TRENTON, N.J. (WCBS 880) — President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan would go a long way in New Jersey and the state’s senators are trying to drum up support for the legislation.
On Monday, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez reminded residents that commutes get longer when the state’s bridges and tunnels begin to crumble.
“Consider that in New Jersey alone there are 502 bridges and over 3,995 miles of highway in poor condition,” Menendez said.
The bill would also provide crucial funding for railways in the state and would give a greenlight to the stalled Gateway Tunnel Project.
However, Menendez says there are other issues that need to be addressed.
“We must expand the Hudson Bergen light rail, modernize our light rail systems here in Newark and Camden [and] build cleaner bus fleets,” he said.
The bill includes $115 billion dollars for highways and bridges, $85 billion for transit and $80 billion for Amtrak. Some Republicans say there's too much in the package, but Sen. Cory Booker disagrees.
“Whether it is cleaning up abandoned mines, cleaning up the Superfund sites that we have in New Jersey, getting up lead pipes –I'm sorry that's infrastructure,” he said.
Booker also says infrastructure is about internet access and sustainable energy sources.
“It's time to build a 21st energy century energy grid, it's time to make broadband accessible to every child in New Jersey,” the senator said.
Booker says the money provided from the federal government, should Biden’s bill pass through Congress, would be a much-needed investment in New Jersey.
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