By: centraljersey.com
If it’s broke, fix it.
As we wrote last week, the state’s infrastructure is in bad shape. Our bridges, tunnels, rails and roads aging and unable to support the traffic we are forcing them to carry. They are in need of major upgrades and, in some cases, replacement.
The problem is that the state is broke, making it difficult for the state to fix anything. And the only way to fix the problem is to find new revenue. In plain English, that means raising the state’s gasoline tax and possibly extending the sales tax to gasoline purchases.
Make no mistake. We have hit the crisis point. The state suspended state-funded construction projects for several hours last week, before the state Legislature approved the borrowing of $1.25 billion to cover road projects through March. And Gov. Chris Christie killed the trans-Hudson tunnel – known as the Access to the Region’s Core – planning to use the tunnel money for other infrastructure projects.
We have endorsed a delay on the tunnel, but the governor’s action – which he reversed after a meeting with federal officials -was short-sighted.
But it is of a piece with the ostrich-like approach taken by the Legislature for quite some time. Legislators of both parties have refused to ask taxpayers to pony up cash to fix potholes, widen roads, reinforce bridges and tunnels and do all of the other work needed to bring the state’s infrastructure up to 21st-century standards.
"Despite the need for serious repairs to the state’s aging system of roads and bridges, as well as the dire condition of its aging and over-burdened transit system," New Jersey Policy Perspective wrote in an e-mail blast on Monday, "New Jersey has neglected to fully fund its transportation needs."
NJPP, a liberal think-tank focusing on New Jersey issues, said the state needs to look at its gas and sales taxes for more transportation money.
The state’s gas tax stands at 14.5 cents per gallon, third lowest in the nation and about 15 cents below the national average. Raising the tax to the national average would generate about $750 million annually that would be set aside for transportation projects -and cost drivers of cars that get 20 miles per gallon about $90 to $100 a year. "Revenue generated from increasing the gas tax to a fair and reasonable level would provide a permanent funding source for the state’s soon-to-be-depleted Transportation Trust Fund," NJPP said.
The state also could extend the state sales tax to gasoline – which would cost drivers about the same as the added gas tax and generate the same $750 million a year (depending on the price of gasoline).
The gas tax hike appears the most logical approach because the money would be generated from the people who create the wear and tear on our roads and bridges while the revenue would be dedicated to transportation projects.
The governor, of course, has promised to veto any tax hike, leaving the gas tax dead on arrival – and leaving our infrastructure to decay even farther.

