On Oct. 6 Freeholder Director Jerry Thornton met with the Cape Issues group primarily to discuss the long-delayed completion of Route 55. Bob Grace, former mayor of Dennis Township is Cape Issues’ point man for the group on this important project. As mayor, he has been involved with Route 55 since 1988. Cape Issues has come to see the completion of Route 55 as vital to Cape May County for the safety of its people, as well as for our economic prosperity.
When Cape Issues met with Congressman Frank LoBiondo recently and discussed this topic, LoBiondo declared, if there is any way that we are going to get federal funding, there has to be a plan with local support in place. We determined then that the next step should be to meet with Thornton to inquire how we could give support.
Thornton said that the freeholders have long desired to see Route 55 completed, primarily for safety reasons, but also for economics. He told us that on Route 47, from milepost 1.55 through 24.45, since 2003, we have had 2817 accidents, resulting in 35 deaths and 976 injuries. On Route 347, from milepost 0 through 2.71, we had 189 accidents, with four deaths and 72 injuries. He added that the county has a solid argument in fighting this battle.
Thornton informed us there were broad-based resolutions of support for completing Route 55 in 2003, including the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO), Southern New Jersey Freeholders Association, the New Jersey League of Municipalities, First District Legislators, all 16 Cape May County municipalities, and the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce. He feels sure he can secure their support once again.
He is now again taking the issue up with the powerful SJTPO, of which Cape May County Freeholder Len Desiderio is the chairman. That is the agency which does almost all of the planning for the entire South Jersey area and applies for the money.
As to funding, Thornton told us that he is on the executive committee of the New Jersey Association of Counties, and that the prior Friday they discussed a bill in the legislature to increase the gasoline tax five cents per gallon per year for the next three years to help raise highway revenue. He offered that he sees no alternative, if it is a dedicated fund, because the county can’t afford not to have the transportation money. The Economic Development Authority could get involved too. This will require a lot of engineering, and initially Cape May County will have to do a lot of it.
When asked what specific land route 55 should take, Thornton said, that should be done by the SJTPO, because it impacts more than Cape May County.
During discussion, Dr. Tom Henry asked, how many more people have to die before the will exists to complete Route 55? Thornton replied, that was the argument which got the Garden State Parkway overpasses built. When that father came before the freeholder board, whose 17 year old son got killed close to the hospital– that was heart-rending.
Peter Jespersen implied that the environmental objections don’t hold water when he asked: With miles of cars idling and spewing out fumes in stalled traffic, what do the environmentalists say about that?
Grace told the gathering: I met with Mayor Pikolycky of Woodbine and brought up Route 55. He said we need that road. There are opportunities to develop the Woodbine airport that would be greatly enhanced if Route 55 were completed. Thornton replied that transportation is an issue we also have with the Cape May County airport.
Thornton said the amount of business Cape May County loses is significant because people say, I’m not going to go to the shore and put up with all that traffic to get there. Let’s be honest, if we had better roads, it would increase significantly. Our population is falling; we are losing the young families because there are few jobs here for them. Further, the school population is falling which is indicative of what is going on. With better transportation, we can enhance our tourism revenue.
In summary, Grace opined, we have built roads across the Everglades, we have gone to the moon, we have gone to Mars, I am pretty sure that we can build a road that is not environmentally destructive.
Art Hall
PS: In my opinion, on the issue of increasing the gasoline tax, Thornton is right to support it. My wife and I are traveling across country on better roads than we have in New Jersey, and we are paying more for gasoline. We gladly do so in order to avoid New Jersey’s outdated road systems.
From the Bible: Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22
