New Jersey Department of Transportation

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportation policy, and assisting with rail, freight, and intermodal transportation issues. It is headed by the Commissioner of Transportation. The present Commissioner is Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. History The agency that became NJDOT began as the New Jersey State Highway Department (NJSHD) . NJDOT was established in 1966 as the first State transportation agency in the United States. The Transportation Act of 1966 (Chapter 301, Public Laws, 1966) established the NJDOT on December 12, 1966. Since the late 1970s, NJDOT has been phasing out or modifying many traffic circles in New Jersey. In 1979, with the establishment of New Jersey Transit, NJDOT's rail division, which funded and supported State-sponsored passenger rail service, was folded into the new agency.