Murphy’s huge budget has $1.2B for NJ roads in bad shape

💸 Gov. Murphy's record spending includes more money for roads

💸 New Jersey roads rank second-worst in the U.S., study finds

TRENTON — Gov. Murphy's new $58.1 billion budget doesn't include more spending on infrastructure as New Jersey roads still rank among the worst in the county.

On Tuesday, Murphy unveiled the massive budget for Fiscal Year 2026.

According to the governor's office, it includes $1.23 billion for "critical investments in State and local highway and bridge projects."

That's the same number Murphy had in his proposal for FY2025, as seen on page 41 of last year's budget summary.

When Murphy leaves office next January — and assuming the budget doesn't change — the New Jersey Department of Transportation will have spent more than $16 billion on maintaining State and local roads over his two terms.

New Jersey roads are in bad shape, study finds

Despite billions going to road maintenance for nearly a decade, New Jersey roads are among the worst in the country.

A 2024 study from a cash-for-cars service called Junk Car Medics found around 45% of New Jersey roads were labeled unacceptable. That's over 1,700 miles of bad roads out of a total of 3,868 miles of roadway throughout the Garden State.

New Jersey ranks as having the second-worst roads in the country, the study found.

A separate study from Construction Coverage released this past January also said New Jersey had the second-worst roads in the nation.

It was more generous, saying 36.4% of New Jersey roads were in poor condition.

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