NJDOT awards $67.5 million to 408 towns

We awarded $67.5 million to 408 New Jersey towns in December to fund local safety, rehabilitation and street improvements. The monies provide direct property tax relief for municipalities that would otherwise be forced to pay for these improvements using local property taxes.

Municipal Aid grants will make local streets safer, pay for needed sidewalks and crosswalks and help revitalize downtown areas. They illustrate our commitment to relieve congestion, improve safety and enhance the quality of life in our communities.

Municipal Aid funding is distributed using a formula based on a town's population and road mileage. NJDOT provides towns with 75 percent of the amount of the grant up front and the remaining 25 percent after work is completed.

Each spring, municipalities are encourage to apply for funding through NJDOT's Local Aid Division. Applications cover a variety of projects, including road resurfacing, rehabilitation and signalization.

Municipal governments maintain over 25,000 miles of New Jersey's 36,000 miles of roadway - roughly 70 percent. In many instances, local property taxes do not provide sufficient funds for proper repair and maintenance to these roadways.

The Municipal Aid grant program is popular and competitive. Of 829 grant applications received, the NJDOT was able to fund 408 - or 49 percent - of these requests. We received more than $198 million in requests for the total of $67.5 million that we were able to distribute.

In addition to Municipal Aid in fiscal year 2005, NJDOT also funded $4 million for bikeways, $4 million for Safe Streets to Schools, $3 million for Centers of Place and $10 million for the federally-funded Transportation Enhancements program.