Toll roads lease deal weighed
Friday, December 29, 2006

By TOM HESTER Jr.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

TRENTON -- As Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine debates selling or leasing New Jersey toll roads to pay off state debt, Republicans are warning motorists to be wary, predicting toll increases and shoddy maintenance if a deal goes through.

"There are a wide range of concerns about this plan, ranging from its potential impact on motorists to its impact on the state's financial picture," said Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth. "All of these concerns must be taken seriously."

Corzine hasn't endorsed selling or leasing toll roads such as the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway, but a recent report said toll roads were among the best options for making money off state properties.

Corzine is mulling turning state assets into cash to help pay the $2.7 billion in debt the state is expected to owe next year. The governor hopes to cut into that and raise money to pay for property tax cuts, open space preservation, health care and state college and university construction, among other things.

He expects to make a final decision within the first four months of 2007.

While cautioning that many options exist, the governor recently said a leasing deal could include requirements on toll increases, maintenance and capital spending. "The structuring of this needs to be done by professionals and the trade-off needs to be understood on a professional cost-benefit analysis that is able to be explained to the public," Corzine said. Republicans are already mounting a campaign against toll road leases. Sen. Anthony Bucco predicted a ream of troubles.

"What we do know is that New Jersey commuters will be forced to pay more in tolls without any recourse," said Bucco, R-Morris.

He said private toll road operators will be worried only about profit, not grievances from New Jersey motorists.

New Jersey officials have been eyeing as models two recent deals, one in Chicago and one in Indiana, both of which leased toll roads to a Spanish-Australian consortium. Chicago will get $1.83 billion for a 99-year lease; Indiana will get $3.85 billion for a 75-year lease.

In Indiana, the consortium can begin raising tolls annually beginning in 2010 by either 2 percent, the rate of inflation or the increase in gross domestic product. Most of the lease money is slated to be used to finance highway and other transportation projects.

The consortium is under contract to meet maintenance and road improvement standards, though the state police continue to patrol the highway.

The Chicago deal allows the company to double car tolls to $4 over the next decade and continue to raise them after that. Most money from the deal will be used to pay highway and other city debt and create a long-term reserve fund.