What Happens If Jersey’s Federal Transportation Dollars Are Slashed?

With partisan political squabbling continuing to get worse and worse in Washington, there is growing concern that federal funding for transportation in the Garden state – in the short and long term - may be cut.

John Wisniewski, the Chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, says “if there is an interruption in the pipeline of federal dollars in New Jersey it will have devastating consequences – not only for our transportation planning, but for our economy as well.”

It could mean higher costs for drivers, and folks who use mass transit – as well as a scaling back of transportation projects across the board.

Right now about 35 percent of all the money spent on roads, bridges and mass transit in Jersey comes from the feds – and Wisniewski points out “when we invest in our transportation infrastructure in this state, we’re investing in the families that live in this state – that have opportunities for employment…this is money that must not be cut.”