By a nearly 2-1 margin, New Jersey voters approved a $500 million transportation bond referendum on Tuesday. Half the proceeds will be directed to fix aging county and municipal bridges, while the other half will fund projects under state control, including $80 million for NJ Transit.

The bond’s passage represents another public endorsement of the "Fix It First" principle of transportation investment. Last year, a Quinnipiac College Poll found that a big majority of New Jersey citizens surveyed favored public transit and maintenance of existing roadways as top transportation priorities. 23% said new highways should get priority (MTR #185). Later in 1998, Governor Whitman embraced the "Fix it First" mantra in articulating a broad "transportation vision."

NJDOT produced a detailed list prior to Election Day which outlined candidate projects after concerns were raised by Tri-State Transportation Campaign and others about funds from the so-called "Bridge Bond" being sent to new highway capacity projects.

The list contained no road widening projects. In addition to substantial sums for transit, highway, and bridge repair projects, the list also included small amounts for rail freight ($8m), bicycle ($5m), and pedestrian ($4m) projects.

Voters’ strong support for the Fix It First agenda will be put to the test in the upcoming legislative session, when implementing legislation is drawn up for expenditure of bond funds. In spite of the details in NJDOT’s spending plan, it’s possible that it could fall prey to political horsetrading, with projects added or dropped as a result.

This risk, and the strong support received by the Fix It First project mix, gives further credence to the need for legislative spending controls in Transportation Trust Fund legislation. Measures should ensure adequate spending on infrastructure repair and maintenance, and investment in alternatives to highways.

The bond is widely seen as a stopgap for the Transportation Trust Fund, which due to heavy borrowing in the past, will be out of money for new projects in June 2000. Renewal of the Trust Fund, or temporary life support through diverted petroleum taxes, are expected to be hot legislative issues in the coming year.