In the aftermath of Gov. Christopher Christie’s cancellation of the Access to the Regions Core (ARC) Tunnel project, officials are still trying to determine how long it will take NJ Transit, the developer of the $8.7 billion project, to refund federal monies, settle hundreds of eminent domain proceedings, and otherwise decommission the largest and one of the most expensive tunnel projects in history.
Nor do officials know exactly how much it will cost.
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Schiavone, Shea, Skanska meanwhile had hired the Robbins Company of Ohio to construct the tunnel boring machine for the Palisades, but since the project was cancelled, NJ Transit spokesperson Paul Wyckoff said that it would be up to Robbins to resolve that contract, not NJ Transit. Robbins did not comment in time for publication.
Officials have yet to determine the time and cost required to shut down the ARC tunnel.
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Ferreira will stay behind for the next couple of months to fill the dirt back in under Tonnelle Avenue, which was about 25 feet across and about the width of half of Tonnelle Avenue. Support beams and other infrastructure improvements will be left behind.
NJ Transit will also demolish the buildings that are on this site, even though it is not known what will be done with the land.
Ferreira will also repave Tonnelle Avenue and fix the lanes, which are right now shifted in the construction area. However, because winter is setting in, this will not be completed until spring 2011.
Wyckoff said that Ferreira will receive far less than their original contract and that the cost of their work is not yet known.
Properties in limbo
Wyckoff said that a recent published report stating that NJ Transit was “stuck” with $47 million in North Bergen property was incorrect. He said that NJ Transit currently owns $28 million in property along with easements below ground throughout North Hudson. He did not know the total cost of New York properties that NJ Transit had purchased.
“Understand that the project was at a stage…we needed to obtain 166 easements,” he said. “We hadn’t progressed that far.”
He said that most of the property purchased was in North Bergen, along with a piece of land in Hoboken at 18th Street, which was where a ventilation system, as well as the entrance to the Hudson River for the tunnel boring machines, would have been housed.
As for the many properties in New Jersey and New York that were currently in eminent domain condemnation proceedings before the project was cancelled, Wyckoff said that NJ Transit attorneys, along with the New Jersey Attorney General office, would settle them in court. He did not have an estimate for how long this would take, or what would happen to some properties that have been condemned already.
“That’s being reviewed right now on a case-by case-basis,” he said.
Saving jobs
Wyckoff said that 30 NJ Transit employees were working on the ARC project before its cancellation and that as personnel are no longer needed to sort out the project, NJ Transit will try to find them employment. He did not know how many employees of the Port Authority would be at risk. The Port Authority did not respond in time for publication.
He also did not know how many labor jobs were lost when the project ended.
Allegedly over cost
In a memorandum issued to Christie from the ARC Executive Steering Committee, NJ Transit Chairman James Weinstein, NJ Transit and State Transportation Secretary James Simpson, and officials for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, among others, they said that the overall budget for the project would actually likely top $11 billion and could cost up to $14 billion. In it, they said that the Federal Transit Administration expected the project to be in nearly the same range. These figures do not include the portal bridge to connect the train lines, which is estimated at $775 million.
According to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Raymond LaHood, the FTA believed that “aggressive cost controls” could have kept the project from costing more than $10 billion. But the governor remained adamant.
“None of the proposals put forth by federal officials or New Jersey’s congressional delegation – despite unsupported statements to the contrary – eliminate, or even remotely limit, New Jersey’s exposure to the potentially billions in cost overruns,” said Christie spokesperson Michael Drewniak.
According to published reports, Christie announced the cancellation in New York City, stating that New Jersey wouldn’t write a “blank check” for the tunnel. He asked how much New York was contributing to the project, which is zero.
Investigation into cancellation, Simpson
The project was supposed to bring 44,000 permanent jobs and 6,000 temporary construction-related jobs into the region, along with economic growth and faster commutes, according to NJ Transit. The project had received the largest FTA contribution to any project at $3 billion. Now most officials believe that New Jersey will have to return the estimated $300 million in federal funds that have already been spent back to the FTA.
Last week U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced that he launched an investigation into the cancellation of ARC, stating that it was to “…determine the circumstances, actions, and motivations that led to the largest loss of Federal Transportation resources in New Jersey history.”
Lautenberg said that he believes a preliminary report will be released by the end of this year and that one of the issues that will be looked into is the role of Simpson, a Christie appointee, who he said was “instrumental in killing the ARC Tunnel.” He said that Simpson is now under a State Ethics Commission Investigation because he worked on the project for most of the year and previously oversaw work on the ARC as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.
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