Eight Hundred Workers Idled by Transportation Trust Fund Stalemate

WNYC | July 13, 2016 | Transportation
Number could more than double by end of week, during what should be peak employment period for construction workers

Credit: Jim Schacter / WNYC
road construction
The continuing stalemate between Gov. Chris Christie and New Jersey lawmakers on the best plan for refueling the exhausted Transportation Trust Fund has brought road and rail construction projects to a grinding halt.

Some 800 workers have already been laid off as a result of the shutdown, according to Robert Briant of the Utilities and Transportation Contractor’s Association of New Jersey. That number could more than double to 1,700 by week’s end, says
Alison Premo Black, chief economist with American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

The layoffs are particularly painful because they come at the height of construction season. Black is the author of a report that indicates it would cost $39 million just to stop — then later restart — the hundreds of affected projects.

Read the full story on WNYC Public Radio, a content partner of NJ Spotlight.