Results tagged “njturnpike”

It's a Thanksgiving miracle! A wild turkey hailing from Staten Island found her way to the New Jersey Turnpike, where for days she's been dodging vehicles and worrying toll booth attendants.

Yesterday morning, the two toll booths on the NJ Turnpike were robbed, prompting NJ Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando to call them "the stupidest criminals in history." Why? Because the booths at Exits 15X and 16E are little used and don't have that much cash anyway. In fact, a toll collector's 8-hour shift at 15X usually only nets $200-$300. Spokesman Joe Orlando said, "This definitely wasn't a plot for 'Ocean's 11.'" The Star-Ledger reports that the robbers, in three different vehicles, "disguised their faces with bandannas and dark sunglasses and flashed guns at toll takers." The robbers used a white Nissan and dark Jeep to rob Exit 16E and the Jeep and a Mercedes—which had been carjacked an hour earlier—to hit 15X. The Turnpike Authority expects to find the criminals, as the 10 individuals who previously robbed the NJTA have all been captured.

Yesterday afternoon, a gas tanker overturned and exploded on the NJ Turnpike near the Meadowlands. Authorities believe the tanker failed to negotiate the curve on a ramp; heavy smoke could be see for miles. Two good Samaritans driving behind the truck helped smother the flames. One, Angelia Mercado, used her coat to bundle up truck driver Rajinder Singh and drove him to a hospital in Newark (she also said Singh gave her phone numbers of family members to call). Singh, a Queens resident, is currently in critical condition after suffering second- and third-degree burns.

The NJ Turnpike Authority will be raising tolls on the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. The Star-Ledger reports that the "first hike comes in December, and the second comes in 2012....A drive along the full length of the Turnpike, which now costs $6.45, will more than double to $13.75 by 2012. Driving the Parkway from top to bottom also will more than double in four years." While the state government raised tolls to fund road improvements and fund other projects, the NJ Motor Truck Association criticized the plan, "If you're paying $8 extra per truck and you have a fleet of 100 trucks, that's an extra $800 per day. How many small businesses can absorb that?"

The NJ Turnpike Authority presented a plan that would rails tolls 50% next year--and then another 50% in 2012 and 11% in 2023, according to WCBS 2. Given the state's budget troubles, Governor Jon Corzine has been trying to increase the fare to more than $3 in 2014 and to $5.80 in a decade--to much public outcry--but this plan would see a $3 toll in 2023. Right now, the toll is $1.20 (average), and under the proposed plan, it would be $1.80 in 2011 and $2.70 in 2012). The NJTA's board said, "We believe increasing tolls, even minimally, is an action of last resort, not one of first choice," but there are many infrastructure projects, like maintaining the roads and bridges, that need funding.

Hope drivers had their windows closed on the NJ Turnpike, or at least some Benadryl: Apparently a huge swarm of bees--thousands--converged on various vehicles near Cherry Hill, NJ. The Turnpike Authority thinks "a beekeeper's beehive...fell beside the highway." The TA is looking for a beekeeper to deal with the situation.