Plan to expand portion of New Jersey Turnpike faces pushback. Why some are against it

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — A plan to expand a portion of the New Jersey Turnpike is getting pushback from the community.

An informational meeting with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) got tense Tuesday night.

$10 billion project planned for New Jersey Turnpike

The $10 billion project is slated to fund 25,000 union jobs, a total of four projects that include a highway expansion between exits 14 and 14A, and replacement of 16 bridges that the Turnpike Authority says can no longer be rehabilitated.

“Their lifespan is 50 years. We’re at 70 years. They have to be replaced,” said Robert Briant Jr., with the Utility and Transportation Contractors Association.

“Ten billion dollars can go to solve every mass transit issue facing New Jersey today,” Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said.

Lisa Navarro, NJTA’s supervising engineer, says although the New Jersey Turnpike Authority is giving the Transit Authority a historic $500 million each year, the funds being used on this project are solely from toll revenue meant to maintain highways.

“It’s not as simple as taking this money and giving it to NJ Transit. We must follow the law and our regulations,” Navarro said.

Neighbors concerned about environmental impact of additional New Jersey Turnpike lanes

Some residents are concerned about the environmental detriment additional highway lanes will incur on low-income communities.

“When projects like these are being proposed, it makes [certain] illnesses worse,” Stephanie Martinez, with Hudson County Complete Streets, said.

“We should be talking about what intentional development is, which is improving walkable communities, improving public transit, talking about bike lanes so that we can have accessible communities as well in our neighborhoods,” said Chloe Desir, with Ironbound Community Corporation.

The NJTA says they’ve held dozens of stakeholder meetings, including Jersey City, Bayonne and Newark, and says answering questions one-on-one has been helpful. But some residents were upset they weren’t given time for public comment.

There will be additional meetings held in the future, and the plan is to start construction in 2026.