New Jersey taxpayers have spent almost $1.2 billion on the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) tunnel to date, which was cancelled by Gov. Chris Christie (R) in late 2010, according to a report in The Record.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
In the report, The Record says that millions of dollars spent “were lost forever” on costs such as lawyers and environmental studies.
The article also notes that taxpayer monies did pay for amenities such as a new fleet of NJ Transit trains and property rights, “but that potential hangs on the fate of Amtrak’s unfunded plan to build its own tunnel under the Hudson.”
A breakdown of the costs states that a whopping $368 million was spent on “double-decker railcars and dual-power locomotives,” with a “feasibility study of [the] subway extension” running a relatively modest bill of $230,000.
The ARC tunnel, named as such since it would have been built underneath the Hudson River, was set to run from an underpass on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen to 34th Street in Manhattan.
The infrastructure was touted as being capable of doubling the commuter rail capacity between northern New Jersey and New York City.
Lets just call it Thieft!
How do we recoup this Money?
Who benefited from this and how are they related to our politicians?
Something stinks here and there is a BiGGER story in this.
Christie is an arrogant idiot, cancelling that tunnel when he first took office, without having any studies done, and without regard for all the money that was already spent. Did he think the congestion under the Hudson River was just going to go away? Stupid moron – no wonder he’s palsy walsy with Roque.
And he claimed it was out of concern for NJ taxpayers – right, so our tax dollars can pay for his delusional presidential campaign.
This state needs a complete overhaul – top to bottom.
Another reason not to elect fatboy(Christy) The good news is he has no chance in hell of winning the primary. He HAS TO KNOW THIS! I think he is in it to raise millions so he can use it for other things.
Politically, criticism of Christie’s decision on ARC never entirely died down, and it came roaring back to life during hearings held in May over NJ Transit’s decision to hike fares 9 percent to close a $56 million budget gap.