TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Gov. Chris Christie's transportation chief is resigning because he was disappointed over not reaching a plan to shore up the state's transportation trust fund, a key lawmaker and friend of the commissioner said Monday.

NJDOT Commissioner Jamie Fox
NJDOT Commissioner Jamie Fox at podium (David Matthau, Townsquare Media NJ)
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Commissioner Jamie Fox's departure comes amid a federal investigation into connections among transportation officials, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and United Airlines, for whom Fox previously served as a lobbyist.

Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, who has known Fox for more than three decades, told The Associated Press that he said he would be leaving after Christie signed a pledge not to raise taxes in August. Christie is seeking the Republican nomination for president.

Fox had repeatedly said the state fund that pays for road and bridge work faced a funding shortfall at the end of the current fiscal year and would likely require new money going forward. Democrats have called for increasing the state's gas tax -- the second-lowest in the country -- but Christie last week said Republicans shouldn't consider that unless other taxes are cut.

Christie also called the trust fund issue a "media-created crisis," which contrasts with Fox's previous statements in which he indicated New Jersey is facing a serious problem.

The federal investigation has roots in the George Washington Bridge scandal, in which Christie appointees allegedly created a traffic jam on approach lanes to the bridge. The probe was expanded to include the Port Authority's actions at Newark's airport, including some involving United that led to the ouster of CEO Jeff Smisek.

Port Authority records show that Fox dined with Smisek, the Port Authority's then-chairman, David Samson, and other top Port Authority and United officials during the months when the airline was lobbying for items at the Newark airport.

Fox and Christie announced Friday that Fox would leave his post at the end of the month, just over a year after he was appointed. Neither Christie nor Fox explained why he was leaving and their offices declined interview requests on Monday.

Fox, a Democrat and long-time political operative, said in a statement Friday he leaves with no regrets but he wishes "we could have gotten the job done." He also said he would work with the governor and Legislature to reauthorize the transportation trust fund.

Weinberg said Fox was disappointed because he believed he knew what should be done based on his previous time as commissioner in 2002.

"He knows and knew what needed to happen," Weinberg said. "It just adds to the complete dysfunction of the executive branch of the New Jersey government. We have a governor who chooses to appeal to the ultra-right wing of his party because he wants to win the presidential nomination."

Transportation advocacy groups say it's not surprising Fox is leaving since many expected his tenure to brief, but they acknowledge he seemed positioned to strike a deal.

"We're disappointed because we thought Jamie was the right man at the right time," said Anthony Attanasio, the executive director of the Utility and Transportation Contractors Association and a former assistant transportation commissioner in the Christie administration. "I think that with a whole year going by without a tremendous amount of progress he thought it was time to go back to the private sector."

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