SAVE THE DATE --- GOVERNOR’S TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE
The New Jersey Alliance for Action will present the 6th Annual Governor’s Transportation Conference on Monday, March 2. Governor Jon Corzine will be the keynote speaker at the Conference in the Lafayette Yard Marriott Conference Center in Trenton. The program will begin at 9 a.m. following registration at 8 a.m.

The Conference will focus on the impacts of the economic downturn and stimulus programs on major New Jersey transportation projects such as the ARC Trans-Hudson rail tunnel.

Other speakers will include Chairman Anthony Coscia of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, State Transportation Commissioner Steven Dilts, NJ TRANSIT Executive Director Richard Sarles and John Matheussen, CEO of the Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
To register now Go Here.

DILTS, KOLLURI AND SCACCETTI FEATURE “MEET THE PLAYERS”
Three of the Alliance for Action’s popular “Meet the Players” programs covering transportation, school construction and the New Jersey Turnpike/Garden State Parkway have been scheduled for early February.

On Monday February 2, the new State Commissioner of Transportation Steve Dilts will speak on the Transportation Department’s Master Plan and on the future of transportation in New Jersey.

The new CEO of the Schools Development Authority, Kris Kolluri, will follow on Thursday, February 5, to outline the schools construction program and highlight new schools being built.

Diane Scaccetti, new Executive Director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, will speak on Friday, February 13, on construction plans for the Turnpike and Parkway.

All three sessions will be held at the Alliance’s Edison Headquarters in Raritan Plaza II, Fieldcrest Avenue, Raritan Center. They will begin at 10 a.m. following registration at 9:30 a.m. To register for one or all, Go Here.

GOVERNOR HAILS UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE PROPOSALS
Governor Jon Corzine welcomed proposals by the state's electric and gas utilities to undertake infrastructure projects totaling more than $1 billion to stimulate the Garden State economy.

Governor Corzine said:  "By accelerating these projects, we are maintaining and creating jobs for our citizens, which will put food on the table and keep people in their homes during this economic crisis. Additionally, these measures will help provide consumers with a more reliable energy system and will decrease overall energy consumption in the state.  I encourage the Board of Public Utilities to prioritize the review of these projects.”

PSE&G, New Jersey Natural Gas, Elizabethtown Gas, South Jersey Gas, Rockland Electric, Atlantic City Electric and JCP&L have either filed project proposals with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities or sent letters on their intended infrastructure investments.

EDA APPROVES REIMBURSEMENTS FOR CLEANUP OF SAYREVILLE AND HOBOKEN SITES
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) approved more than $30 million for redevelopment projects in Sayreville and Hoboken to reimburse costs to developers to clean up contaminated sites.

One project is by Sayreville Seaport Associates to redevelop the former property of National Lead. The anticipated cost of remediating the 440-acre site is $40 million, with nearly $30 million to be reimbursed by the state. The $863 million project proposes retail and office space, 1,250 apartments, a movie theatre and at least one hotel.

For the Hoboken project, Park Willow wants to redevelop nearly five acres on the waterfront with a $1.1 billion residential and commercial project. Park Willow asked the EDA for up to $1 million in reimbursement costs for remediation.

EDA Chief Executive Caren Franzini said: “The whole point of the economic stimulus package is, we need to create and maintain jobs.”

STATE DEP WANTS $19 MILLION IN DELAWARE RIVER WATERSHED RESTORATION ENHANCEMENTS
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) proposes more than $19 million in ecological restoration and enhancement projects for the Delaware River watershed. The work would address damages from a massive spill in 2004 from the oil tanker Athos I.

The DEP’s Office of Natural Resources Restoration has proposed three major projects. The largest, at about $18.5 million, would restore 63 acres of degraded wetlands, create 35 acres of wet meadows and rehabilitate 100 acres of grasslands.

Acting DEP Commissioner Mark Mauriello said: “If approved by the US Coast Guard, this will be one of New Jersey’s largest natural resources damage settlements ever.”

ALLIANCE HAILS FEDERAL APPROVAL OF NEW MASS TRANSIT TUNNEL
New Jersey Alliance for Action President Philip Beachem called Wednesday’s decision by the Federal Transportation Administration to release their “Record of Decision” on the ARC rail tunnel a significant milestone for transit users in New Jersey and the region.

He said the FTA’s action completes the project’s extensive environmental review process. The approval allows the state to seek and receive the federal funds necessary for permitting NJ TRANSIT to award contracts for various components of the $8.6 billion project.

Beachem acknowledged the strong leadership roles played by Governor Corzine, State Department of Transportation Commissioner Stephen Dilts, Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, all the members of the New Jersey Congressional Delegation, Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Anthony Coscia and Deputy Executive Director Susan Bass Levin, as well as Richard Sarles and the staff of NJ TRANSIT.

The Alliance for Action with New York Building Congress led by Richard Anderson have spear-headed a broad-based coalition of business, labor, environmentalists and transit advocates to support this project and its jobs-generating capacity.

The new Mass Transit Tunnel will increase capacity by approximately 46 percent above the current levels, thereby ensuring that New Jersey commuters will have better and increased access to New York City.

LEVIN REPORTS TO ALLIANCE ON PORT AUTHORITY CAPITAL SPENDING
Deputy Executive Director Susan Bass Levin gave the Alliance for Action a top-level report on capital infrastructure plans of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. She spoke to an overflow audience of some 200 at an Alliance “Meet the Players” program.

Levin said the Authority will invest $3.3 billion over ten years in the PATH transit system, including new signalization and signage systems and station improvements, especially Harrison. Noting that the Authority’s seaports were up 15 percent in cargo exports for the first ten months of 2008, she reported that the PA expects to spend $250 million on port capital projects.

Construction at the World Trade Center site will amount to some $1.4 billion this year, Levin continued, and $300 million will be expended in improvements at Newark Liberty International Airport-Terminal B.

MIDDLESEX FREEHOLDERS REORGANIZE AFTER DIRECTOR CRABIEL’S DEATH
Stephen J. “Pete” Dalina was elected unanimously by the Middlesex County Board of Freeholders to succeed the late David Crabiel as Board Director. He is a 20-year veteran of the Board.

South Brunswick Councilwoman Carol Barrett was selected to fill Crabiel’s seat on the Board as the choice of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization meeting in convention. She joins two other new members, Ronald G. Rios and Mildred Scott, who were elected as Freeholders at last November’s election.

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS IN CONSTRUCTION ANNOUNCES 33RD ANNUAL UNITY DINNER
The Professional Engineers in Construction will hold their 33rd Annual Unity Dinner on February 24, at the Pines Manor in Edison, with Governor Jon Corzine invited as Keynote Speaker. Dinner Chairman John L. Clearwater, PE, of the Professional Engineers in Construction of New Jersey announced that other guest speakers will include:
Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski, Chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee; New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Steven Dilts and Rich Raczynski, PE, Chief Engineer of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The welcome will be by Robert Thiel, PE, and the Invocation by Denise Cruz-Serpico, PE, Chairman and Past Chair, respectively, of the Professional Engineers in Construction.
For additional information and to register please call (732) 738-8636.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
-Anthony Capaccio, has been name President/Business Manager of Construction & General Laborers L.U. 172.
-Jennifer Godoski, was named Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
-Laurel Brennan, Secretary-Treasurer of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, and Timothy H. Shinn, President and CEO of United Crane Rentals, Inc., will be honored at Newark Archbishop John J. Myers’ 16th Annual Archbishop’s Business and Labor Recognition Reception. The event will be held on Tuesday, March 3, at Mayfair Farms, West Orange.
-John F. Donohoe, Chairman of Moretrench American Corporation of Rockaway, is a 2009 recipient of the American Society of Civil Engineers prestigious Opal Award.

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