Solomon and Baraka in favor of one-bridge solution to repair Newark Bay Bridge

Jersey City Mayor James Solomon and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka are in favor of a one-bridge solution to repair the Newark Bay Bridge, Phase 1 of the widely panned $10.7 billion Turnpike widening project, they wrote in a February 6th letter to Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D).

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

“We write to you in our respective capacities as Mayor of Newark and Mayor of Jersey City to raise serious concerns regarding the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s plan to replace the Newark Bay Bridge (the “NBB”) with new twin bridges rather than rehabilitating or replacing the existing structure with a single bridge,” they wrote to Sherrill.

“We believe the latter option will not only be better for our communities, but also aligns far better with core goals of your administration, especially making the state more affordable.”

Their stance is the same as that of 65 advocacy groups who wrote to Sherrill yesterday, though the letter from Baraka and Solomon was not gone public until it was obtained by HCV today.

While the chief elected officials of New Jersey’s two largest cities appreciated that the initially proposed six-lane approach had been abandoned in December, as Solomon said at the time, they remain opposed to the proposed two-bridge plan for Phase I.

“This is the wrong decision for the communities we represent and for the State.
Newark and Jersey City are the two communities that will be most impacted by the New Jersey Turnpike’s project,” Baraka and Solomon wrote.

“As elected leaders representing hundreds of thousands of residents in these two communities, we share your goals of making New Jersey more affordable, making government more efficient, reducing pollution, and responsibly stewarding public funds. The Twin Bridge Replacement Plan would achieve none of these goals, and would in fact be detrimental to them.”

Similar to what the Turnpike Trap Coalition expressed, Solomon and Baraka feel a one-bridge solution will reduce construction costs, provide more funding for public transit, reduce air pollution, and avoid traffic bottlenecks in Jersey City and Newark.

“We welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this important and time-sensitive matter in greater detail as NJTA has stated it will begin construction this year,” they concluded.

Sherrill’s office did not return an email seeking comment on Friday.