DOT RELEASES CAPITAL BUDGET AND 10-YEAR INVESTMENT STRATEGY
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) has released a capital budget of $3.3 billion for fiscal year 2009 and its first-ever 10-year capital investment strategy.

DOT Commissioner Kris Kolluri said the capital budget for next year does not have enough money to address all the state’s transportation needs. He declared: “Not every single project in every single district in every single county is going to get built.” More than half the funds will come from federal transportation programs; the rest from the state’s gasoline tax.

The investment strategy details projects the DOT and NJ TRANSIT would build if they receive the dollars they expect from state and federal sources over the next decade. In previous years, the plan covered only five years. It assumes that the State Transportation Trust Fund will remain solvent over the next decade, however the fund will be broke by 2011 unless the Legislature approves the needed revenues.

The capital budget and investment strategy plan are available at the DOT’s website --- www.state.nj.us/transportation.

ASCE CITES HUGE INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING GAP
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) says America is suffering from “an underfunded infrastructure system that stretches from coast to coast and touches nearly every city and town in between.”

The ASCE estimated that the infrastructure funding needs a total of $1.6 trillion over a five-year period, while funding levels as a share of all federal expenditures are exactly the same as they were more than twenty years ago.

NEW JERSEY/NEW YORK PORT OUTPERFORMS ALL MAJOR U.S. PORTS
The Port of New York and New Jersey handled a record cargo volume in 2007, outperforming other major ports in the United States. It was announced by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Governor Corzine. With a 4 percent cargo growth, The New Jersey/New York port topped all other major ports, which declined or grew less than 1 percent.

The dollar value of all cargo at the port in 2007 exceeded $166 billion for the first time, up 11 percent, due primarily to trade with the Far East and Southeast Asia.

The Port Authority said it plans to continue to invest in the Port’s future by expanding its capacity. Some of the plans include:
-Addition of 119 acres on the eastern end of the Port Jersey peninsula for new cargo container space.
-Completion of the ExpressRail on-dock rail system by 2011, with the capacity to handle 1.5 million cargo containers a year by rail.
-A $2 billion, 10-year capital plan, including upgrading the on and off-port road network

GROUND BROKEN FOR HAMILTON OFFICE DEVELOPMENT
An uncertain economy did not stop groundbreaking for a proposed office development just off Quakerbridge Road in Hamilton. The project will be built on spec, with no signed tenants yet.

Construction is expected to begin this spring to transform 5.4 acres of woodland on Thomas Rhodes Industrial Drive into a site for two 28,000-square-foot single-story buildings called the Sherwood Corporate Center. The flex-condominium facilities can be divided into 1,500 square-foot sites for small businesses. Thomas Rhodes LLC purchased the land 2 ½ years ago. Richardson Commercial Realtors is the broker.

PERTH AMBOY TO INSTALL WIRELESS NETWORK
Perth Amboy is moving ahead on plans to install an expansive wireless network that would connect the city’s offices, schools and homes. Mayor Joseph Vas says the network would improve communication among municipal agencies, eliminate the need for land telephone lines in city buildings and provide residents with modern internet access.
The system would connect the city’s 18 municipal buildings and public schools, using microwave technology --- electromagnetic waves used to transmit information for cell phones, television stations and other uses. Vas says the network would save the city as much as $10,000 a month in telephone and internet expenses. The $370,000 first phase of the project is funded by a community contribution from the Morris Companies, developer of the city’s Amboy Corporate Center.

SCALED-BACK SUSSEX TURNPIKE PLAN EXPECTED TO PROCEED
The Sussex Turnpike road improvement in Randolph is expected to move ahead as a scaled-back project that has received tentative state approval. Instead of the original plan to turn Sussex Turnpike into a four-lane road for more than four miles to Route 10, the $6 million upgrade now will include:
-Major renovation of the bottlenecked West Hanover Avenue and Brookdale Road intersection.
-Upgrade of a small segment from West Hanover Avenue to Millbrook Avenue.
-Intersection improvements at Calais Road, Dover-Chester Road and Park Avenue.

Once final written state approval is received, it is estimated that it will take two to four years for construction to begin.

BEACHEM TESTIFIES FOR TUNNEL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY
Alliance for Action President Philip K. Beachem testified strongly in favor of the Supplementary Draft Environmental Impact Statement for construction of the ARC rail tunnel. At a hearing by NJ TRANSIT, Beachem reminded the public: “The last time we created rail capacity under the Hudson was almost 100 years ago. It is unbelievable that our state and this region --- one of the most powerful regions in our nation and the entire world --- relies on such an antiquated and unreliable system in the year 2008.”

Beachem said, “We are in an extraordinary position to move forward today.” He stressed that both New Jersey and New York support the tunnel project and that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and NJ TRANSIT have 250 engineers working on it. He extolled the Port Authority for its “strong demonstration of financial support to this project” as it has other infrastructure programs to benefit the region.

REVITALIZATION PLANNED FOR HISTORIC BURLINGTON COUNTY TOWNS
A proposed commercial project in historic Burlington City would help advance the effort to revitalize the region’s decayed waterfront along the Delaware River.

Commerce Square Vistas, LLC, a partnership between two local real estate development firms, plans to start construction next year on four Class A office buildings totaling 252,000 square-feet of space on 20 underutilized acres of an existing business park.

The project is expected to create between 700 and 1,000 jobs. Founded in 1677 and with a population now of nearly 10,000, Burlington City is part of the River Route revitalization initiative established by Burlington County in 1995 to assist 12 municipalities along the Delaware River and Route 130 which runs from Palmyra to Florence. Companies which invest in the towns are eligible for zero-interest loans and financing available through the county’s Route 130 Revolving Loan Fund.

REGIONAL CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM
The New Jersey Post of the Society of American Military Engineers has announced that they will be holding a program: Regional Contracting Opportunities at McGuire AFB on April 24, 2008 from 11:00am – 3:30pm. 
Thursday, 24 April 2008
11:00am – 3:30pm
McGuire AFB

Advance registration required due to security requirements. For more information and to register on-line go here www.regonline.com/regconops2008

MORRIS COUNTY ALLIANCE TO MEET ON APRIL 25 IN WHIPPANY
Transportation, environmental-sensitive construction and Butler will be the topics at a meeting of the Morris County Alliance for Action on Friday, April 25, at the Birchwood Manor, Whippany.

Business, labor and government leaders are expected to attend, with registration scheduled for 8:15 a.m. and the program at 9 a.m. The presentations will be:
-State Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman John Wisniewski, on “Transportation – A Legislator’s Perspective.”
-John Grabowski, Vice President of Noveda Technologies & Ferreira Construction Co., on “How We Became Net Zero Electric.”
-Mayor Joseph Heywang on “Spotlight on Butler.”

Co-Chairs of the Morris Alliance are County Freeholder John J. Murphy and Richard Stanley Prater, Area Manager, Jersey Central Power & Light.”
To register Go Here.

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