One-Month ARC Hiatus

New Jersey Transit will suspend for 30 days new contracts and work on a new passenger-rail tunnel that will run under the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan, as the federal government believes the project may cost an additional $1 billion.

Current work will continue on the tunnel, called the Access to the Region’s Core, or ARC, while NJTransit officials review the $8.7 billion project. To help fund the tunnel, the federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will contribute $3 billion each, while New Jersey’s share is $2.7 billion.

New Jersey Department of Transportation spokesman Timothy Greeley said the federal government expects the project might total $9.7 billion, $1 billion more than current estimates.

State Treasurer Andrew Eristoff last week mentioned the work suspension during a Municipal Forum of New York luncheon in Manhattan. He said it’s necessary to stop and review the tunnel’s anticipated costs because it is an expensive and large-scale project.

“There is the possibility that the federal government — which has committed $3 billion to the project — may revise its estimate and thus require changes to the existing financing plan which could impose an unsustainable burden on New Jersey’s taxpayers,” Eristoff said.

Officials anticipate completing the ARC tunnel in 2018.

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Transportation industry
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