History
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority was created by special legislation on April 14, 1949 to regulate the New Jersey Turnpike, which opened to traffic on November 30, 1951. It issued revenue bonds to finance the road based solely on future tolls, without using tax money.
Another agency, known as the New Jersey Highway Authority, was established in 1952 and responsible for maintaining the Garden State Parkway, which opened to traffic in 1954.
In July 2003, the New Jersey Legislature approved and Governor James McGreevey signed into law a bill consolidating the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the New Jersey Highway Authority. The main headquarters of the Turnpike Authority before consolidation was in East Brunswick Township, while the main headquarters of the Highway Authority was in Woodbridge Township. A few years later, the headquarters of the consolidated Turnpike Authority was relocated to an eight-story office tower on Main Street in Woodbridge, nearby Exit 11 on the NJ Turnpike.
The Woodbridge building that once housed the Highway Authority now houses the Statewide Traffic Management Center, from which Turnpike Authority personnel monitor traffic on the Turnpike and the Parkway, broadcast traffic and weather advisories to patrons over three AM radio channels, and operate more than 200 variable message and speed limit signs. The Authority also has closed-circuit TV cameras that show pictures of current traffic conditions on the Turnpike and the Parkway. The Turnpike traffic cameras are located in Newark (2 cameras), Secaucus (1), Elizabeth (2), Jersey City (2), East Brunswick Township (1), Mount Laurel Township (1), and Monroe Township (1).
The Turnpike Authority is accountable for the inspection and structural integrity of more than 1,000 bridge structures on the Turnpike and Parkway, to comply with the federally mandated National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS).
Read more about this topic: New Jersey Turnpike Authority
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—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
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—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)