The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 3

Courier News A-3 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2001 At last Pass 0 I Tunnel opens to traffic for first time I Mill rsur start of estimates Problems with equipment and toll evaders still plague the program. ,..423. 'C xv i i rr' ty officials and contractors red-faced. "For it to end on a sour note like that was tough to swallow," said Stanley Glassey, chairman of the SJTA board. "It was embarrassing and it was depressing for us." Like superstitious gamblers who had already been burned, SJTA officials eschewed any fanfare Tuesday.

There were no speeches, no ribbons, no u. i I WtM 'iiiiiiii I NEWARK (AP) Delays in equipping all toll lanes in New Jersey with E-ZPass, and with retaining a collection agency and developing a plan to bring chronic toll evaders to court, has left revenues well below projections. Just $3 million in fines have been collected through June 24, far off the pace to meet the $101 million expected for all of 2001. An internal E-ZPass financial report indicates that its member highways would still be short of revenue projections if every outstanding violation were paid tomorrow, according to published reports. "I'm still confident that the program will achieve its goals," New Jersey Turnpike executive director Edward Gross, who oversees E-ZPass in the state, said in the reports.

"The violation rate is there, it's just a matter of getting the full system up and running." Others are not so certain. "They're falling way behind where I thought they would be, and I don't think they're ever going to catch up," said Steve Carrellas, coordinator of the New Jersey chapter of the National Motorists Association. E-ZPass had been expected to produce about $411 mil lion from violations by March 2008, which would help the electronic toll program pay most of its own costs. If not, highway agencies may be on the hook. Initial financial reports predicted a $35 million surplus in 2008.

But the most recent numbers, issued in December, projected a $65 million deficit, even if the highway authorities reap the $411 million. About half the toll lanes on the turnpike and Garden State Parkway have E-ZPass. All the lanes are to have the system by October, more than a year behind schedule. The highway agencies have so far been lenient in pursuing violations, as motorists become familiar with the system and its bugs are corrected. They are also concerned that a hard-nosed attitude would induce drivers to quit the system, hurting efforts to ease congestion at toll plazas.

Of the $65 million worth of tickets issued from July 1999 to June 2001, about $40 million worth were waived, including instances where drivers successfully contested the charges against them, the internal report said. The E-ZPass program has collected $6.5 million of the remainder and deems about $19.5 million "outstanding." ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS Workers remove a cover from a sign Tuesday that directs motorists to the new tunnel from the end of the Atlantic City Expressway shortly before the tunnel's opening. The $330 million tunnel connects the expressway with the city's marina area and Brigantine. ByJOHNCURRAN The Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY -The Atlantic City tunnel project finally opened to traffic Tuesday, after 2V5 years of construction and one very embarrassing glitch. Ahalf-hour later, ithad its first traffic jam.

Just after 12: 10 p.m., two police motorcyclists and three state police cruisers their overhead lights flashing led the way as cars began filtering off from the foot of the Atlantic City Expressway and onto the 2.3-mile roadway, which is formally called the Atlantic City Expressway Connector. "It's beautiful. And it's going to save people a lot of time," said Joseph Haney, 40, an Atlantic City firefighter whose 1994 Toyota 4-Runner was one of the first vehicles in. It was the second momentous first for Haney. At 1 8, he was the first person to be thrown out of an Atlantic City casino, skipping out of school to sneak into Resorts International on its opening day and drop three quarters into a slot machine before being ejected because he was under 21.

The $330 million highway project was built in response to demands from Stephen A. Wynn, the former chairman of Mirage Resorts. The Las Vegas casino company planned a $750 million casino in the marina district and wanted motorists to be able to get to it easily. To alleviate disruption to the west side neighborhood it runs through, the roadway was designed with a section as a tunnel, topped by a landscaped park. But that warded off only some of the barbs that were slung at the project.

For years, it was a lightning rod for criticism: Donald J. Trump called it a publicly-funded "private driveway" to Wynn's planned casino, and neighborhood residents complained about the noise, air pollution and disruption the construction Suspects sought in bank robbery PORT NORRIS State police detectives are seeking the public's help in finding two men who robbed a Cumberland County bank Friday. Detective Sgt. John Schusler of the state police station in Port Norris said the men, wearing coveralls and ski masks and armed with what appeared to be automatic weapons, entered the Hudson United Bank in Cedarville, Lawrence Township, about 11:40 a.m. and demanded money from bank employees.

Anyone with information about the driver of the vehicle, the robbery or the identity of the suspects is asked to call Schusler at the state police Port Norris station at 856-785-0036 or the FBI's Linwood office at 609-927-8882. All information will be kept confidential and a reward is being offered. NAACP pushes for environment CAMDEN The president of the state NAACP branch criticized federal officials Tuesday for engaging in "environmental racism" by giving a cement company approval to build a plant in a predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhood that already houses dozens of polluting facilities. William H. Rutherford said the association will embark on a statewide campaign for environmen-taljustice.

Amy Collings, spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection, said the cement plant meets federal air quality standards. Lawsuit filed against sheriff NEWARK Four former employees of ex-Passaic County Sheriff Edwin J. Englehardt say the sheriff forced them to participate in Republican politics and retaliated against them when they refused. The employees filed a civil rights lawsuit last week against Englehardt, who retired in May amid a federal investigation of the department and four of his top deputies. The lawsuit also named the state, the county, the Sheriff's Department and four Englehardt subordinates they accuse of helping to harass the workers.

Fund started in cop shooting JERSEY CITY -Filipino-Americans have started a legal defense fund for two Cars enter the new Atlantic City tunnel from the marina area shortly after the tunnel's opening Tuesday. Jersey fighting NYC Olympic bid yiis Instead, they gathered on a hill overlooking the Con-nector's main ramp to watch traffic begin flowing. Flow it did, but gingerly: The first few motorists crept down the virgin roadway speed limit: 35 mph as if they were test-driving a car. The novelty wore off quickly. Those headed to Har-rah's Atlantic City casino found a blight at the end of the tunnel: Cars and trucks that got off the Connector there got stuck in a jam as they merged with Brigantine Boulevard traffic.

Bumper-to-bumper, the cars backed up onto the Connector, causing long delays for Harrah's customers. Brigantine-bound traffic moved smoothly. Richard Fischer, project manager for Parsons Brinckerhoff, a consulting firm overseeing construction of the Connector, blamed the logjam on the intersection of Brigantine Boulevard and Harrah's Boulevard, which forces that line of traffic to stop. fied all state law enforcement agencies about how to implement it. The vehicle can be released in less than 12 hours if the person taking custody of the suspect agrees to sign the written warning about liability, according to Farmer.

If the person refuses to sign, the vehicle would remain impounded for 12 hours after the arrest. After that, it could be released to the suspect himself, Farmer said. Elliott's father said the law would have saved his son's life if it had been in effect last year. "It represents John's final gift of life to all of us," said William Elliott. "We hope that, in his name, it will save lives.

It would have saved his." Adventure, which operates a Chaos ride at its park in Jackson and elsewhere among its 36 other loca-, tions. While an investigation continues, the accident at Adventure Amusement Park in Dalton, initially appears to have been caused by a mechanical failure at the center of the ride's rotating wheel, said E.J. Miranda, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. The department inspects amusement rides. Four Chaos machines op- caused.

Just when those controversies had begun to fade, a new one surfaced. On Friday, acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco cut the ribbon for the project during a daylong celebration that was supposed to culminate with its opening to traffic at 6 p.m. But a radio communications glitch forced the embarrassing last-minute postponement of the actual opening, leaving South Jersey Transportation Authori John's Law in effect for drunken drivers "It represents John's final gift of life to all of us." WILLIAM ELLIOTT, father of man killed by drunken driver CYBER SURVEY Should New Jersey sup port New York i a ury Did withe 201 2 Summer Olympics? To register your vote and opinion visit our Web site: wfww.c-n.com Results published on Wednesday's opinion page tration declined to partici- Eate in New York's bid. We aven't been given any information to change that position," she said.

State officials have refused to support the plan for several reasons, including rumors that the city wants to lure the New York Jets from the Meadowlands to a proposed domed stadium near the Javits Convention Center on the Hudson River. The stadium would be a key venue for the Olympics. ByJOHNCURRAN The Associated Press Beginning today, police in New Jersey have the power to seize the vehicles of drunken driving suspects and keep them for 12 hours after the arrest. "John's Law," named for a Navy ensign killed in a drunken driving accident last summer, also requires anyone who takes custody of a suspect after his arrest to receive a written warning about their liability should the drunk person get back behind the wheel. Last July, Navy Ensign John R.

Elliott, 22, of Egg Harbor Township, was killed in a head-on collision with a driver who had been charged with DUI earlier that night. According to police, the complice to the accident, even though he wasn't involved in it directly. He is charged with manslaughter, vehicular homicide and aggravated assault. Elliott's father, William Elliott, used his son's death to persuade lawmakers to make. New Jersey's DUI laws tougher.

'The law goes a long way toward ensuring that anyone who is arrested for driving while under the influence will simply not have access to their vehicle for half a day following their arrest," said Attorney General John J. Farmer Jr. The state Division of Criminal Justice has noti man Michael Pangle, 37, of Woodstown got back into his SUV after a friend picked him up at a state police barracks after his July 22, 2000, arrest. Pangle's blood-alcohol content was .21, more than twice the legal limit for drivers. He was still drunk three hours later when his 1987 Chevy Blazer crossed a center line on U.S.

40 in Pittsgrove Township and struck Elliott's 1994 Nissan Ultima, killing both men at the scene, according to police. The friend, Kenneth Powell, 39, is awaiting trial on charges he was an ac TRENTON (AP)-New Jersey officials are giving low marks to New York City's bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, a proposal that includes several New Jersey venues and agencies. "We're not a part of their bid, and don't care to be," John Samerjan, a spokesman for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, said Monday after Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had outlined the city's plan. The proposal calls for basketball games in the Continental Arena, soccer in Giants Stadium, and preliminary soccer games at Rutgers Stadium in Piscat-away. RJ Transit would be an important part of the city's mass transit plan for the games.

It calls for moving people in the shape of an "Olympic high-speed ferry service along a north-south axis on the Harlem and East Rivers, and existing commuter rail service along an east-west axis. Rae Hutton, a spokeswoman for acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco, said he had not spoken with Giuliani, New York Gov. George Pataki or NYC2012, the organizing committee that developed the city's plan. "The Whitman adminis- erate in New Jersey: at Great Adventure, Funtown Pier, the Keansburg boardwalk attractions operated by Seacoast Amusements, and an amusement park at Clementon in Camden County, according to the DCA.

All the operators were contacted early yesterday and told of the Michigan mishap, Miranda said. They were instructed close down their Chaos machines and thoroughly inspect the hub arid bolts on their rides. If they appear to be in order, the rides can be used; in Michigan amusement accident prompts closings in Jersey brothers charged with killing a police officer dur ing a dispute over Fourth of July fireworks. Brothers Benjamin and Alfredo Gavina are charged with murder in the death of Officer Domenick Infantes, who was beaten to death with a metal pipe after he tried to intervene in a dispute between the brothers and a man attending a holi day Dartv next door. Infantes died two days after the beating, never having regained conscious ness.

The Hudson County Prosecutor office is weighing whether to seek the death penalty against theGavinas. Benjamin Gavina has hired defense attorney Raymond A. Brown of Newark, who represented the family of Phillip Pannell, a black teen-ager shot by a white police officer in Teaneck in 1992. The officer was acquitted in the case, but it drew national attention from civil rights leaders. From wire reports TH1SSECTI0N Designed and copy edited by Mark Correa, Chris Gregory, Kevin Greczek and Brooke Sample.

By KIRK MOORE Gannett New Jersey New Jersey amusement parks shut down their Chaos rides yesterday for inspections, after one of the spinning, tilting thrill rides came apart at the hub Monday night in Michigan, leaving 33 frightened and injured passengers trapped during a ticklish three-hour rescue operation. "We have closed the ride. It's been closed throughout our system," said Pat Klingensmith, a spokeswoman for Six Flags Great spectors will check them again with field inspections this week, Miranda said. Michigan officials said the ride was in its near vertical elevation when it separated at the hub at around 6:30 p.m. Monday, hitting the ground and remaining nearly upright.

Rescuers had to wait three hours to remove passengers because authorities feared the wheel was unstable and would fall over, said Chief Kevin Blanchard of the White Lake Fire Authority. The Associated Press contributed to this report. ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Rescue workers attempt to stabilize the wheel of the Chaos ride after it came off its spindle and came crashing to the ground Monday at Michigan's Adventure Amusement Park. I.