TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is standing by his decision to kill the nation's biggest public works project, a train tunnel connecting New Jersey to New York City, he announced Wednesday.
Mr. Christie, a rising star in the Republican Party for his fearless budget-slashing, has argued that his cash-strapped state can't afford to pay for any overruns on the $9 billion-plus rail tunnel under the Hudson River. The state is on the hook for $2.7 billion plus overruns.
"In the end, my decision does not change," Mr. Christie said. "I cannot place upon the citizens of New Jersey an open-ended letter of credit, and that's what this project represents."
The federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey each are contributing $3 billion.
The governor said he was given four financial options for salvaging the project, but he said no agreement could guarantee that New Jersey taxpayers would not pay more than $2.7 billion for the completed project.
Construction began last year on the tunnel, which has been in the works for 20 years. In September, Mr. Christie suspended work on the tunnel and ordered a cost review. He pulled the plug on the project two weeks ago but gave himself time to reconsider at the behest of federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
The tunnel is intended to supplement a century-old, two-track tunnel that has been at capacity for years, NJ Transit officials have said. A new tunnel would double the capacity for NJ Transit commuter trains and Amtrak trains between New York and its populous New Jersey suburbs, part of a region that has some of the nation's longest commutes.
More than 625,000 people trek into Manhattan from New Jersey each work day, about 185,000 by rail, and even a minor derailment or delay translates into long stretches of waiting for trains to get to and from work.
Federal Transit Administration chief Peter Rogoff has said that the tunnel will shorten rail trips in the region and reduce the need to transfer between trains, which he said can save several minutes.
Officials estimated it would provide 6,000 construction jobs immediately and as many as 40,000 jobs after its completion in 2018.
