New Jersey’s Infrastructure Receives A D+ Rating

As part of its push to pass a massive $2.25 trillion infrastructure package through Congress, the White House released fact sheets on states’ infrastructure issues, and New Jersey isn’t doing great. 

In New Jersey, there are 502 bridges and nearly 4,000 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times in New Jersey have increased by 8.8% and on average, each driver pays $713 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The infrastructure package being proposed would invest some $600 billion in the nation’s transportation infrastructure, including $115 billion allocated for the repair of roads and bridges, which the bill’s supporters say would alleviate much of the issues facing New Jersey motorists.

Additionally, New Jersey’s public transportation infrastructure is in dire straits. Residents who use public transportation spend an estimated 82.7% of their time commuting, and 22% of trains and other transit vehicles are extremely old and past their useful life. The bill would allocate $85 billion to upgrade and modernize the country’s public transportation.

Another major issue facing New Jersey which has had significant repercussions for many, including a large portion of Lakewood residents, is the lack of resilient infrastructure – infrastructure which can continue working effectively despite harsh weather conditions. New Jersey has experienced 23 extreme weather events between 2010 and 2020, costing the state up to $50 billion in damages, and often leaving residents without heat or electricity, sometimes for days on end. The proposed infrastructure bill would invest $50 billion to upgrade the resiliency of infrastructure in the United States.

While there exists broad bipartisan support for a massive infrastructure package, Republicans argue that President Biden’s proposal includes many liberal wishlist items, some of which have nothing at all to do with infrastructure. Included in those are billions proposed for elder care, clean energy, veterans’ health, and child care. While some of those proposals are supported by Republicans, they say it should be left out of a bill that is exclusively for infrastructure needs.

The bill as it stands would probably not make it through the US Senate, and the bill is most likely to be stripped down, mainly by reducing the amount of funds being given to wishlist items that are not related to infrastructure, such as the items listed above.

This content, and any other content on TLS, may not be republished or reproduced without prior permission from TLS. Copying or reproducing our content is both against the law and against Halacha. To inquire about using our content, including videos or photos, email us at [email protected].

Stay up to date with our news alerts by following us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

**Click here to join over 20,000 receiving our Whatsapp Status updates!**

**Click here to join the official TLS WhatsApp Community!**

Got a news tip? Email us at [email protected], Text 415-857-2667, or WhatsApp 609-661-8668.

2 COMMENTS

  1. All these numbers are inflated. The Dems wanna pass this bill so they’re exaggerating how bad the problem. Most of our roads, like the Parkeay, Rt 9, etc are in perfect condition.
    And those that are bad do NOT need $50 BILLIONto be repaired.
    Come on, man.

Comments are closed.