NJ Turnpike Nation's Most Profitable Toll Road: Report

Four of the seven most profitable roads in North America are in the Northeast, according to an industry report. And New Jersey's iconic Turnpike tops the list.

Toll Roads News said the Turnpike had $992 million in toll revenues in 2012.

But the state agency that oversees the road disputes that characterization.

"The New Jersey Turnpike Authority does not make a dime of profit," said spokesman Thomas Feeney, who pointed out that the Authority -- which also oversees the Garden State Parkway (#6 on the list) is in the middle of a $7 billion capital improvement campaign funded by bonds.

"More than half the money collected at toll booths on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway goes toward repaying those bonds. Yet the TollRoadsNews story doesn’t even mention that cost. That's like writing a story about a family budget and leaving out the car and mortgage payments."

Tolls on the Turnpike and the Parkway went up 53 and 50 percent, respectively, in 2012 -- a big driver behind the increased revenue for that year.