Don’t write off New Jersey’s most important transit project, the Access to the Region’s Core rail tunnel between NJ and NYC, just yet. Almost immediately after Gov. Christie announced he was canceling the tunnel, USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood arranged a meeting with the governor to discuss the project’s future. After the two met on Friday, Christie agreed to take two weeks to review “several options to potentially salvage a trans-Hudson tunnel.” According to an account of the meeting in the Star-Ledger, the governor is “not committed to opposing the project” if the numbers work.

“It’s a stay of execution for a project that’s on death row,” TSTC’s Zoe Baldwin told the NY Times. “If nothing else, it buys us time and at least allows us to bring up the need for the project.” Tri-State’s website now includes an updated e-action page which New Jerseyans can use to tell Gov. Christie and other state officials that they support ARC.

The decision to kill the tunnel has resulted in a firestorm of criticism in New Jersey and in the national media. Both the Star-Ledger and Asbury Park Press editorial boards said the decision was short-sighted, given that the tunnel would improve commuting, take cars off of the road, raise property values, lower emissions, and create jobs. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, who frequently writes about the state of the country’s infrastructure, called the decision “policy at its worst.” Fellow NYT columnist Paul Krugman warned that “by refusing to pay for essential investment, politicians are both perpetuating unemployment and sacrificing long-run growth.”

The State Assembly’s Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on the ARC project this Thursday.