$3.5B In N.J. Road Projects To Shut Down Friday: See The List Here

The governor's office has released a list of transportation projects that will shut down Friday due to a lack of funding after legislators failed to see eye to eye on a gas tax increase to fuel the state's Transportation Trust Fund.

The temporary shutdown of $3.5 billion worth of projects will impact both Department of Transportation and NJ Transit initiatives. Work on projects funded by the TTF will stop by 11:59 p.m. on Friday for at least seven days, the governor's office said.

The full list of NJDOT projects that will shut down can be found here.

The full list of NJ Transit projects that will shut down can be found here.

The shutdown follows an Executive Order by Gov. Chris Christie, who last week pledged work would be halted if legislators didn't approve a 23-cent gas tax to fund the state's Transportation Trust Fund, which expired Friday.

The New Jersey Assembly passed a 23-cent gas tax hike that came with a 1 percent cut to the sales tax. That measure was supported by Christie, who pledged to sign it by Friday.

But the Senate did not support that approach. Senate lawmakers have said they prefer a proposal that would gradually phase out the state estate tax. That cut would cost about $120 million during the next fiscal year and $512 million by fiscal 2021, according to lawmakers.

“As Governor, I am entrusted with the responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of this State, as well as the responsibility to aid in the prevention of damage, loss, or destruction of property in the event of emergencies affecting the State. As this executive order states, in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of this State, it is necessary that the remaining amounts held by the TTF not be spent on any transportation project that is not absolutely essential,” Christie said when signing the order on June 30.

The plan exempts projects deemed essential for the protection of the health, safety and welfare of all citizens and will not impact projects funded through federal sources.