Assemblyman: Toll road sale would not be a good gamble

[rusty charly]

NEPTUNE — Assemblyman John Wisniewski says he gets asked a lot about why he talks so much about not wanting the state to privatize its major highways.

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A deal to do so has not been proposed. In fact, a bill that would allow the state to seek private operators for the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike doesn't appear to have a great deal of public support.

Nonetheless, Wisniewski said he has been outspoken on the issue because he understands the appeal of a pile of money. But he cautions, if that money is taken in exchange for the public toll roads, it will only hurt the state's fiscal health in the long term.

"The more skepticism that's brought about to examine this up-front makes it easier for people to have a more realistic view of it," said Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, and chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee.