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Highway Boondoggles

Most NJ Gov. Candidates Have No Problem With ‘Boondoggle’ Turnpike Widening

The $11-billion highway expansion would double road capacity heading toward Lower Manhattan. Of the 10 contenders, only four said they oppose it.

June 4, 2025

NJ Still Backing Turnpike Widening Despite Congestion Pricing Success and Local Opposition

Congestion pricing is reducing traffic between New Jersey and New York — but Phil Murphy's $11-billion Turnpike widening would increase it.

March 26, 2025

State DOT Finally Offers Up Proposal To Repair the Cross Bronx Without Expanding It

An option that doesn't involve a parallel road that carries highway traffic but still creates a new east-west connection, had not initially been on the table.

February 17, 2025

Reps. Torres, AOC Join to Oppose Hochul Effort to Widen Cross Bronx Expressway

The Bronx House reps told the governor that her plan to build a pair of hulking, highway-sized roads next to the existing scar is "doubling down on Robert Moses."

November 18, 2024

OPINION: Stop Phil Murphy’s Brazen Turnpike Widening Trap

Gov. Murphy's plans to widen the turnpike will cost billions, clog streets and pollute the air — yet the state claims the project will have "no significant impact." The federal government should reject the plan outright.

May 31, 2024

Boondoggle: Why is ‘Reconnecting Communities’ Money Being Used for Highway Widening?

The US Department of Transportation just awarded $450 million to the $1.9-billion Rose Quarter 1-5 project, which opponents have long called one of America’s most-notorious highway boondoggles.

April 8, 2024

‘Stop the Highway-Expansion Madness,’ New Coalition Demands

"Endless highway expansions are pulling our country into an environmental, budgetary, and public health crisis," the letter states.

February 7, 2024

Highway Boondoggles 2023: Salt Lake Shenanigans

Plans for a major freeway expansion based on over-inflated traffic projections are a wrongheaded way to deal with the region’s rapid population growth.

December 3, 2023

Highway Boondoggles 2023: Is the BQE the Queen of All Boondoggles?

Built between 1937 and 1964, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is an enduring symbol of the destructive, car-centric transportation planning of the early- to mid-20th century.

November 29, 2023