Politicians argue over NJ/NY rail tunnel

February 14, 2001 When it comes to the planned multibillion-dollar commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie isn't doing much to build bridges, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg says, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. The longtime Democratic senator said the Republican governor has refused to let NJ Transit engineers and professional staff meet with federal transportation officials to break a 30-day construction delay that threatens to scuttle America's largest public works project.

On Sept. 10, Christie
ordered a 30-day halt on new tunnel construction to review the financial
viability of the project that was estimated at $8.7 billion, but could cost up
to $5 billion more. The project is awaiting a final agreement that would
outline the costs, timeline and responsibilities for the life of the project. Up
to $600 million has already been spent on the tunnel project, known as Access
to the Region’s Core, or ARC.

Top representatives from
the Federal Transit Administration, NJ Transit, the New Jersey Department of
Transportation and Port Authority met in Washington, D.C., on Sept 24 to
discuss the tunnel project.

Lautenberg said the
Christie administration is refusing to allow NJ Transit engineers and other
professional staff meet with the FTA during that 30-day stretch, which could
get in the way of an accurate final estimate.

"If the point of the
30-day pause in construction of the tunnel was to determine the project’s final
costs, the state’s actions over the last two weeks make no sense," the
senator said in a statement. "If the governor wants to know what the final
cost of the project will be, he must stop blocking NJ Transit’s professional
staff from working with their federal counterparts to crunch the numbers."

Christie spokesman Michael
Drewniak said that although the governor’s administration appreciates
Lautenberg’s input, the session in D.C. was a fact-finding meeting attended by
high-level officials from the governor’s office and all of the involved agencies.

"Also in attendance
were NJ Transit ARC project leaders who are proficient and knowledgeable on all
aspects of the ARC project, including cost projections," Drewniak said.
"We will continue a responsible assessment of the project and its cost
before making critical decisions."

In addition, NJ Transit
engineers and financial staff met previously with the FTA.

The FTA remains committed
to providing $3 billion for the project, Lautenberg said. The Port Authority
also has committed $3 billion and New Jersey $2.7 billion – $1.25 billion in
New Jersey Turnpike Authority money and the balance in federal funds that flow
to the state.

But there have been
discussions about using money allocated for the tunnel to instead revive New
Jersey’s nearly broke Transportation Trust Fund.

The trust fund, which pays
for road and bridge repairs and transit services, is set to run out of money in
March. Christie has been adamant about not raising the gas tax to replenish it.
The tunnel linking New Jersey with Manhattan is expected to double rail capacity.
It was scheduled to be completed in 2018.