NJ drivers pay a fortune in taxes — so why do our roads still feel destroyed?

If you’ve driven anywhere in New Jersey for more than about seven minutes, you already know this report is true. You don’t need a national survey to tell you. Your front suspension has been screaming the answer for years.

Julio Cortez | ASSOCIATED PRESS

A new study by Lending Tree ranking states with the worst roads and bridges put New Jersey near the top of the list for roads in poor condition. It looked at pavement quality, bridge condition, and overall road infrastructure, and Jersey landed among the nation’s roughest.

Over 18% of our roads are in poor shape, according to a report on APP.com. That puts us at fifth place in the nation for bad roads.

The only states with roads worse than ours are Hawaii, Massachusetts, California, and Rhode Island.

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Photo by Danny Burke on Unsplash

That’s not exactly shocking.

We have roads that seem to get repaired only so they can immediately be torn up again. Potholes, if repaired at all, seem to come back like eczema. Orange cones might as well be our state flower.

What makes it sting even more is that New Jersey is often among the most expensive states in America to build and repair roads.

Mel Evans | ASSOCIATED PRESS

One big reason is something called prevailing wage.

It’s a labor law requiring contractors on public projects to pay wages and benefits set by government formulas, usually tied to union-scale pay in the area. The idea is to ensure workers earn fair compensation and that contractors don’t undercut each other by slashing pay.

In practice, critics argue it drives up taxpayer costs on public construction, roads included. Supporters say it preserves quality workmanship and skilled labor. But if it’s ensuring quality workmanship, why do our roads fall apart again so quickly?

At some point, it’s fair to ask where exactly all that money is going. Because if our roads are costing premium prices, they shouldn’t feel like driving across the moon. Yet here we are. Welcome to New Jersey.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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