A2596

An Act requiring the Department of Transportation to provide additional information concerning the condition of pavements in the State and pothole repair and amending P.L.2000, c.73.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 11 of P.L.2000, c.73 (C.27:1B-21.24) is amended to read as follows:

11. The commissioner shall issue a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature at the end of each fiscal year containing the numerical ranking of pavements for roads needing maintenance and repair in accordance with the method developed in section 10 of [this act] P.L.2000, c.73 (C.27:1B-21.23). The report shall also identify the repair and maintenance projects that were completed during the fiscal year, including the number of pothole repair projects, provide an estimate of the cost impact to the department for each maintenance and repair project, including pothole repair projects, that utilized road surface material or other road treatment, identify the resources the department has allocated for each maintenance and repair project, including pothole repair projects, and provide an estimate for the timeframe to conduct each maintenance and repair project, including the response times to conduct emergency pothole repair projects.

The report issued pursuant to this section shall also be made available to the public on the department’s internet website.

(cf: P.L.2000, c.73, s.11)

2. Section 12 of P.L.2000, c.73 (C.27:1B-21.25) is amended to read as follows:

12. a. The commissioner shall conduct a life cycle cost analysis of pavement surfaces and report the findings of the analysis to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature no later than one year after the date of enactment of [this act] P.L.2000, c.73 (C.27:1B-21.14 et al.). The analysis shall compare equivalent designs and shall be based upon New Jersey's actual historic project maintenance, repair, and resurfacing schedules and costs as recorded by the Department of Transportation, and shall include estimates of user costs throughout the entire life of the pavement.

b. The commissioner shall conduct a life cycle cost analysis of pavement surfaces and report the findings of the analysis to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature no later than one year after the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The analysis shall compare equivalent designs and shall be based upon New Jersey's actual historic project maintenance, repair, and resurfacing schedules and costs as recorded by the Department of Transportation, and shall include estimates of costs to users of State roadways throughout the entire life of the pavement, including the number of pothole damage claims filed by users of State roadways and the associated costs of damages as recorded by the Division of Risk Management within the Department of the Treasury.

The report issued pursuant to this section shall also be made available to the public on the department’s internet website.

As used in this section, "life cycle cost" means the total cost of the initial project and all anticipated costs for subsequent maintenance, repair, or resurfacing, which may also include external costs imposed upon users of the project as result of use of the project, over the life of the pavement.

(cf: P.L.2000, c.73, s.12)

3. This act shall take effect immediately but shall remain inoperative until the first fiscal year following enactment and shall apply to all reports issued after that fiscal year.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the Department of Transportation (department) to include, in the annual “Report to the Governor and Legislature on New Jersey’s Roadway Pavement System” (annual report), additional information on pothole repairs.

Under the bill, the department is required to, in addition to identifying the repair and maintenance projects that were completed during the foregoing fiscal year and the cost of each project, identify the number of pothole repair projects and the cost of pothole repair projects, identify the resources the department has allocated for each maintenance and repair project, and provide an estimate for the timeframe to conduct each maintenance and repair project, including the response times for emergency pothole repair projects, in the annual report.

The department is also required to conduct a lifecycle cost analysis of the pavement surfaces which includes, the number of pothole damage claims filed by users of State roadways and the associated costs of damages to vehicles as recorded by the Division of Risk Management within the Department of the Treasury.

Lastly, the bill requires the annual report and the lifecycle cost analysis to be made available to the public on the department’s internet website.