Most NJ Gov. Candidates Have No Problem With ‘Boondoggle’ Turnpike Widening

Only four of the 10 politicians vying to replace New Jersey’s term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy oppose the $11-billion plan to widen the Turnpike, a “boondoggle” proposal that would pour more cars into the dense cities on both side of the Hudson River.

Mayors Steve Fulop of Jersey City and Ras Baraka of Newark – both Democrats – along with Mario Kranjac, the Republican ex-Mayor of Englewood Cliffs, came out against the proposal to widen an eight-mile offshoot linking the mainline of the Turnpike to the Holland Tunnel — including replacing the aging four-lane Newark Bay Bridge with a new eight-lane span.

Turnpike officials have insisted that the bigger road structure is needed to ease traffic growth in the area – adhering to a long-debunked notion that more lanes will reduce congestion.

Indeed, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s own environmental study projects a traffic increase of 32 percent, translating to hundreds more car an hour heading to Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel.

Murphy has resisted calls from local pols and advocates to halt the massive new car infrastructure following congestion pricing and instead invest more funding in mass transit.

“The next governor of NJ will decide the fate of this $11 billion highway expansion boondoggle,” said Dana Haymon, a board member of SafeStreetsJC, in a statement. “Our next governor should stand up for public health and protect environmental justice communities.

“The next governor will have significant influence on this project and could either be a champion or detractor for transit and safe streets projects for all NJ residents.”

Where the candidates stand

Early voting began this week ahead of the June 10 primary, and most of the 10 candidates polled by Streetsblog did not respond, including prominent pols like Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer.

Sherrill, the current Democratic frontrunner, supports Phase I of the project, replacing the Newark Bay Bridge:

She has also reportedly “expressed some worries” about increasing pollution in neighborhoods near the Turnpike, the New Jersey Globe reported.

“How are we moving those trucks out of the ports without creating more carbon emissions over neighborhoods that have been, all too many times, receiving the ill health effects from that?” Sherrill reportedly said. “But I think we can get to that point where we are comfortable that we are not increasing the carbon impact on the neighborhoods.”

Fulop and Barak have long been strongly opposed to the project, and reiterated their stance in statements to Streetsblog.

“The Turnpike widening project is a $10-billion plan that brings more trucks, more pollution, and more congestion to communities like Jersey City that have already endured far too much environmental harm,” Fulop said in a statement. “Instead of bulldozing through neighborhoods and dismissing the real impacts, we should be focused on sustainable solutions like mass transit that reduce traffic and protect our environment.”

A spokesperson for Baraka echoed a similar sentiment.

“The mayor has long been on record, opposed to the turnpike widening project and instead would want to put the money towards mass, public transit – something that has actually proven to get cars off the road and reduce congestion,” said Kabir Moss.

Kranjac said Turnpike Authority officials “failed to do their due diligence in approving this expansion despite the uncertainty of congestion pricing and the declining demand that policy could place on the cross river commute.”

Former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller did not respond for comment, but he has backed ending the Turnpike expansion and diverting the funding toward public transportation.

Streetsblog also reached out to Democratic candidate Stephen Sweeney and GOP politicians Jack Ciattarelli, Jon Bramnick, Bill Spadea and Justin Barbera, but heard nothing.