Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, put "a second and final stop on Wednesday morning to the most expensive public works project under way in the country, a proposed rail tunnel under the Hudson River that could have doubled commuter-train service to Manhattan," according to an article today by Patrick McGeehan at nytimes.com.
Mr. Christie had canceled the project earlier this month, saying that New Jersey could not afford its rising share of the projected costs. Then, pressed by federal officials to reconsider, he agreed to wait two weeks while alternative financing plans could be drawn up.
But, in the end, Mr. Christie said the taxpayers of New Jersey would still be liable for cost overruns that could run into the billions of dollars.
The decision to stop construction of the project, known as Access to the Region's Core, could cost the state $3 billion that was pledged by the federal Department of Transportation for new transit projects, and some or all of an additional $3 billion commitment from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The state was responsible for the balance of the project's total cost, which had been estimated at $8.7 billion.
But Mr. Christie challenged that figure, and last week, the article said, the federal transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, who had tried to talk Mr. Christie out of stopping the project, said that his staff estimated that it would cost at least $9.775 billion and possibly more than $12 billion.
The governor, a Republican, said October 7, 2010 that he had decided to withdraw his support for the project "after hearing from state transportation officials that the project would cost at least $2.5 billion more than its original price of $8.7 billion," the article said, adding that "he said that New Jersey would have been responsible for the overrun and that he could not put the taxpayers of the state 'on what would be a never-ending hook.'"
Mr. Christie's decision stunned other government officials and advocates of public transportation because work on the tunnel was under way and $3 billion of federal financing had already been arranged.
The tunnel was a project of New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The tunnel, which would have stretched under the Hudson from North Bergen, N.J., to a new station deep below 34th Street in Manhattan, was intended to double the number of trains that could enter the city from the west each day. The project's planners said the additional trains would alleviate congestion on local roads, reduce pollution, help the growth of the region's economy and raise property values for suburban homeowners.
The planned tunnel would have been used exclusively by New Jersey Transit, whose trains now share a two-track tunnel, nearly 100 years old, with Amtrak.
The ARC tunnel was a pet project of Mr. Christie's predecessor, Jon S. Corzine, and the state's two senators, Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez.
Mr. Christie had canceled the project earlier this month, saying that New Jersey could not afford its rising share of the projected costs. Then, pressed by federal officials to reconsider, he agreed to wait two weeks while alternative financing plans could be drawn up.
But, in the end, Mr. Christie said the taxpayers of New Jersey would still be liable for cost overruns that could run into the billions of dollars.
The decision to stop construction of the project, known as Access to the Region's Core, could cost the state $3 billion that was pledged by the federal Department of Transportation for new transit projects, and some or all of an additional $3 billion commitment from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The state was responsible for the balance of the project's total cost, which had been estimated at $8.7 billion.
But Mr. Christie challenged that figure, and last week, the article said, the federal transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, who had tried to talk Mr. Christie out of stopping the project, said that his staff estimated that it would cost at least $9.775 billion and possibly more than $12 billion.
The governor, a Republican, said October 7, 2010 that he had decided to withdraw his support for the project "after hearing from state transportation officials that the project would cost at least $2.5 billion more than its original price of $8.7 billion," the article said, adding that "he said that New Jersey would have been responsible for the overrun and that he could not put the taxpayers of the state 'on what would be a never-ending hook.'"
Mr. Christie's decision stunned other government officials and advocates of public transportation because work on the tunnel was under way and $3 billion of federal financing had already been arranged.
The tunnel was a project of New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The tunnel, which would have stretched under the Hudson from North Bergen, N.J., to a new station deep below 34th Street in Manhattan, was intended to double the number of trains that could enter the city from the west each day. The project's planners said the additional trains would alleviate congestion on local roads, reduce pollution, help the growth of the region's economy and raise property values for suburban homeowners.
The planned tunnel would have been used exclusively by New Jersey Transit, whose trains now share a two-track tunnel, nearly 100 years old, with Amtrak.
The ARC tunnel was a pet project of Mr. Christie's predecessor, Jon S. Corzine, and the state's two senators, Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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