Interview: Stephen Dougherty

Committed

The Glassboro-Camden Line is moving forward with cooperation among regional authorities

Stephen Dougherty

Executive Director – South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA)

What is the status of the Glassboro-Camden Line? The Glassboro-Camden Line is an exciting project for the SJTA. In September 2020, we implemented our first toll increase in 12 years. Once that went into effect, we started several different projects locally on the roadway and here in South Jersey. One of the biggest was the commitment to help advance the Glassboro-Camden Line, which we think is exciting in the context of the Atlantic City Expressway. We’ve earmarked a significant financial pledge of up to $200 million in partnership with the Delaware River Port Authority. Earlier this year, both Authority boards approved an MOU to work together to move that project forward. It’s interesting for us to be able to partner with a fellow agency here in South Jersey with a similar mindset and mission to improve our region and be able to get people moving in a more efficient way.

What is the main challenge in promoting an efficient and safe transportation system? One of our biggest projects from a capital standpoint is All-Electronic Tolling. We are working closely with the New Jersey Turnpike to bring this technology to New Jersey. We expect to put out an RFP (request for proposal) that will convert our cash system to a purely all-electronic tolling system. It will eliminate toll barriers where drivers stop and pay cash. As of today, about 82% of our customers use E-ZPass as a payment method. Customers without E-ZPass will receive a bill in the mail to the address in which their car is registered. The system will take a picture of their license plate and they will be charged the toll along with an administration fee to cover the cost of that process. It’s a customer-first approach. Another benefit is that once the system is up for a few years and we have data on where people are getting on and off, we can start to rationalize the toll structure and make it more distance-based, based on segments of the roadway that people actually use. From a safety standpoint, you will not have to worry about folks stopping on the entrance and exit ramps. Patrons will not need to stop to pay cash, which is the main barrier we have today. From an environmental standpoint, this stopping increases the emission of greenhouse gases.

Any toll road that is being built throughout the country and the world is going to an all-electronic system and no one is collecting cash anymore. This will allow us to get caught up not just with the region, but all around the world. We feel like we have to offer a better product or service to our customers all the time so that we can continue to grow the Expressway and improve the experience for all those involved. Specifically, we believe that all-electronic tolling is a major step in that direction from a convenience and safety standpoint.

New Jersey American Water spent more than $464 million on system upgrades and improvement projects in 2020

( ) Natural Gas, PSE&G and South Jersey Gas are the gas providers, while water and wastewater services are provided by a number of regulated companies. Several of South Jersey’s utilities also provide alternative energy.

Gas Utilities have been under pressure in the past few years. Gas companies had to contend with delinquent accounts due to a moratorium on shut-offs that ended July 1, 2021. However, a grace period to repay bills runs until the end of the year, heaping further pressure on gas providers. PSE&G has set up a deferred payment arrangement for 12-, 18- or 24-month periods and JCP&L is working with customers on an individual basis, in some cases forgiving some or all of the past-due amounts.

South Jersey Industries (SJI), the owner of South Jersey Gas (SJG) and Elizabethtown Gas, is the largest standalone gas utility in the state. It has 700,000 customers and about 10,000 miles of distribution and transmission pipelines. Despite pandemic-related challenges, the group reported a 27.4% year-over-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2021. SJI continues to invest in critical infrastructure through its ongoing Accelerated Infrastructure Replacement Program and Storm Hardening and Reliability Program at SJG. The group is on track to complete the replacement of aging bare steel and four targeted system enhancement projects within the barrier islands. In April, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved the expansion of SJG’s energy efficiency programs for three years, from July 2021 to 2024 with proposed investments of $133 million.

Water The state of New Jersey has several regulated water and wastewater providers. New Jersey American Water is the largest water and wastewater utility in the state, serving 2.5 million people in 17 counties. The utility was ranked No. 1 in the 2020 JD Power Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study for large Northeastern regions. In January, New Jersey American Water announced that it had spent more than $464 million on system upgrades and improvement projects over the course of 2020, an $80 million year-over-year increase. But the investment program comes at a cost. In October, the utility sought and was granted a hike to its base water and wastewater charges that increase the average bill for a wastewater customer by $2.52. The average water customer will see a $2.56 increase. At the same time, a credit was approved, which will result in a pass-back of $32.5 million to customers until August 2021, meaning

Howard Kyle

President – National Aviation Research and Technology Park

Atlantic County was rated as one of the most severely economically impacted counties by COVID-19 in the country by a Brookings Institution study. That follows on the heels of a decline in what had historically been the major industries in Atlantic County: gaming and tourism. The development of the NARTP is an attempt to establish a new industry here. The development of the park is not an end in itself. It’s part of a larger effort that incorporates the Atlantic City International Airport, a state airport that has been designated as a Smart Airport Testbed Facility, the FAA Tech Center and the surrounding one-mile area that constitutes an aviation innovation hub.