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Christie: N.J. transportation funding 'not a crisis'

Democratic lawmakers and transportation groups for months have warned of a looming transportation funding crisis. But on his radio show Wednesday, Gov. Christie said New Jersey had funding for roads, bridges, and rail through June 2016 and was "not a crisis."

Democratic lawmakers and transportation groups for months have warned of a looming transportation funding crisis.

But on his radio show Wednesday, Gov. Christie said New Jersey had funding for roads, bridges, and rail through June 2016 and was "not a crisis."

"This is not something to rush on or rush through," Christie said on NJ 101.5's Ask the Governor. "It's not a crisis at the moment, because we're funded pretty well now."

Christie's remarks stood in contrast with those of his own transportation commissioner, Jamie Fox, who has been traveling the state drumming up support to replenish the fund. Fox said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate last fall that "we've reached the end of the line."

On Thursday, the nonprofit Tri-State Transportation Campaign slammed Christie as being ignorant of the "dire fiscal reality of the state."

"In just five months, all of the state's collected transportation revenue will go toward paying the debts of past or current projects," the group's executive director, Veronica Vanterpool, said in a statement.

"This is because the Transportation Trust Fund will go broke on July 1, 2015, which means there will be no more money to fix potholes, to reinforce steel bridge beams, or to replace diesel trains with greener ones."

The fund has money through the end of the fiscal year but will hit its statutory borrowing limit in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The state treasurer said Tuesday that he expected the Department of Transportation would issue about $600 million in authorized bonds next year - the maximum it could borrow.

All revenue from the state's 14.5-cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline already goes toward paying down more than $1 billion in annual debt service on previously issued bonds for transportation projects.

"The Transportation Trust Fund crisis is the single most pressing issue facing New Jerseyans today," Tom Bracken, president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday, calling it "so disappointing" that Christie didn't mention the issue in his budget speech.

Christie said on Wednesday's radio show that he didn't address the fund in the speech because "it's not part of the budget."

"I've continued to allow everything to be on the table in terms of discussion, and we'll continue to have those conversations," Christie said.

Asked later by a caller if he would veto a gas tax increase, the governor - a potential 2016 presidential candidate - said he was "in the midst of trying to negotiate a solution" for the fund."

"I don't find it useful to negotiate those things over the radio," Christie said.

mhanna@phillynews.com

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@maddiehanna

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