Gov. Christie Blames Tunnel Project On Corzine

Though New Jersey Governor Chris Christie admits he is the one who pulled the plug on the $8.7 billion Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel, don't let that fool you into thinking he's actually going to take the blame. Nope, NJ Transit lines will remain clogged, and it's all former Governor Corzine's fault! Christie said the project "went from $5 billion to $8.7 billion in what was clearly a rush by the Corzine administration to have gold shovels and put them the ground and try to get (former Gov. Jon) Corzine re-elected. That obviously was less than successful."

Christie said the government flat out can't pay for Jersey's $2.7 billion share of the tunnel, but other officials are calling him short sighted. Josh Zeitz, a spokesman for Corzine, said, "This looks like another example of a Trenton politician doing what’s penny wise in the moment, but pound foolish in the long run." The project, sinisterly called "Access to the Region’s Core," is scheduled to be completed in 2018, and would create an estimated 6,000 jobs.

New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez is also worried stalling the project could jeopardize the $3 billion in federal funding dedicated to the project. He said, "We’ve done everything we can to keep it on track. But the people who are running it is NJ Transit and the bottom line is that they have to get this done. We can’t dig the tunnel ourselves." Yes, you can, Jersey! We believe in you!

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By Jaya Saxena in News on September 15, 2010 4:17 PM

Comments [rss]

Red

Once New York finishes the East Side Access tunnel, Long Island is going to get better access to the city. Long Islanders have already taken most of the jobs on "Jersey Shore." If ARC dies, they'll be getting city jobs that could otherwise go to NJ residents.

Seriously, if New Jersey kills this project they are setting themselves up for failure in the coming decades. The crappy, delayed every week NJ Transit service you see now will be the status quo for the next 50 years. Then the existing tunnel will collapse and it'll be Armageddon. Hopefully by then we can just plug our brains into the grid to telecommute.

JacqueMehoff

they voted for a big fat baby for governor in NJ. they're in for a world of hurt if this is the way he behaves.

IvoryJive

This project delivers jobs and job access, economic growth, increased property values, increased income tax revenues, and congestion reduction along with it's associated environmental benefits. Every dollar put in to this project will come back to NJ tenfold. It is absolutely moronic to stop this project.

cmdrogogov

Any project that gets people onto a train efficiently and quickly vs. clogging up the roads with inefficient, ugly and environmentally catastrophic cars should be given massive priority.

I wonder how funding for this project - which millions of people will use per year -compares to NJ's funding of highways? Probably a drop in the bucket.

kevd

i think i read that NJer's take home $50 billion a year in salary from jobs in NYC. If they could double the number of workers that could efficiently commute to NYC, they'd bring home $100 billion/year.

this thing, despite being enormously expensive, will pay for itself.

marcyd

NJ Commuters have been promised this tunnel for years, and it would make things incredibly easier, especially for those along the Raritan Valley line which doesn't have a direct route into Penn Station. Chris Christie seems to be doing everything he can to destroy public transit in NJ and it's a disgrace.

SonnyBobiche

If I had a couple of billion I could build myself a football stadium and get rich off of that. Oh wait, I don't have the money to build it now or ever.

If NJ doesn't have the money, it doesn't period. No amount of seeing benefits in the future will change that, and after the financial debacle that was the BIG DIG in Boston no state will pick up projects like this unless the Feds pay for almost all of it.

Bottomless Chips

Um, $8.7 billion is a crap load of money for something that has inelastic demand.

Jaya, why should Christie accept any responsibility over this?

If it's about job creation, why stop with a $8.7B project. Let's make it a $50B project and create 35,000 jobs.