Local officials are already decrying the shutdown of Summit's Morris Avenue Bridge project.
SUMMIT -- It's not a list the city wanted to make: Summit's Morris Avenue Bridge replacement project is on the list of "nonessential state-funded projects" scheduled to be frozen after a legislative stalemate on a how to fund the state's Transportation Trust Fund.
The bridge connects the two halves of the city and is located above the Morris & Essex rail line. It has been closed since August 2015 for "rehabilitation to improve structural integrity, increase load carrying capacity, and improve traffic, pedestrian and railroad safety," according to the city's website.
The work was scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2017.
"For the last year, Summit has done its best to deal with congestion, re-routed truck traffic and strain on multiple neighborhoods and businesses as this main artery connecting two halves of our city is repaired," Mayor Nora Radest and City Council President Mike McTernan said in a letter to TAP into Summit. "To have this work stopped will place an additional burden on our city. The difference in how the State of New Jersey functions versus how local government functions could not be clearer. Our local citizenry holds us to a high standard and has an expectation that problems are addressed promptly and avoid crisis situations whenever possible."
Beginning today, NJ Transit the state Department of Transportation will have a week to review and decide how to spend what's left of the Transportation Trust Fund.
On the city's website, the mayor added, "I have been and will remain in close contact with local legislators and continue to urge NJ Transit to recommend funding be preserved for this vital infrastructure work."
Two other improvements to the Summit train station will also be frozen, including a one that would have allowed longer trains to reach the station's platform.
Here, are the 10 largest local NJTransit projects to be shutdown:
Jessica Remo may be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaRemoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.