Governor Corzine, Authority and State Department of Transportation officials took part in the ceremony held in a maintenance yard overlooking the Turnpike. The Alliance for Action was represented by President Philip K. Beachem, Executive Vice President Gerald T. Keenan and Senior Vice President Clifford Heath. The Alliance was active in mobilizing public support for the widening --- a point noted by Turnpike Executive Director Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, who publicly thanked Beachem and Keenan during the ceremony.

Governor Jon Corzine, right, Alliance for Action Executive Vice President Jerry Keenan and his son, 8 year old Billy Keenan, help break ground on the $2.7 billion New Jersey Turnpike expansion project.

The project will eventually widen 35 miles of the roadway from Exit 6 in Mansfield Township to Exit 9 in East Brunswick. It is scheduled for completion in 2014.

The Turnpike widening is part of the overall $7 billion capital plan announced by the Governor earlier this year which also includes widening the Garden State Parkway.

The Turnpike Authority has awarded a $50.7 million contract for a section of the widening between Exits 6 and 9. South State, Inc., of Bridgeton will build an additional three lanes in both directions.

The work also will include two overpasses above Route 206 in Bordentown and Mansfield, an exit flyover, and shoulders. Construction could begin the first of second week of August.

Authority Chief Engineer Richard Raczynski said another 24 contracts also will be awarded for the widening project.