The plan estimates that DOT needs $2.3 billion over five years to pay for road projects, exceeding DOT's available cash, $175 million.

The push to increase transportation funding comes just months after lawmakers rejected a Whitman administration proposal to increase the gas tax to fund the Transportation Trust Fund. Most lawmakers in Trenton know that new revenue in some form will be needed in the next 18 months to meet the pace of transportation infrastructure investment the state wants to maintain.

With considerable infrastructure repair needs and burgeoning transit ridership, there is no doubt that extra money could be well spent. But increased revenue could also be used for road projects that induce sprawl and traffic. Firm policy priorities and spending controls would help. If the state would agree to State Plan-compliant requirements for spending transportation dollars, taxpayers could be guaranteed that their money will not finance sprawl- and traffic-spawning roads.

Despite her past advocacy for a higher gas tax, Governor Whitman has stated she does not want to increase tolls and would only do so as a last resort. If a toll increase does stay on the table, the state should consider using tolls not only for revenue-generation, but also as a traffic management tool.

Traffic in New Jersey worsens every year, and the state should look at possibilities for incentive toll strategies to reduce peak roadway congestion and increase transit use. The Turnpike is offering toll discounts to some trucks now, but does not vary them by time of day, as NY Thruway Authority officials do on the Tappan Zee Bridge. Especially with EZ-Pass on the way, NJ's toll road authorities should see whether "smart" tolls applied to cars would work to beat gridlock. If a toll hike is deemed necessary, applying it in ways that reduce driver headaches could improve its palatability among the motoring public.