Raise the NJ Gas Tax to Pay for Road Repair? [POLL]

Jim asked this question last week, and it bears repeating: Would you be willing to kick in a little more in gasoline tax to repair some of our crumbling highways here in New Jersey?

And crumbling they are – especially now that the weather’s been radically changing from
extreme cold to warm.

Just today, dozens of cars were disabled alongside Routes 78 and 287 after having hit potholes causing bent rims and flats.

A good many drivers feel the state should have to pay for repairing their cars – but it would probably go a lot farther should the state be able to pay to fix the roads in the first place – especially seeing is how the Transportation Trust Fund is dangerously low.

According to this:

Road damage – most likely potholes – along routes 78 and 287 in Somerset County has resulted in damage to dozens of vehicles, according to State Police and witnesses.

Though he didn’t have specifics about the type of damage, State Police Sgt. Brian Polite said pockets of road damage have popped up near mile-marker 33.8 on eastbound Route 78, mile-marker 36 on westbound Route 78 and between mile-markers 22 and 26 on Route 287.

“There does seem to be some type of road damage that caused some damage to vehicles,” Polite said. “The Department of Transportation has been notified and is addressing it.”

Dan Perez, who was traveling east on Route 78 in the area, said he saw dozens of cars with flat tires stretching from Bridgewater to Watchung, a distance of about 6 miles.

“It almost looked like a funeral procession on the side of the road, everyone with their hazards on,” he said. “It was just a pileup of cars on the side of the road. You would see some (cars) then another five, then another two.”

Patching up the craters is all well and good for the time being, but some of these highways are so badly chewed up that major reconstruction is needed.

Problem is, it has to be paid for – and that’s where raising the gas tax question comes in.

Given the Governor’s recent travails, I don’t think hiking the gas tax is foremost on his mind – although he’ll hear it from constituents if roads keep deteriorating any further.