New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today cancelled the Hudson River Rail Tunnel project. There had been doubt for some time as to whether Christie would allow the controversial tunnel construction to go forward.
Today he said "No!"
“I have made a pledge to the people of New Jersey that on my watch I will not allow taxpayers to fund projects that run over budget with no clear way of how these costs will be paid for,” said the governor. “Considering the unprecedented fiscal and economic climate our State is facing, it is completely unthinkable to borrow more money and leave taxpayers responsible for billions in cost overruns.
Christie said the tunnel project costs “far more than New Jersey taxpayers can afford and the only prudent move is to end this project.”
The final talley for the project has climbed ten times over the original $2.8 million estimate and Christie said the state simply could not sustain the cost in this tough economic climate.
Christie also noted that the state's Transportation Trust Fund is nearly bankrupt.
New Jersey State Senator Mike Doherty (R-Warren/Hunterdon) issued the following statement today after Governor Christie's announcement that construction on the Hudson River Rail Tunnel would be terminated:
"Governor Christie made the right decision today by stopping construction of the new Hudson River Rail Tunnel. Our Governor understands we cannot spend money we do not have and New Jersey must start living within its means.
"A financial audit, conducted by the federal government, estimated that cost overruns on the project could top more than $5 billion. New Jersey taxpayers and tollpayers would have been the ones held responsible to pay this multi-billionaire dollar bill. Additionally, the design of the project, as it stood, was inefficient and ineffective towards solving the long-standing capacity problems that are affecting rail travel into and out of Manhattan from New Jersey.
"With this decision, Governor Christie is protecting the people of New Jersey from higher taxes, higher tolls and more debt."
State Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) also expressed support for the decision of Christie to cancel the ARC rail tunnel after a 30-day review concluded that the cost of the project to New Jersey taxpayers would likely balloon by up to $5 billion. While the tunnel was originally expected to cost $4.3 billion, the cost had escalated to $8.7 billion by 2009. New estimates, including those of a federal audit, put the final cost of the tunnel at nearly $14 billion.
“Governor Christie has followed through on his commitment to not leave taxpayers on the hook for open-ended mega-projects like the ARC tunnel that only serve to enrich government contractors, lawyers and engineers,” said Pennacchio. “Every dollar of the expected $5 billion of cost overruns would have been paid for by New Jersey taxpayers. Governor Christie’s decision to cancel the ARC tunnel will directly save New Jerseyans billions of dollars.”
Pennacchio noted that the federal government’s share of the trans-Hudson rail tunnel project is capped at $3 billion, and the State of New York has refused to make any contribution to the project.
Additionally, AMTRAK has announced their own plans to build another set of rail tunnels connecting New Jersey and New York.
“The Governor has committed to modernizing the Northeast Corridor and working with others, including Amtrak, the Federal Transit Administration and the State of New York to secure the efficiency and capacity that rail customers require,” added Pennacchio. “We don’t need multiple new sets of tunnels at such an extreme expense to bring riders from one side of the Hudson to the other. A little bit of cooperation will save everyone a lot of time and money.”
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