No Toll Increases For 2018 At Bridges, Tunnels: Port Authority

No new tolls. No fare hikes. That was the good news that officials at the Port Authority of NY/NJ had for commuters after they approved the agency’s multi-billion operating and capital budgets for 2018 this week.

On Thursday, Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved a $3.2 billion operational budget and a $3.4 billion capital expense budget for the coming year. The budget does not include a toll or fare increase, officials said.

According to the Port Authority’s 2018 proposed budget, tolls make up 96.4 percent of the total revenue at all its tunnels, bridges and terminals.

The Port Authority maintains facilities and crossings that include the PATH rail transit system, Port Newark, the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln Tunnel and the Holland Tunnel.

TALKING BUDGET

The agency’s overall operating budget for 2018 is up $61 million (1.9%) from the 2017 budget, “in line with the rate of inflation,” officials said.

The increases are primarily driven by increases in police staffing at Port Authority facilities, higher operating costs from facilities coming into operation at the World Trade Center site in 2018, and higher payments to local municipalities and other landlords in return for the use of facilities or property, administrators said.

The increased expenses will be “more than offset” by increased revenues of $127 million (2.5%) from the 2017 budget, Port Authority officials said. See more budget information here.

According to the Port Authority, other capital and operational budget highlights for 2018 include:

• $1.1 billion to redevelop the region’s airports and ready them for the future. At LaGuardia Airport, construction continues on the entirely new, redeveloped airport. Planning and design for the AirTrain LaGuardia continues. At Newark Liberty International Airport, investment continues for the redevelopment of Terminal A into the new state-of-the-art Terminal One. Planning and design for the extension of PATH to the Newark Liberty rail link station is ongoing. At JFK International Airport, planning continues to advance the Vision Plan of Governor Cuomo’s Airport Advisory Panel for the redevelopment of the airport, encompassing new and interconnected terminals, relocated state-of-the-art cargo facilities and a new roadway configuration for reduced congestion.
• $55 million for further planning and design activities for a new Port Authority Bus Terminal. Procurement is currently under way to select an environmental and architectural and engineering consultant so that environmental review activities can begin in 2018.
• $432 million for upgrades to Trans-Hudson crossings, including: further advancement of the Bayonne Bridge Navigational Clearance Program construction; continued construction on the Goethals Bridge replacement; and the commencement of components of the George Washington Bridge suspender rope replacement program.
• $71 million for PATH’s Signal System Replacement Program, and the continuation of PATH station and equipment modernization programs. By the end of 2018, Positive Train Control (PTC) will be fully operational, in compliance with a federal mandate requiring PTC by the end of next year.
• $55 million for the ExpressRail intermodal container transfer facilities at Port Jersey.
• $17 million to support continued planning activities for the Gateway Program, consistent with the Port Authority’s commitment to pay debt service on $2.7 billion under its 10-year Capital Plan as part of the bi-state region’s commitment to this critical project.
• $726 million to ensure safety and security at Port Authority facilities, including the addition of new counterterrorism police posts at the airports, the addition of new PAPD supervisory officer positions, and the commencement of two PAPD classes in 2018.
• $1.6 billion to operate and maintain the agency’s infrastructure operations, including an increase in maintenance costs driven by additional facilities coming on line at the World Trade Center site.
• $392 million for ongoing management services.
• $396 million for payments to local municipalities and other landlords in return for the use of facilities or property

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Photo: Eric Kiefer