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TTF Battle In New Jersey Will Bring A Lot Of Road Work To A Halt

by KYW's David Madden

(TRENTON, NJ) --  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's executive order stopping hundreds of road projects throughout the state in the wake of an impasse over replenishing the Transportation Trust Fund takes effect this weekend. So how will that hit drivers? The short answer is not much, unless you're working on one of them.

"Projects that are currently in construction will be shut down in an orderly and safe manner," Stephen Schapiro, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, told KYW Newsradio. "But motorists likely won't really notice much difference on their drive other than some construction zones will be inactive."

The vast majority of work that will be stopped will be on county and local roads, but there is one South Jersey project of note.

"There's a resurfacing project on route 70 down in Cherry Hill that just begun that just begun the preliminary work installing signs and marking out pavement and what not," Schapiro said. "But that milling and paving will be suspended so that work will not begin."

Other major road work, like the "Direct Connection" reconfiguration of the 295-42 interchange, will proceed. That's because those projects that receive federal funding are not included in the shutdown order.

Efforts to end the political impasse over the TTF continue in Trenton, with legislators haggling over competing plans to cut taxes as a concession to Christie agreeing to a proposed 23 cent a gallon increase in New Jersey's gasoline tax. The Assembly adopted a plan suggested by Christie that would cut the sales tax from 7 to 6% in a year and a half along with raising the tax exemption on retirement income over time to 100 thousand dollars. Senate leaders are behind an alternative that eliminates the estate tax, raises the retirement exemption and includes an increase in the Earned Income Tax credit for the working poor.
Christie has indicated he will sign the Assembly plan in the name of what he labels "tax fairness."

Some political observers believe the impasse could drag out through most of the summer. The TTF is so low, it would run out of money next month if projects had continued on their current schedule.

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