Legislators host DOT commissioner
Hardyston. State Sen. Steve Oroho, and Assemblymen Parker Space and Hal Wirths show DOT commissioner local road projects.
| 13 Sep 2019 | 02:03
Assemblyman Parker Space; Senator Steve Oroho; DOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti; Assemblyman Hal Wirths; Zenobia Fields, Director of Government & Community Relations for DOT; Helen Carew, District 24 Office
First Row, Jay Imenez, DOT Commissioner’s Chief of Staff; Assemblyman Parker Space; Wantage Twp. Mayor Ron Bassani; DOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti; DOT Deputy Commissioner Joe Bertoni; Second Row, Senator Steve Oroho; Assemblyman Hal Wirths
Senator Steve Oroho, Assemblyman Parker Space and Assemblyman Hal Wirths (all R-Sussex, Warren, Morris) welcomed Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) and other top department staff on a tour this week to review several transportation projects in the 24th Legislative District.
“We were pleased to have the commissioner and key staff come up to the district to see firsthand some of the local road projects that require the State’s attention and assistance,” said Oroho. “Having top-level DOT representatives on-site to see the actual roads and the conditions, and be able to speak to local officials, helps in the planning and the resolution of these projects.”
The specific projects that were visited included:
Route 23 Road Project (Holland Mountain Road, Beaver Lake Road, Laceytown Road), Hardyston Township
Route 23 over Branch of Wallkill River, Wantage
Route 15 Corridor – Signalization/Traffic Improvements, Sparta
Route 206 Culvert Replacement under RR Bridge, Andover Borough
While the district tour concentrated on State operated roadways, the legislators talked about the needs in local communities as well. One of the key components of the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) reauthorization was the doubling of local transportation aid to counties and municipalities to fund more projects and help ease the property tax burden.
“By increasing the share of the TTF that is dedicated to supporting local projects, from 10 percent to 20 percent of the TTF funding each year, we are helping towns and counties fix more roads and bridges without local property taxpayers having to bear the full cost,” said Oroho.