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Post Info TOPIC: End of the Cross Hudson Tunnel?
Uke


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Coin toss time. Just don't hold yer breath. Heads, tails... Guess who's got the final say...

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Volume 20, Number 42 | The Newspaper of Lower Manhattan | October 13 - 19, 2010

Editorial

Dont kill rail tunnel

The Gravina Island Bridge, a.k.a. the Bridge to Nowhere, was the poster child of pork-barrel projects a $398 million bridge linking an Alaska town to an island containing an airport and just 50 residents.

Sarah Palin, when she was Alaskas governor, supported the Gravina bridge project wholeheartedly. But once the boondoggle public-works job was exposed for the shameful waste of taxpayer funds it was, she backpedaled; when she was running as the G.O.P. vice presidential candidate, she proclaimed she had actually led the effort to kill the bogus bridge.

Now another Republican governor, New Jerseys Chris Christie, has killed a transportation project and, in this case, he really does deserve the credit for doing so. But, in this instance, its a vital project thats badly needed: the construction of a second cross-Hudson River commuter rail tunnel for New Jersey Transit that would terminate at 34th St. in Midtown Manhattan.

Known as Access to the Regions Core, or ARC, budgeted at $8.7 billion, the tunnel already under construction was the nations largest transportation project. The existing NJ Transit rail tunnel is a century old and running nearly at capacity.

One-third of the funding was to come from New Jersey, one-third from the federal government and the remaining third from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The federal funding had already been locked in more federal money than for any other public transportation project in America. Transportation advocates called the ARC tunnels funding especially solid.

In explaining his shocking decision, Christie cited his concerns about projected cost overruns of up to $2 billion or more that New Jersey would have had to pay. Instead, hell try to shift the money earmarked for the tunnel to local transportation projects and rail repairs. However, as New York Times columnist Paul Krugman noted, Christie could have raised gas taxes slightly to cover the tunnels extra cost a small price to pay for the reduced congestion and traffic the new rail tunnel would mean. Instead, Krugman noted, Christie, in deep-sixing the tunnel, has dealt a blow to national hopes of recovery.

The Republicans in staking out their obstructionist position as the party of no may wind up winning some votes, as a result, in the upcoming elections. But, at a certain point, they are the ones causing the economic suffering. One wonders to what extent Christies canceling the tunnel is merely another expression of this tiresome, destructive stick it to the Democrats attitude. After all, it was three Dems former Governor Jon Corzine and Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez who pushed for the project in the first place.

Indeed, cynics would say that stopping this tunnel just seems to be the latest way in which Republicans are trying to foil the nations economic recovery so that they can then turn around and blame all of Americas woes on President Obama and the Democrats. How childish and harmful.

Among the victims of Christies shortsighted action will be those working on the project, who will now be laid off. The tunnel was eventually to employ up to 6,000 people. Indeed, the whole regional public-works sector will feel the loss of this massive job.

According to the Daily News, by scrapping the project, New Jersey will lose the $3 billion in federal funds, is jeopardizing the $3 billion from the Port Authority, and may even have to pay back $600 million it has already received from the feds for the project.

On the other hand, the positives the project would bring would be less congestion on our roads and less pollution things people on both sides of the Hudson, and we hope on both sides of the aisle, would gladly welcome.

We sincerely hope Governor Christie reconsiders his decision. This is a project with enormous benefits for both New York and New Jersey. Lets not allow it to fall by the wayside because of misguided partisan politics.



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Christie On Verge Of Decision On Hudson River Rail Tunnel Project

October 25, 2010 2:19 PM  

Chris Christie, Jon F. Hanson

From edfischer

TRENTON, NJ (CBS) New Jersey governor Chris Christie is due to say in the next day or so whether he will allow a Hudson River commuter rail tunnel project from New Jersey into Manhattan to resume.

Last Friday, the governors office let it be known that it wanted to mull over the weekend whether there should be light at the end of that tunnel.

Because of projected cost overruns, Christie (above) ordered a halt to the project last month.

Then, following a meeting with US transportation secretary Ray LaHood, the governor said hed give the project a second thought.

LaHoods office has released figures that the project a new rail tunnel connecting northern New Jersey with New York City could come in under $10 billion.  Thats the low end of the projected cost range the high end was more than $12 billion.  New Jersey Transit has been working with a cost estimate of $8.7 billion.

Designers say it would double train capacity between New York and North Jersey, carrying Amtrak and NJ Transit trains under the Hudson River.

Reported by Steve Tawa, KYW Newsradio.
File photo: AP



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Freddie Krueger


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Phuggit. Bill Jersey for the work already done, and shut it down! Let Christie twist in the wind.....

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Uke


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Ya get yer wish Phred. It's dead. Done. Finito!

Officials say NJ-NYC tunnel project likely doomed
ANGELA DELLI SANTI
From Associated Press
October 26, 2010 8:41 PM EDT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is standing firm on calling off the biggest public works project under way in the country a multibillion-dollar rail tunnel under the Hudson River linking his state with New York City, officials said Tuesday.

Christie is sticking by a decision he made more than two weeks ago, when he argued the state can't afford to pay any overruns on the $9 billion-plus project, an official familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement had not been made.

Construction began last year on the tunnel, which has been in the works for 20 years. It's designed to supplement a century-old two-track tunnel and would double train capacity between New York and its populous New Jersey suburbs.

The Republican governor was given four financial options for salvaging the project, including one plan that eliminated his state's risk for paying cost overruns, said an aide to Sen. Frank Lautenberg who also spoke on condition of anonymity. Lautenberg, a Democrat, has been a vocal proponent of the tunnel.

The Star-Ledger of Newark reported that federal officials offered to improve financing terms but offered no new money. The newspaper first reported the decision, citing three officials close to the project.

Lautenberg said that he urged the U.S. Transportation Department to give Christie options to minimize New Jersey's financial risk and that federal officials complied.

"The federal government demonstrated its strong commitment to building this tunnel, but it was clear from the beginning that Gov. Christie planned to kill this project no matter what," the senator said in a statement that stopped short of confirming the governor's decision.

An official announcement is expected Wednesday.

Christie said Tuesday after a town hall meeting in Monmouth Junction that he would "make the decision when I'm ready."

Later in the day, spokeswoman Maria Comella declined to confirm reports the project was dead, saying only: "We're not commenting on this until we make a formal and public announcement."

The office of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who supports the tunnel but has not committed city funds to the project, didn't immediately return a call Tuesday evening.

The first-term governor, gaining a national reputation for his budget-cutting ways, canceled the project Oct. 7 but then gave it a two-week reprieve at the request of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. That deadline expired Friday, and Christie said he would delay a decision until after the weekend.

Christie had already ordered a cost review in September, suspending new work on the tunnel while the estimate was completed.

The federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are each contributing $3 billion toward the cost. New Jersey's share is $2.7 billion, plus any overruns, but Christie has objected to the state being on the hook for those and wanted someone else to help pick up the tab.

Currently, NJ Transit commuter trains and Amtrak share the two-track tunnel, which is operating near capacity. Officials estimate the new tunnel would provide 6,000 construction jobs immediately and as many as 40,000 jobs after its completion in 2018.

Transportation Department spokeswoman Olivia Alair said Tuesday that she had no new information to share about the project.

New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski, reacting to Tuesday's reports, told the AP that discussions to save the project included forming a public-private partnership to build and lease a new terminal the project called for, a move that would have removed the costs of building it from the budget.

"This is a monumentally boneheaded move," said Wisniewski, a Democrat who leads the Assembly Transportation Committee. "There are lots of ways to solve this problem, and the governor is not looking at any of them because he already made up his mind to cancel the project."

Some proponents believe Christie is motivated, in part, by wanting to divert the money to state projects. The governor has said the tunnel and state transportation needs are separate issues.

He has refused to raise the gas tax, among the lowest in the nation at 10.5 cents per gallon, to beef up the nearly broke state fund.

At least $1.25 billion becomes available for state projects with the tunnel's demise.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Big mouth.
Small man.

Open mouth.
Closed mind.

Hope the feds fuck him dry.

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Freddie Krueger


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Yep, hold back the money for some Republicunt favored program to pay what is owed. This douche is trying to hold someone else hostage to pay the bill.

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