Poll: Is the NJ Turnpike making a big profit from toll collections or just maintaining the roadway?

WOODBRIDGE – The New Jersey Turnpike Authority collected $992 million in tolls last year, making it the most profitable toll road in the nation, according to the toll industry newsletter "Toll Roads News."

Second was the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which collected $781 million in tolls in 2012.

The Garden State Parkway was listed sixth on the list with $402 million in toll revenue collected last year. The analysis did not include bridge and tunnel authorities, such as the Port Authority or New York’s MTA.

The Turnpike’s operating expenses were $378 million and the authority had a cash flow of $614 million, according to the industry newsletter.

Turnpike authority spokesman Thomas Fenney told NJ.com the Turnpike cannot be characterized as profitable.

"The Turnpike and Parkway both rank among the top 5 busiest toll roads in North America. High volume means high revenue," Feeney said, adding that the Turnpike is in the midst of a $7 billion capital investment program.

"Those investments - like the Turnpike widening between interchanges 6 and 9 - are funded by bond issues," he said. "Most of the money collected in tolls on the Turnpike and Parkway goes toward repaying those bonds."

Feeney added: "But that expense, nearly $600 million last year, is not even mentioned in the Toll Roads News analysis. That's like writing a story about a family budget and leaving out the car and mortgage payments."

APP.com reported the Toll Roads News analysis confirmed what officials at the Turnpike Authority have said for the past year, that revenues have increased, despite a decline in traffic, largely due to the January 2012 toll increase.

In January, authority officials reported a 4.3 percent decline in traffic on the turnpike, but a toll revenue increase of 47.3 percent for the 12 months between December 2011 and December 2012.

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