Letter to the Editor: Jeff Tittel on the Proposed Closure of the Pulaski Skyway

To The Editor:

When the Pulaski Skyway was built the most popular car was the Model A Ford making it the oldest highway in the nation, which is in desperate need of repair. However in order to repair and rebuild the Skyway for two years they are going to have to close the two northbound lanes causing a traffic nightmare in a densely populated area. The closing of these lanes will not only cause traffic jams and cause Turnpike extension gridlock, but will have detrimental impact on local businesses, add to air pollution, and will make getting to and from the Super Bowl an even bigger headache. The reason they are closing the lane and doing it this way is because it is the cheapest way of doing it. We believe strongly that the Skyway needs to be rehabilitated and repaired, but we believe we can do it in a way that will not create gridlock and a traffic jams.

In order to rebuild the right way they should build a second span next to the Skyway and revert the traffic onto that. Therefore after the Pulaski Skyway is complete there will be two spans one going northbound and southbound, which would also be up to code with adequate shoulders and lanes. We need have alternatives like adding another span of the bridge, but the Christie Administration wants to do this as cheaply as possible even if it causes traffic nightmare. When coming up with a plan to fix the Skyway we have to look at managing transportation and other alternatives like better mass transit system, buses, carpool lanes, and others ways to help reduce traffic not only during construction but long term.

The Pulaski Skyway could have been fixed year ago if there was money to fix it. Right now the Transportation Trust Fund is currently broke with new sources to fund the Transportation Trust Fund. Instead of coming up with a solution for the Fund the Administration is borrowing money and taking money from other sources. This is part of a overall bad fiscal policy instead of doing it the right way. We have allowed bridges and roads for far too long to go unrepaired and we now need to come up with a long term comprehensive solution for the Transportation Trust Fund.

Jeff Tittel

Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club