NEW YORK - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will continue to mull over the fate of the nation’s largest mass-transit project, instead of announcing a decision this week as expected on the $8.7 billion commuter-rail tunnel linking New Jersey and Manhattan.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said Friday that the governor will not make an announcement regarding the tunnel, called the Access to the Region’s Core, until next week. Christie killed the ARC tunnel Oct. 7, saying the state could not afford projected cost overruns of $2 billion to $5 billion. He agreed to reconsider the project a day later at the behest of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. That two-week review period ended Friday.
Drewniak said there is no hard deadline for an announcement on the tunnel’s future. He indicated the governor could release his decision next week after reviewing New Jersey Transit executive director Jim Weinstein’s report on the 8.8 mile-long tunnel, which is already 16 months into construction.
“He expects to get a report from Weinstein on recommendations, conclusions from the federal/state working group,” Drewniak said Friday in an e-mailed statement. “The governor will consider that through at least the weekend. He’ll also consult with individuals as he feels necessary.”
Secretary LaHood Friday said DOT expects costs to run $1 billion to $4 billion above the $8.7 billion price tag. Those projections are lower than Christie’s $2 billion to $5 billion range.
“The Department of Transportation has estimated the low-range cost of the project at $9.775 billion. The mid-range estimate is $10.909 billion and the high-end range is $12.708 billion,” La Hood said in a statement. “For complex projects, we do a range of estimates in the interests of accuracy. However, DOT is committed to working together through the life of the project to keep costs down to the lowest estimate.”
New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, Thursday announced that his review of documents from Christie’s office indicate the project is on budget at $8.7 billion.
Drewniak said Wisniewski’s findings are based on only a portion of the administration’s documents on the issue. The assemblyman will receive additional documents “on a rolling basis,” according to a cover letter attached to the documents.
New Jersey has pledged $2.7 billion for the ARC tunnel. The federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey each have committed $3 billion.
The Garden State has already spent nearly $600 million on the tunnel project and may need to give back $200 million to the federal government if Christie terminates the project, according to New Jersey’s Treasury Department.
The ARC tunnel would double New Jersey Transit’s capacity under the Hudson River and create at least 6,000 construction jobs. It would eliminate a chokepoint ¬under the ¬river, where NJTransit shares a ¬single, two-rail tunnel with Amtrak, and ¬permit passage of 48 trains at peak rush hour compared with the present 23.
The project was championed by New Jersey’s U.S. senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, and former Gov. Jon Corzine — all Democrats. Christie, a Republican, defeated Corzine last year.
