NJ Governor Criticized For Too Much Salty Water on Roads
N.J.'s Salty Roads Draw Cry of Overkill After Storm Flub
(Bloomberg) -- First, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy was criticized for not doing enough to clear slick roads during a snowstorm that stranded commuters and schoolchildren last month. Now he’s accused of being salt-crazed.
Since the Nov. 15 storm, the state transportation department has taken to treating highways with brine to prevent icing, even when temperatures remained above 32 degrees (0 degrees Celsius). On Nov. 28, as the trucks sprayed and the state posted warnings about winter weather, some experts said the preparations were wasteful because freezing wasn’t expected. “Your tax dollars literally down the drain,” Gary Szatkowski, a retired National Weather Service meteorologist tweeted. He added: “#WarOnImaginaryStorms."
On Tuesday, Senator Declan O’Scanlon Jr., a Republican from Little Silver, said New Jersey is awash in sodium.
“Now, whenever you go outside on a chilly day, you see government trucks dumping thousands of dollars of resources unnecessarily onto the roads,” O’Scanlon said in a statement. The brine wastes money, further damages deteriorated roads and potentially increases saline in waterways, he said. “Taxpayers are rightfully baffled and furious.”
After the November storm left thousands of commuters stranded on trains and highways -- and a West Orange middle school kept its students overnight -- Murphy said the administration had been misled by forecasts and would re-examine its storm preparations. O’Scanlon said the task isn’t done.
“I’m asking Governor Murphy to take a step back and work with our DOT officials to strike a healthy balance here,” he said.
Murphy spokesman Dan Bryan referred a request for comment to Steve Schapiro, a transportation department spokesman who didn’t immediately respond.
To contact the reporter on this story: Elise Young in Trenton at eyoung30@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flynn McRoberts at fmcroberts1@bloomberg.net, Michael B. Marois, William Selway
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