SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 862

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 6, 2024

      The Senate Transportation Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 862.

      As reported, this bill requires the Department of Transportation (department) to include, in the annual “Report to the Governor and Legislature on New Jersey’s Roadway Pavement System” (annual report), additional information on pothole repairs.

      Under the bill, the department is required to, in addition to identifying the repair and maintenance projects that were completed during the foregoing fiscal year and the cost of each project, identify the number of pothole repair projects and the cost of pothole repair projects, identify the resources the department has allocated for each maintenance and repair project, and provide an estimate for the timeframe to conduct each maintenance and repair project, including the response times for emergency pothole repair projects, in the annual report. 

      The department is also required to conduct a lifecycle cost analysis of the pavement surfaces which includes, the number of pothole damage claims filed by users of State roadways and the associated costs of damages to vehicles as recorded by the Division of Risk Management within the Department of the Treasury.

      Lastly, the bill requires the annual report and the lifecycle cost analysis to be made available to the public on the department’s Internet website.

      This bill was prefiled for introduction in the 2024-2025 session pending technical review.  As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.