“What experience and history teach is this — that people and governments never have learned anything from history.”
- George Wilhelm Hegel, German philosopher.
With the 2011 collapse of New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund (see MTR #556) and Governor Corzine’s secret “asset monetization” of the Garden State Parkway and NJ Turnpike menacing the horizon, Tri-State decided to look back and examine the big picture of New Jersey transportation funding. As we set about our research, it became increasingly apparent that the history of transportation in New Jersey is plagued by poor planning and underfunding, largely caused by a lack of political will. The first article in A Pattern of Failure, a series exploring the current state of transportation funding in New Jersey, examines how the New Jersey Turnpike Authority racked up its monumental debt and how it relates to the upcoming monetization.
Recently, Governor Corzine stated that in lieu of forming a public-private partnership, his “asset monetization” plan would likely raise tolls and divert the increased revenue to a newly formed public corporation, which would then issue bonds backed by that money. While this may seem fiscally responsible, when coupled with the planned $2 billion widening of the New Jersey Turnpike from exits 6 to 9, NJTA’s financial history would show otherwise.
No one wants to pay more tolls; but, even more than that, no one wants potholes, collapsing bridges or congestion. Unfortunately, New Jersey has not learned this lesson. In fact, the State has only been willing to raise tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike at ten-year intervals, and only once ever on the Garden State Parkway – despite borrowing plans based on more frequent hikes. In terms of the larger transportation funding structure, tolls contribute very little to the Transportation Trust Fund. In fact, they are not constitutionally dedicated to the TTF and are often diverted to the General Fund – a practice that has certainly contributed to the TTF’s skyrocketing debt.
When it comes to smart growth, some view Long Island as lagging behind the rest of the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan area. New Jersey’s 
