STAR-LEDGER CALLS FOR STABLE TRANSPORTATION FUNDING
The Sunday Star-Ledger --- the state’s biggest newspaper --- noted a report that rated New Jersey’s roads as the worst in the nation and called on Trenton to take action. It asserted: “There can be no finger-pointing: Republicans and Democrats alike are guilty of fiscal irresponsibility when it comes to New Jersey’s roads.”

The editorial declared that the State Transportation Trust Fund is nearly out of cash and “New Jersey is only months away from a transportation crisis.” It concluded:
“The health of our roads is a key to New Jersey’s economy…Trenton must find a stable source of funding---and protect it from being raided for other purposes. The state should prioritize projects and pay for them as quickly as possible.” The newspaper also commented that “New Jersey, with one of the lowest gas taxes in the country, must increase it to pay for roads.”

US SENATE APPROVES $208 MILLION FOR NEW JERSEY PROJECTS
The U.S. Senate approved legislation that would provide $208 million to fund New Jersey’s Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development for Fiscal Year 2010. The announcement came from U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee.

The Senate legislation must now be merged with the House of Representatives version before it can go to President Obama for signature. The overwhelming portion of the Senate bill would be $200 million for the ARC Trans-Hudson rail tunnel. NJ Transit would also receive $2 million for Newark Penn Station improvements.

WORK BEGINS ON ROUTE 287 IN MIDDLESEX AND SOMERSET COUNTIES
A $29 million road repair and upgrading project has begun on Route 287 in Middlesex and Somerset Counties. Most of the work will be done at night as the project continues for the next two years. The State Department of Transportation will use federal stimulus funds to resurface the highway from Stelton Road in Piscataway to Easton Avenue in Franklin Township.

The work will stretch from about Exit 5 to Exit 11 --- a section of the highway used by more than 100,000 drivers daily. Two bridge decks also will be repaired.

U.S. EPA GRANTS ENERGY STAR RATING TO VERIZON’S CENTER
Verizon’s operations center in Basking Ridge has received an Energy Star rating from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to signify energy efficiency and environmental protection. The center ranks among the top 25 percent of the country’s most energy-efficient facilities.

Buildings with Energy Star rating use an average of 40 percent less energy than typical facilities and release 35 percent less carbon dioxide. The 1.4 million-square foot Basking Ridge center houses about 3,000 employees.

PENNSAUKEN TRANSIT CENTER CONTRACT IS AWARDED
The first contract for construction of the Pennsauken Transit Center was awarded by the NJ Transit Board. The center will link two South Jersey lines – the Atlantic City line and the River Line.

The $2.08 million contract covers the River Line including a 200-foot platform with a 60-foot canopy. Work will begin this fall by Northeast Remsco Coast, Inc., of Farmingdale and Arora & Associates of Lambertville.

The $40 million Pennsauken Center will be constructed in two phases on Derousse Avenue’s vacant land, where the Atlantic City line passes over the River Line. Late 2012 is the scheduled opening.

On the second phase, two 300-foot-long high-level platforms will be built on each side of the Atlantic City line tracks, along with stairs and two elevators for access. The second phase also will include a 280-space parking lot and lighting improvements.

MORRISTOWN TRANSIT VILLAGE PROJECT OPENS
New Jersey’s first transit village development project has opened. It is the $75 million upscale residence, The Highlands at Morristown Station. Built for commuter convenience, the 217-unit development sits across from the train station and is in walking distance to the downtown. The units have amenities such as an outdoor pool, club room, gym and shops catering to commuting tenants. The developers are Roseland Property Co. and Woodmount Properties.

Through the transit village program NJ Transit hopes to encourage use of public transportation and spur economic growth in municipal centers. Similar transit village programs are under way or planned for communities such as New Brunswick, Rahway, South Orange and Netcong.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT UNDER WAY IN NEWARK
Ground was broken on a $14 million mixed-use affordable housing project in Newark’s West Ward named Roseville Commons. The five-story, 50-unit building at 553-567 Orange Street will include one to four-bedroom apartments catering to low-income households and special needs population such as homeless veterans.

MEADOWLANDS COMMISSION TO HOLD HEARING ON LANDFILL REDEVELOPMENT
The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission will hold a public hearing on how to redevelop 785 acres of landfills in Rutherford, Lyndhurst and North Arlington.

In the first effort by the Commission, the chosen developer, Encap Golf Holding, disintegrated into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and federal and state investigations. The Commission said the public hearing would seek input on new alternatives. The hearing will be held on October 8 at Lyndhurst Town Hall at 7 p.m.

The four landfills on the site will be cleaned up with $148 million from an insurance policy on the project. The Commission said whatever is proposed “must make sense economically and environmentally.”

LONG-AWAITED PARKWAY NORTH TO ROUTE 78 WEST CONNECTION OPENS
Finally, after more than three decades, northbound Garden State Parkway drivers who want to go west on Route 78 no longer will have to go east and execute four right turns. Exit 142B on the Parkway just opened, providing a link connecting two of New Jersey’s busiest highways for some 23,000 vehicles a day who no longer will be forced to do the maneuver.

That stretch of the Parkway in Union County was built in the mid-1950s. When the section of Route 78 opened in the mid-1970s, a complete interchange was not constructed because there were plans for other highways in that area. Those plans never materialized. Neither did the connecting interchange. Merging the Parkway with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority made possible the $121 million financing of the missing link. The breakdown is $72 million in federal funds and $49 million in state dollars through the Turnpike.

Meanwhile, a smaller group of southbound Parkway drivers who want to go east on Route 78 will have to continue heading west to make a U-Turn to travel east … at least until 2011 when the second link is connected.

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON $39 MILLION LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY
Construction has begun on the $39 million Middlesex County Long-Term Care Facility in Old Bridge. The impetus was approval of a construction loan by TICIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the New Jersey Banks Association. The developer is the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DevCo).

The new facility, located at 1180 Marlboro Road, Old Bridge, will be a four-story, 105,000-square-foot structure with 180 resident beds and associated medical services. The project will bring some 240 construction jobs and 200 permanent health care jobs.

SOMERSET ALLIANCE TO MEET ON COUNTY AND LOCAL ISSUES
The Somerset County Alliance for Action will meet on Wednesday, September 23, to hear reports on local and county economic activities. The session at the Marriott Bridgewater will begin with registration at 8:15 a.m. and the program at 9:00 a.m.

Speakers will include:
-Mayor Brian D. Levine, with a spotlight on Franklin Township.
-Colin Driver, Director of Economic Development of Somerville, with the theme of “progress takes time and patience.” -Somerset County Join Public Works Facility, Phase II, presented by Daniel Swayze, P.E., Chief Operating Officer, Birdsall Services/PMK Group and Jeanne Perantoni, AIA, LEED, Chief Executive Officer, SSP Architectural Group.

The Somerset Co-Chairs are Freeholder Robert Zaborowski and Michael V. Kerwin, President and CEO of the Somerset County Business Partnership. To register Go Here.

SENATOR LESNIAK TO DISCUSS ECONOMIC OMNIBUS ACT
The Alliance for Action’s “Meet the Players” series will present State Senator Raymond Lesniak on Monday, September 28. The session at the Alliance’s office in Plaza II, Raritan Center (3rd floor conference room) will begin with registration at 9:30 a.m. and the program at 10:00 a.m.

Lesniak (D-20th District) will discuss and answer questions on the Omnibus Economic Recovery Act he sponsored with Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts.
To register Go Here.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR
9/11/09 – Atlantic County Alliance for Action. To register Go Here.
9/23/09 – Somerset County Alliance for Action. To register Go Here.
9/28/09 – Meet the Players with Senator Raymond Lesniak. To register Go Here.
10/14/09 – 35th Annual Eagle Awards Dinner. To register Go Here or for advertisement information Go Here.
10/23/09 – Mercer County Alliance for Action. To register Go Here.

To tell us what you think of our on-line news Go Here.

Back to Online News Home Page