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NJ Officials Admit Roads Are Bad, But Promise Funding For Fixes

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) - New Jersey officials are conceding a fact many drivers in the Garden State already know: the roads here are in bad shape. But they have a plan to fix them.

The state maintains 8,400 lane-miles of roads, and half of them are deemed "deficient" by their own standards. And it's been that way for the last seven years, according to Joe Dee with the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

"It's important to make an honest assessment of the conditions out there, and that provides a benchmark so we know what we're dealing with and what we need to do going forward," he told KYW Newsradio today.

Thirty percent of the roads in New Jersey are listed as "fair," the rest "good."

Governor Christie's proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2012 calls for bumping up the road repair budget to $284 million -- a $93 million increase. The five-year capital plan for road repair is pegged at $8 billion -- all, the administration points out, without a tax increase.

Reported by David Madden, KYW Newsradio 1060.

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