Anybody Want To Buy The NJ Turnpike?

Clyde? Eric? You guys got some spare change?

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New Jersey stands to reap $30 billion by selling the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, according to a report by Merrill Lynch. That's enough to cover the state budget with about $2 billion left over. Such revenue potential is also reviving talk of selling the toll roads to bail out the fund that pays for highway and bridge repairs across the state. But the idea also remains a lightning rod for criticism, with some lawmakers drawing the line at privatizing the toll roads.

``I am very skeptical of the wisdom of selling or leasing a toll road in New Jersey. The New Jersey Turnpike is like Main Street, New Jersey,'' Assemblyman John Wisniewski, a Middlesex county Democrat who chairs the Assembly Transportation Committee, told Gannett New Jersey for Sunday newspapers.

Turning public toll roads into private ventures, already a widespread practice in Europe, is an emerging budget fix in North America, according to the International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association, based in Washington, D.C. The Merill Lynch report notes New Jersey and New York are two states where toll highways have great potential for privatization because of their established roads and budget troubles.

Chicago's recent $1.8 billion deal to let a private Spanish-Australian consortium operate the Chicago Skyway is being viewed as a trailblazing agreement. The city contends the deal will let it save on maintenance costs and enable it to pay off millions in debt. Earlier this year, acting Gov. Richard J. Codey considered leasing the turnpike as a revenue raiser to balance the state budget.

Codey later considered leasing as a way to keep the Transportation Trust Fund afloat, instead of relying on a politically unpopular increase to the per-gallon gas tax consumers pay at the pump. In the end, Codey backed away; it will likely be up to the next governor to decide how to keep the transportation fund from running out of cash for repairs next year.

So far, all the idea of leasing the turnpike has gotten from the two gubernatorial candidates _ Republican Doug Forrester and Democrat Jon Corzine _ is some scrutiny and an acknowledgment of the revenue potential.
Corzine said he sees no quick fix in the idea, while Forrester says the need to sell off state assets is a sign of trouble. But neither has ruled it out. Some lawmakers and transportation groups would like to take privatization off the table, arguing it could lead to higher tolls and worse service on the roads, which a combined 2 million vehicles travel each day.

``There's only one turnpike and only one parkway. No matter how much money is involved, it could be something that could be disaster for the state forever,'' Damien Newton, New Jersey coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, told Gannett New Jersey. The Chicago Skyway deal limited toll hikes to incremental increases, and Philip Villaluz, who wrote the Merrill Lynch report, doubts that private operators would raise the tolls to the point of scaring away business.

But there are other concerns. Tom Dallessio, New Jersey director of the nonprofit Regional Plan Association, thinks the idea merits consideration. But he cautioned against allowing the revenues to end up being used for other budget priorities instead of highway and bridge repairs.

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Except Lupe. Cause he be cool like that.