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A study ranked New Jersey 48th in the cost-effectiveness of its state roads, citing high per-mile costs for maintianing and operating them, despite their poor condition.

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New Jersey spends by far the most money per mile on its state roads, even though they rank near the bottom in terms of their overall condition, according to a study released Wednesday.

The study by the California-based Reason Foundation concluded that New Jersey spends $2 million per mile to maintain and operate its state roads.

In terms of the cost-effectiveness of the state’s highway system, that is, the overall condtion of its roads as measured against the cost of maintaining and operating them, New Jersey ranked 48th in the nation, behind Hawaii and Alaska, according to the Reason Foundation’s 21st Annual Highway Report.

Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota had the three most cost effective state highway systems, respectively, according to the report, which is based on 2012 data, and titled the 21st Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems.

New Jersey also had the sixth highest administrative costs for operating its state roads, at $44,000 per mile, versus $10,500 nationwide, the study found.

New Jersey had the 10th most congested roads in the nation, according to the study.



A spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, Stephen Shapiro, released a statement noting that New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation, and one of the most heavily developed, with busy ports and a key stretches of the I-95, I-78 and I-80 corridors. That means its aging highways take a pounding not only from its own cars and trucks, but from those of other states as well.

“This makes our construction projects far more complex than they might be otherwise. In order to minimize the impact on traffic, our projects must be done in smaller stages and often work can only be done at night, increasing the time and cost it takes to complete a job,” Shaprio stated. “New Jersey also is a prevailing wage state requiring union labor for our projects, it is one of two states that pays utilities for relocation costs, and high real estate values increase the costs of rights-of-way acquisition.”

The nationwide study by the libertarian-leaning think tank was released amid a growing debate in New Jersey over how to pay for the state’ s aging infrastructure. The state Transportation Trust Fund, the main account used to pay for substantial overhauls and new construction of roads and bridges, is nearly empty.

While some lawmakers have called for a hike in the state gasoline tax to replenish the fund, Gov. Chris Christie has resisted the idea.

Yesterday, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, the chairman of the Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee, said he would explore merging the state Department of Transportation, New Jersey Turnpike Authority and NJ Transit during hearings scheduled to begin next Wednesday.

The same day, a new coalition of business and labor groups, ForwardNJ, held its first press conference, laying out options to pay for roads and bridges that included a gas tax hike and a merger.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow hin on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.