Gov. Christie kills ARC tunnel, decision final

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, for the second and he says final time, pulled funding for a $8.7 billion rail tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan. Christie originally withdrew funding on Oct. 7 citing New Jersey's lack of money to cover cost overruns. He was reconsidering the project at the request of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Officials estimated it would provide 6,000 construction jobs immediately and as many as 40,000 jobs after its completion in 2018. The federal government and Port Authority of New York & New Jersey were each scheduled to pay $3 billion for the 8.8-mile (14-kilometer) Access to the Region's Core tunnel, while New Jersey was slated to cover the remaining $2.7 billion. Christie said the arrangement exposed his state's taxpayers to the cost of any overruns. The state's share grew to at least $3.5 billion, and the U.S. government didn't offer guarantees on any cost overruns, nor did it offer low-interest loans, Christie told reporters.