NJ Transit board members approved the appointment and contract of former Transportation Commissioner James Weinstein as the state commuter agency’s new executive director Thursday morning. Weinstein, who was nominated by Gov. Chris Christie earlier this month, will earn a salary of $261,364 and be eligible for an annual incentive payment of $10,000 based on performance measures such as reliability, safety, customer performance and progress made on the $8.7 billion second Hudson River tunnel project. Payment of that incentive will be determined by the chairperson of the NJ Transit Board’s Administration Committee, according to the contract.

If that performance payment is granted, that amount and his base salary will become the base salary in the following year. His total potential salary by the fifth year is capped at $302,000. Weinstein would also receive use of a motor vehicle and 25 vacation days and 25 sick days.

The contract is effective Saturday.

Officials cited Weinstein’s extensive experience in transportation, having served as state Transportation Commissioner from 1998 to 2002. After leaving the DOT, Weinstein served as senior vice president of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.

After that he served as senior vice president of AECOM, a global transportation consulting and engineering firm and was responsible for the firm’s highway and bridge projects throughout the United States. APP