Christie: No Regrets For Killing Tunnel Project

Governor Chris Christie says he has no regrets about canceling a rail tunnel project that would have increased commuter capacity between New Jersey and Manhattan.

Christie spent more than six hours last week exchanging Twitter messages with delayed New Jersey Transit riders, some of whom blamed his 2010 cancellation of the project — known as Access to the Region’s Core, or ARC — for their woes.

But Christie said Friday he had “absolutely no second thoughts” about the decision and that no amount of complaining would change his mind.

“They’re wrong,” he said of the social media critics, slamming the planned $8.7 billion Hudson River tunnel as “an awfully conceived project” that would have put the state on the hook for up to $5 billion in projected cost overruns.

“It was a bad deal. It’s still a bad deal. And just because some people get aggravated on Friday night because there’s delays doesn’t mean I’m going to make a multibillion dollar decision to change course,” he said.

Christie said he is still open to an extension of New York’s No. 7 subway line and Amtrak’s Gateway tunnel project — but only if New York pays its fair share.

“The thing that angers New Jerseyans more than anything else is getting [cheated] by New York,” he said.

This article appeared in print on page 4 of the August 18th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.