NJ senators irked over turnpike project costs, motor vehicle call centers

Though neither as fiery nor as long as the Assembly version of the budget hearings on transportation, the Senate's on Tuesday touched on E-ZPass, the turnpike widening, NJ Transit’s anticipated headquarters move and challenges with hiring.

Senators raised more questions about why NJ Transit is moving its headquarters to a politically connected building near its current facility in Newark. They questioned a controversial Transportation Department project that would spend nearly $11 billion to widen and reconstruct four sections of the New Jersey Turnpike between the area of the Holland Tunnel and the ports in Bayonne. And they had questions about what efforts are being made to help people get through to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s E-ZPass contractor, Conduent.

The heads of the Motor Vehicle Commission, the Department of Transportation and NJ Transit answered budget questions from the panel of senators for about three hours.

Here were the big topics they covered:

NJ Transit headquarters move

Sen. Doug Steinhardt, a Republican who represents Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren counties, pressed NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett on why the agency is looking for a larger workspace than what it currently has, given news of restructuring, financial uncertainty and the trend of commercial real estate downsizing.

Corbett reiterated plans to move some office workers at the Maplewood facility into the new Newark office space and see how hybrid work trends play out in the coming years.

“One of the advantages, particularly with Gateway, is the ability for us … to have the ability to expand or contract,” Corbett said, referring to the new headquarters building.

Turnpike widening

Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, a Republican from Monmouth, asked Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti to “shed some light” on the drastic increase in costs for the turnpike widening project. Construction estimates have more than doubled, increasing from $4.7 billion to $10.7 billion.

“The estimator they used was very old, and we didn’t update it when we should have,” Gutierrez-Scaccetti said.

She said the main goal of the project is to replace the Newark Bay Bridge, which needs to be raised to handle larger ships passing under it and expanded so the shoulders are not used for traffic, as they are now, even though they were not intended to be.

“If we decide that a certain part of the project is no longer needed or doesn’t fit … it [the Turnpike Authority] has the opportunity always to do that,” she said about modifying a project.

The steep cost, she noted, has a lot to do with the fact that it’s an “almost entirely elevated highway.”

Environmental groups and residents have pushed back on what they say is the exorbitant cost. They also argue that the increase in lanes will not ease traffic over time, but will add more congestion and pollution.

Gutierrez-Scaccetti said the project is essential to keep traffic flowing to and from the ports, which are seeing record levels of cargo and are a critical piece of the state’s economy.

Call center improvements

The Garden State’s call centers are often a bane for residents, particularly when it comes to trying to get a live person on the phone to address issues at the Motor Vehicle or E-ZPass. But the department heads say improvements are coming.

O'Scanlon, who recently led an effort to improve E-ZPass regulations with a new law, had questions about how the agency will help people get through to the E-ZPass contractor, Conduent.

Gutierrez-Scaccetti said the issues became pronounced during COVID, when the agency had trouble staffing its call center, but a new leadership team was brought in a few months ago and has “reduced call times significantly.” She acknowledged there’s more work to do and said part of that is updating back-office technology.

“That center is the same one we built in 2001, 2002, so it’s time for us to take a look at it and see if there’s not something better we can provide,” Gutierrez-Scaccetti said.

To which O’Scanlon said, “That’s music to my ears.”

Steinhardt had similar questions for Latrecia Littles-Floyd, the new acting administrator of the MVC. He cited an NJ.com story in which a reporter made 30 calls to the MVC and only eight times was offered a call back, and during none of the calls was a reporter able to get a live person on the phone.

“The customer service MVC provides today is more robust, more responsive and multi-faceted,” Littles-Floyd said.

Hiring challenges

The agencies all cited varying issues with hiring and retaining employees.

“There’s no doubt that hiring today is a challenge. The demand for our professional engineering types and engineering students is quite high,” Gutierrez-Scaccetti said, adding that it’s hard to compete with the salaries offered in the private sector. “Working for government really offers so many other benefits we have to get better at selling.”

She also said the agency is preparing to open a new state-of-the-art training facility in Bordentown this year that will help in efforts to recruit and train skilled labor for roadway jobs and lead to other career opportunities in state departments.

Gains in locomotive engineer hiring

Corbett said the agency has reached a sweet spot with the number of locomotive engineers it employs, after years of not having enough to cover its train routes because of disinvestment during the last administration. The agency continues to struggle with hiring and keeping bus drivers who have a commercial driver's license — an issue that Sen. Paul Sarlo, chair of the budget committee, noted is being felt across the commercial driving industry.

Sarlo said he and others in the industry have heard from applicants that the biggest deterrent is testing for marijuana, particularly now that recreational use is legalized in many states, and because the blood alcohol content is lower than for those driving automobiles.

“We’re struggling. The industry is struggling,” he said.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ senators talk turnpike costs, motor vehicle call centers