U.S.: Chris Christie’s N.J. rail tunnel cancellation = Shaky political ground
- New Jersey’s governor just gave public works projects a body blow today. Why, you ask? Well, Chris Christie, frustrated over the possibility of putting taxpayers on the hook for billions in cost overruns, ordered the shutdown of a massive, long-in-the-works plan to build a passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York City. While his reasons are fiscal conservative to the core, let’s just emphasize a few things about what he’s costing his state by shutting down the largest public works project in the country:
- $8.7 billion, the estimated cost of the New Jersey rail project
- $3
billion the amount the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had already promised for the project - $300
million the amount New Jersey may have to pay back the federal government for the unfinished project
- $2.7B the anticipated cost overruns of the already-in-progress public works project
- 6,000 the number of jobs the project would have given New Jersey construction workers
- 20 the number of years the wheels had been turning on this highly-anticipated project source
- » And lots of people are pissed, too. Even considering the costs of this project (which had bipartisan support, by the way), the potential benefits could’ve been long-term and might’ve paid for themselves. Homeowners lost out on higher home prices. Commuters lost the possibility of less-annoying commutes. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sounded like he wanted to shout in Chris Christie’s face so loudly it ripped the governor’s skin off. And Christie, while bolstering his support among the right, could hurt his re-election chances because of the perceived flip-flop. This is dangerous ground no matter the fiscal benefits.