'We don't want to be just another parking lot for New York City' - Sen. Lautenberg
From left, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman join U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg; during a press conference held at the entrance to the ARC Tunnel Construction site in North Bergen.NORTH BERGEN — Warning that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity may be squandered, state and federal elected officials today urged support for an $8.7 billion railway tunnel under the Hudson that could be killed over rising costs.
Gathered in front of a portal to the tunnel being built in North Bergen, Democratic Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg joined other federal and state lawmakers to sharply criticize Gov. Chris Christie's temporary suspension of the massive project.
"The message is pretty simple," said Lautenberg. "We don’t want to be just another parking lot for New York City and that’s what’s going to happen if we don’t get this tunnel done."
The officials argued that cancelling the proposed trans-Hudson tunnel, which will double the rail capacity from New Jersey to New York, would be a terrible mistake, costing the jobs of 6,000 people and squandering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"We need to find a way to make this work," said Menendez, adding that Christie always had known the project’s cost, but suddenly raised red flags after initially supporting it.
Earlier this week, Christie put a freeze on all new work because of growing concerns the project may go as much as a billion dollars over budget. "We’re in a 30-day mode to have somebody give me a realistic idea of how much money is at stake here," said the governor.
The project, officially known as the Access to the Region’s Core, Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel, is scheduled to be completed by late 2018. It represents the largest transit public works project in the country, with the federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey each putting in $3 billion in grant money. New Jersey is responsible for the remainder, currently estimated at $2.7 billion.
Launtenberg and Menendez both warned that delaying the project would threaten the billions already earmarked.
Sparking the crisis has been discussions with the Federal Transit Administration, which has challenged the cost projections wants New Jersey to show how it will cover any budget shortfall before it finalizes the closing agreements on the project funding.
On Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Christie spoke by phone to discuss the situation. Federal Transit Administration officials said both agreed to work together to further refine the estimated costs.
A spokesman for the governor said the concerns were real. "It is a legitimate issue for us to be inquiring as to the full cost of the project and the cost of contingency requirements, particularly in view of the states finances," said the spokesman, Michael Drewniak.
The Assembly transportation committee today announced it will meet Monday to address the work suspension on the commuter rail tunnel.
Previous coverage:
Construction workers have built a support to Tonnelle Avenue at the designated entranceway to the ARC Tunnel Construction site in North Bergen.• Gov. Christie says he ordered suspension of $8.7B trans-Hudson tunnel project
• N.J. halts new work on $8.7B N.Y.-N.J. tunnel project due to budget issues
• NJ Transit returns $4M from Hudson River tunnel study
• Federal agency commits $200 million toward mass transit tunnel linking N.J., N.Y.
• Opinion: Planned Hudson River rail tunnel isn't perfect, but it's good