NORTH BERGEN AND BEYOND – According to published reports, Gov. Christopher Christie will spend this weekend considering the future of the Access to the Regions Core (ARC) Tunnel.
Today marks two weeks since he gave the $8.7 billion project, a day after he cancelled it, a two-week reprieve after speaking with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
The tunnel, which according to NJ Transit would bring 6,000 temporary jobs and up to 44,000 permanent jobs, received $3 billion in federal funding, a $3 billion match by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, leaving New Jersey with a $2.7 billion bill.
Recently Christie has contended that the project could go far over budget.
This past Tuesday, U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, along with other officials and union workers, rallied to urge that the stalled project, which broke ground last summer, be continued. Menendez said that now New Jersey had a $600 million, the amount of money spent so far, “tunnel to nowhere.” – Tricia Tirella
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