reality (3.50 / 2)

The tolls were going to be increased anyway to expand the turnpike and do other needed work. All Corzine is doing is setting up a toll hike schedule and then selling it for the purpose of bond sales. If he can pull this off and reduce the debt , as he claims, then it might just be a good idea.

On first glance, I see some merit in this plan.

by: firstamend07 @ Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 11:54:48 AM UTC

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Ownership would shift (0.00 / 0)

According to an article in the Bergen Record

Governor Corzine's plan to raise highway tolls to pay down state debt could turn over control of the state's toll roads to a public benefits corporation for the next 75 years.

This is something that scares me. I'll be dead in 75 years, so for the rest of my life a private corporation will control our toll roads.

I also heard rumors that Nav Canada is the company he is looking at. If that is the case the workers are screwed. From Mike Wing, National President of the PSAC's Union of Canadian Transportation Employees:

"Since Nav Canada was established as a separate agency almost 10 years ago, the disparity between the salaries of Nav Canada clerical positions and comparable jobs in the federal government has widened."

The other question I have is whether he is going to hold real town hall events or use them just to sell his plan without offering real details. I personally would like to see the details, because that is where the devil is!!

Now my friends, I am opposed to the system of society in which we live today, not because I lack the natural equipment to do for myself but because I am not satisfied to make myself comfortable knowing that there are thousands of my fellow men who suffer

by: evdebs @ Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 18:33:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Tolls on 440. (0.00 / 0)

How much will that be in addition to the $4-$6 to actually USE the Outerbridge?

Given that standard highway tolls run approximately $0.03-$0.08 per mile, I can't picture any plan that's both financially worthwhile and not outrageously overpriced.

Meanwhile, what's this going to do to traffic patterns on 440?

by: dennisl @ Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 17:56:53 PM UTC

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Corzine's Toll Plan Details Emerge | 5 comments