NJ DOT Czar Also Will Lead Three Toll Roads ; Unprecedented Control, No Extra Pay
By TOM DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
New Jersey’s transportation commissioner can now add the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway to his management portfolio.
Kris Kolluri was appointed chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and South Jersey Transportation Authority on Thursday, giving him unprecedented control over the state’s transportation network.
Kolluri, the first state Department of Transportation commissioner to head both agencies, will receive no additional salary. He’s also chairman of NJ Transit’s board of directors.
As head of the South Jersey Transportation Authority’s board of commissioners, Kolluri will also preside over Atlantic City International Airport.
“It’s logical, and it makes sense from an economic standpoint, from a capital standpoint and from an operational standpoint,” said Kolluri, who is paid $141,000 a year.
The Corzine administration portrayed the appointment as an important step toward establishing a unified transportation network that would be attractive to business and motorists.
Kolluri, who has served as an ex-officio member of the transportation agencies, said the state now can have one voice promoting New Jersey’s “transportation investment strategy.”
“Commissioner Kolluri is a talented and proven administrator, and as chair of these authorities, he will be ideally situated to help us centralize our strategic transportation infrastructure program,” Governor Corzine said in a written statement.
Kolluri replaces turnpike chief Joseph Simunovich, who was not reappointed after he agreed in January to pay $50,000 to settle ethics charges. He also replaces SJTA Chairman Frank Spencer, who resigned to take a new position with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
Kolluri’s appointment also comes as the Corzine administration is exploring opportunities for selling or leasing the turnpike and parkway.
The turnpike’s largest union, however, believes the appointment has more to do with Corzine wanting to increase his control over state agencies, and give him more say-so in budget decisions and toll increases.
“Kris is a great guy, but this is the first step toward what Corzine really wants to achieve,” said Frank Forst, assistant to the president of the Local 194 of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.
The Turnpike Authority predicted that Kolluri’s transition to the post will be virtually seamless, noting the DOT and the agency work together when snowstorms and construction projects affect both toll roads and interstates.
“He knows the operation,” said Joseph Orlando, authority spokesman. “It’s not like you’re bringing in somebody who is new to transportation.”
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E-mail: davist@northjersey.com
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