Of the $13 billion collected by U.S. toll agencies in the United States, two major New Jersey authorities — the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and Port Authority of New York & New Jersey — collected $2.7 billion, about one-fifth of that amount. In other words, for every $1 toll collected, drivers in New Jersey paid about 20 cents.
But for commuters, tolls are another burden on a New Jersey population that already faces the highest property taxes in the nation, an average $8,200 annually. And anyone with a car must also absorb the cost of a gasoline tax, collected at the pump.
The parkway has seen many improvements over the years, including the addition and reconstruction of interchanges, bridge replacements, widening of the roadway, and removal of at-grade intersections.
Commercial trucks with a registered weight of over 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) are not allowed to use the northern parts of the parkway. All trucks are prohibited north of exit 105, just past the Asbury Park Toll Plaza. From Tinton Falls to the southern end of the parkway at Cape May, trucks are allowed, but must pay additional tolls. Buses are allowed nod for the entire length of the parkway. In April 2011, New Jersey Transportation Commissioner James Simpson announced the NJTA was looking into the possibility of allowing trucks on the northern portion of the Garden State Parkway. However, the idea was quickly abandoned after the agency found the road had engineering concerns that would make the consideration of allowing trucks on this segment impossible.
The Garden State Parkway was built to be a toll free road. Fast forward to 2018 and we can laugh a bit at that notion. Can you imagine a toll free Parkway? What does this have to do with construction on the Parkway? Everything. The tolls and construction have a symbiotic relationship that will never, ever end.
The agreement was that as long as there was construction on the Parkway the New Jersey Highway Authority would be allowed to keep the tolls. Do you see where this is going?
According to State of New Jersey Executive Order #128 under Governor Donald T. DiFrancesco, "...it was widely understood by the public that tolls on the [GSP] would only be necessary until such time as the bonds financing the cost of the construction of the Parkway could be retired...there is no existing plan or timetable to either permanently retire the bonds of the Authority or to phase out tolls on the Parkway..."
This executive order was released back in 2001. As long as there is construction on the Parkway there will be tolls. As long as there are tolls on the Parkway there will be construction. The circle of the Parkway life.
Read More: Why There Will Always Be Construction On the Parkway |
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