[Update: The Associated Press is reporting that federal estimates for the tunnel’s potential overruns are $1 billion, considerably lower than the $2-5 billion overrun figure cited by Gov. Christie.]
NJ State Assembly Transportation Chair John Wisniewski said today that a review of NJ Transit documents, received after filing an Open Public Records Act request, does not show any evidence that the Access to the Region’s Core project is over budget. According to his statement, “the OPRA documents include reports dated July 30, Aug. 24 and Oct. 5. All of the reports include the following statement: ‘The overall project remains within budget.’ The next sentence in each report indicates the total project budget is $8.7 billion. … Note that the Oct. 5 report came two days before the governor announced the alleged cost overruns.”
Also today, representatives from Tri-State, the Regional Plan Association, Environment New Jersey, and NJ Future delivered thousands of messages in support of the tunnel to Trenton from www.WeNeedARC.com, written petitions, letters, and the giant postcards from Tuesday’s station leafleting.
Here is Wisniewski’s release in full, with more potentially to come:
WISNIEWSKI: CHRISTIE DOCUMENTS SHOW NO JUSTIFICATION FOR TUNNEL COST OVERRUN CLAIMS
(TRENTON) — Assembly Transportation Chairman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) released the following statement Thursday on documents provided by the Christie administration through an Open Public Records Act request on the governor’s decision to halt construction of the new commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River:
“The documents provided by the governor’s own administration fail to provide any justification for the governor’s claim of billions in cost overruns on the tunnel project.
“That claim seems as though it was simply pulled out of thin air by the governor.
“The governor is risking New Jersey’s economic future with numbers that, at least according to these documents, have no basis in reality.
“Over-the-top sound bites by Gov. Christie aside, the fact is the OPRA documents include reports dated July 30, Aug. 24 and Oct. 5. All of the reports include the following statement: ‘The overall project remains within budget.’ The next sentence in each report indicates the total project budget is $8.7 billion.
“Note that the Oct. 5 report came two days before the governor announced the alleged cost overruns.
“This project is vital to New Jersey’s economic and transportation future. Now that we know for certain that the governor cannot support his cost overrun claims, it’s time for him to act like a leader and get this project moving forward.”
The documents can be viewed here.
Of course, Christie’s response could be “If no overruns are expected, LaHood should have no issue with putting the DOT on the hook for them.”
But of course, putting the project on hold for the past several weeks is sure to have a detrimental effect of keeping the project on budget. If the project does go forward, which it should, and then experience cost overruns, I’m sure we will look back at this delay as the cause.
Wouldn’t that be irony!
Given what the DOT has released, events seem to have overtaken the Assembly committee.