Mercer County Files Notice Of Claim Against State, NJDOT Over Transportation Projects Shutdown

Mercer County has served a “notice of claim” against the State of New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of Transportation due to the continued shutdown of county projects resulting from Gov. Chris Christie’s Executive Order No. 210, county officials announced on Monday.

A notice of claim is the precursor to a lawsuit, and is required when filing a suit against a public entity in New Jersey.

The Executive Order took effect on June 30, and ordered the immediate shutdown of all ongoing work funded by the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority (TTFA), which the state had said would run out of money by the end of the summer.

On July 6, NJDOT Acting Commissioner Richard Hammer issued a companion Shutdown Order, requiring that all contractors secure projects and cease active work on projects funded by the TTFA, effective July 9.

“Mercer County has taken this initial step because we feel the State has breached its contractual obligations with the County to provide the allocated funding for these projects,” Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes said. “The Governor’s Executive Order has put a tremendous strain on our residents and businesses by leaving unfinished projects in limbo.”

"NJDOT does not comment on pending litigation," NJDOT spokesperson Steven Schapiro said via email in response to a request for comment.

A representative from the Governor’s Office wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Four projects in Mercer County were impacted, including:

• Replacement of Bridge No. 543.7 on Carter Road, Lawrence Township
• Replacement of Bridge No. 672.4 on South Broad Street, Hamilton Township
• Removal and construction of security fence at Trenton-Mercer Airport
• Rehabilitation of bridges No. 212.12 and No. 218.1 on River Drive, Hopewell Township

In addition, two county projects are in progress although not yet bid, and/or construction has not yet started, due to the Executive and Shutdown Orders:

• Whitehorse-Mercerville Road (CR 533) signal project, Hamilton Township – construction inspection
• Princeton-Hightstown Road (CR 571) design, West Windsor Township

Hughes saidd that having to halt the Carter Road bridge project has inconvenienced drivers and negatively affected local businesses.

It has also caused the state to postpone reconstruction of two historic bridges on Route 206 in Princeton until next spring because Carter Road is the designated detour route for that work.

The county is also losing money because it had ordered materials such as beams and guide rails before the Shutdown Orders went into effect, Hughes said.

“It costs money to stop a project and it costs money to restart a project,” Hughes said.

He also said his appeal to NJDOT to move forward with the Carter Road bridge project using TTFA funds was unsuccessful.

The Shutdown Orders are expected to result in “demobilization and reassembly costs,” as well as resulting in “unnecessary and unforeseeable delays” in the completion of the projects, according to the county’s notice of claim, which was sent to Office of the Attorney General, the Department of the Treasury and NJDOT.

In addition, if the county were to fund the projects, county taxpayers “would necessarily be damaged as a result of the failure of the state to fulfill its contractual obligation,” according to the notice.

“The Governor and the Legislature need to find a reasonable way to restore the Transportation Trust Fund as soon as possible,” Hughes said. “Projects have been on hold for more than two months now and people are hurting.”