Key Bridge Will be Expanded and Rebuilt for $230M

"The existing bridge is clearly structurally deficient and functionally obsolete," Gov. Jim McGreevey said in announcing the start-up of the project. Before becoming governor, McGreevey was mayor of Woodbridge, where the north end of the bridge is anchored. He also had a hand in brokering an arrangement that has the New Jersey Turnpike Authority paying more than half the cost of the $230 million project. The Garden State Parkway is operated by the New Jersey Highway Authority, a separate agency.

The project had been held up while Parkway officials tried to find ways to fund it without raising tolls. The Turnpike, meanwhile, raised tolls two years ago and is said to have plenty of cash. As far as its $135 million contribution, the Turnpike will use more than $90 million from a surplus account and shift payments from the state's Transportation Trust Fund to cover the rest.

Turnpike officials say the aid is justified because "25% of drivers on the bridge come to or from the Turnpike," according to Turnpike executive director Michael Lapolla. "It's where the two roads connect. The bridge is a major bottleneck, and it's in poor condition."

Indeed, the proximity of the intersecting toll roads with nearby I-287 and routes 9, 35 and 440 has made this one of the state's most congested areas. Under the redevelopment plan, work will begin on a new twin southbound span, slated to be completed by 2005. Once it's finished, phase two entails a massive overhaul of the existing bridge. By 2009, the existing 12 lanes (no shoulders) will be replaced by eight northbound lanes and seven southbound lanes plus shoulders.

Both toll roads have been major catalysts for commercial development in New Jersey, of course. Real estate submarkets along the Turnpike have long been identified by their proximity to certain exits, such as the 8A submarket. For the Garden State Parkway, besides carrying the bulk of the traffic headed for the state's shore points, much of the office and industrial development from Middlesex County south is similarly clustered at the toll road's interchanges.

State officials deny that the cooperative effort has anything to do with the McGreevey administration's proposal to merge the two highway authorities and the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which operates the Atlantic City Expressway. McGreevey would only comment that the bridge project "is a matter of the authorities working in conjunction to provide New Jersey motorists with the best potential product.