Camden County Project Is First In State To Use NJTIB Funding

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ - A reconstruction project in Camden County is the first in the state that will use money from the New Jersey Transportation Infrastructure Bank (NJTIB), officials announced this week.

The NJTIB is a partnership between the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank designed to reduce the cost of financing on local transportation infrastructure projects throughout the state.

Camden County’s upcoming Westfield Avenue (CR610) milling and overlay road reconstruction project is projected to cost about $2.1 million. The NJTIB loan is for $2.5 million and can be used to cover project design in addition to the cost of construction.

Crews are expected to mill and overlay the stretch of Westfield Avenue from Tinsman Avenue to Route 130 in Pennsauken.

“This is one of the most important investments that we can make in our community, and Camden County is dedicated to ensuring that the infrastructure our residents rely on is kept in the best condition possible,” Freeholder Susan Shin Angulo, liaison to the Camden County Department of Public Works, said. “The financing now being offered by the NJTIB is going to make this process faster, effective and more cost-efficient.”

Loans offered by the NJTIB are intended to aid local governments by offering significantly reduced interest rates versus market competitors, and by minimizing the principle that is used to calculate that interest.

It doesn’t determine the principal amount of the loan until the conclusion of a project. This allows counties and municipalities to accept large loans without owing interest on unused funds if the final cost of the project is lower than anticipated.

“The unique financing structure of the loan, coupled with immediate reimbursement for related costs, means that the county can start this project and move forward at a much faster pace than usual,” Shin Angulo said. “The Freeholder Board is looking forward to continuing to work with the NJTIB in the future and to making additional improvements and enhancements to roads and other transportation infrastructure throughout the county.”

The NJTIB was first opened in June 2018 and Camden County’s application for the Westfield Avenue project is the first in the state to be accepted for low interest financing. The Bank was initially started with $22.6 million in funds transferred from NJDOT’s Local Aid Infrastructure Fund. That sum had previously been generated from a recent gas tax increase.

Transportation Bank loans are available to counties, municipalities, and other local governmental units for capital projects related to public highways, ramps, signal systems, pedestrian walkways, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure.

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