Relinquishing control in potential Atlantic City International Airport (KACY) takeover worries some South Jersey Transportation Authority officials

Discussions about a potential takeover of Atlantic City International Airport have left local officials wondering how much control South Jersey will retain over its own transportation system.
 
Some believe a sale or lease of the airport by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey could bring new momentum to talks of merging the South Jersey Transportation Authority with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, an option that’s been considered by various lawmakers for more than a decade.

“Without the airport it absolutely leaves open that possibility, which means then (South Jersey) will have no say on the Atlantic City Expressway or the Garden State Parkway,” SJTA Commissioner Jeffery April said. “I also would be concerned about the absence of any South Jersey representation on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.”

The Port Authority announced last month that it would undertake a study on the legal, environmental and business effects associated with taking control of Atlantic City International, located in Egg Harbor Township. The SJTA operates the airport and the expressway.

The parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike were consolidated in 2003 after then-Gov. James McGreevey said the merger would net millions of dollars. Grouping the highways eliminated the parkway’s former operator, the New Jersey Highway Authority, a group that included South Jersey representation.

Decision-making power for the roadway was shifted to the Woodbridge, Middlesex County-based turnpike authority. That group is governed by seven board members, none of whom is from Atlantic, Cape May or Ocean counties. A bill introduced earlier this year by state Sens. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, and Chris Connors, R-Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic, would require the authority to include a representative from one of those three counties.

McGreevey had originally proposed including the expressway in the parkway-turnpike merger as well, but the plan was later abandoned. That decision was touted as a victory for the region by lawmakers who feared the 44-mile expressway would be overshadowed by the parkway and turnpike.

The Port Authority is a mammoth, dual-state organization that oversees five airports, six bridges and tunnels, five marine terminals and several other developments, including the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Manhattan. Officials say the authority’s influence could help bring more flights to Atlantic City’s airport, though others have voiced concern that the operation could be overshadowed by other interests.

SJTA Commissioner Bob McDevitt, also president of casino workers union Local 54 of UNITE-HERE, acknowledged that discussions about merging the expressway with other roadways could re-emerge — a possibility that leaves him with mixed feelings.

“It’s nice to have a regional authority which administers the transit system. People think it gives the feeling of local autonomy,” McDevitt said. “But at the end of the day, the governor of New Jersey has the most impact on how all of these authorities are run, and local autonomy can be an illusion. Whether it’s McGreevey or (Jon S.) Corzine or (Chris) Christie, they select the people who are there. If things are reconstructed again in a way that benefits motorists and benefits air travel, then it’s a good thing.”

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