7-3-19 in New Jersey

There are two ways to traverse New Jersey north to south: the New Jersey Turnpike which will take you from NYC all the way down to the Delaware Memorial Bridge, and the Garden State Parkway which runs from the Tappan Zee Bridge south to Cape May.

Both nail you with tolls.

And it costs $15 to take the GWB into Manhattan, which is just another reason for us not to go to Manhattan.*

Bob Hennelly at Insider New Jersey says blame the Feds:

So, what happens when the Federal government refuses to return some of the billions we send Washington back in the form of infrastructure upgrades?

“It is a big problem,” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton told me at a press conference. “The Federal government had been a critical partner with local transportation agencies in providing top priority resources. What we have seen is multiple examples, probably the leading one is the Gateway Project where the Federal government has backed away from its historic role of supporting major regional transportation projects.”

The bottom line is “the entire burden on the residents of the community to finance the project” he added.

This has been the state of affairs for so many years, that the Port Authority’s latest proposal to raise tolls feels like the movie “Ground Hog Day.” Anyone who has lived long enough to see a Port Authority Chairman indicted and convicted, knows that this is how the bi-state shakedown machine works.

Actually this article covers a really boring Port Authority meeting which we won't get into. You're not having trouble getting to sleep are you?

*You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Be cautious.