Motorists at Risk of Accidents, Tickets While Traveling on Deficient Bridges in New Jersey

New Jersey ranks among the worst states in the entire country when it comes to bridge safety, which creates a risk of serious traffic accidents.

According to data compiled by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), approximately one-third of the bridges in New Jersey are considered deficient in some way and could use repairs. Out of a total of 6,686 bridges in NJ, 2,310 were deemed inadequate for handling existing traffic loads or meeting other important safety standards. Just seven states are worse than New Jersey at maintaining bridges and ensuring the safety of motorists.

New Jersey is particularly bad at safeguarding drivers of cars, trucks, motorcycles and other vehicles because NJ roadways and bridges tend to have heavy traffic loads with plenty of trucks passing through the state. Beyond that, NJ roads are heavily congested due to the state’s high population density. Steve Schapiro, a spokesman for the NJ Transportation Department, said that these issues mean that bridges in the Garden States often require “more extensive work to maintain.”

Despite the obvious concerns about safety on NJ bridges, there was some good news in the recent report issued by the FHWA: New Jersey actually improved its bridge maintenance over the previous year, reducing the overall number of deficient bridges by 33.

However, NJ lawmakers may have a hard time continuing that minimal progress going forward because the state legislature simply doesn’t have the funds needed for further bridge repairs. NJ Governor Chris Christie said that the New Jersey State Legislature will need to figure out a way to finance the repairs, which will likely involve boosting the NJ Transportation Trust Fund.

Many observers of the situation hope that the bridge repairs are made sooner rather than later, especially in light of the fact that a number of NJ bridges recently had to be shut down due to significant safety risks. For example, the U.S. Route 206 bridge in Princeton required emergency repairs after safety inspectors found cracks in the stone arches. Additionally, the Garden State Parkway’s Mill Road bridge, located in Union County, also desperately needs repairs in order to accommodate the 200,000 motorists that pass over it each day. (The bridge is the most heavily traveled crossing in the state.)

In addition to causing apprehension about auto accidents, deficient bridges in New Jersey raise concerns about drivers being ticketed for traffic violations as law enforcement looks to be proactive and stop accidents before they happen in areas known as safety risks. Beyond that, anytime a car accident occurs, there is always the possibility that someone will be ticketed for a moving violation.

For additional information about this case, read the following article: N.J. bridges among the worst in the U.S. again, new report shows