Dear Editor: A few weeks ago, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell and Allied Junction developer McCann celebrated a Turnpike Authority contract award for design work on a new turnpike interchange in Secaucus. What at the economic and social justifications for this project? Has anybody thought about the potential impact of the interchange on the local quality of life and environment? Were public transportation alternatives seriously considered? Would the primary beneficiary of said interchange be McCann’s $1 billion office-hotel-retail complex atop NJ Transit’s Secaucus Transfer Station? Wouldn’t this interchange, with planned connector to Tonnele Circle, feed yet more traffic and air pollution into Secaucus and downtown Jersey City? Was the public adequately involved in the review and decision-making processes? Are public funds being allocated for best results? Why are Elwell and McCann in such a hurry to push this project along? My organization, the Hudson Alliance for Rational Transportation (www.hartwheels.org), and other citizens’ groups believe that we need a more rigorous examination of the proposed interchange project. It appears to be a costly white elephant in the making. Steve Lanset