Yesterday, Governor Christie reiterated that his decision to kill the Access to the Region’s Core tunnel was about lack of funding, telling outlets across the state that the decision “was a dollar and cents issue” and he needed to protect “our long-term fiscal health.”
But a quick look at the rising costs of the Parkway and Turnpike expansion projects suggests his interest in saving money only applies to transit projects. As MTR wrote earlier this year, these widening projects steadily increased in cost even before ground was broken on them during the Corzine administration. Here’s a reprint of the table from that article:
| Year | New Jersey Turnpike (exits 6-8A) | Garden State Parkway (30-80) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004/5 | $1,300M | $135M (exits 63-80 only) | $1.4B |
| 2007 | $2,000M | $500M | $2.5B |
| 2008 | $2,500M | $800M | $3.3B |
| 2009 | $2,700M | $900M | $3.6B |
A few weeks before canceling the ARC Tunnel, Christie administration officials borrowed an additional $2 billion to continue paying for the road widenings. Only time will tell what their eventual cost will be.
Photo: Governor Photos/Tim Larsen.
As much as I oppose the widenings, tolls will cover the costs. While I would have preferred adding people and freight carrying capacity in the corridor using rail, the ability of NJT to run an effective system is in doubt. The design of the ARC is one symptom. The failure to adequately serve New Jersey to New Jersey market such as the Shore to Elizabeth is another. Still another train with a wheel coming off the axle and derailing is a third. The blind faith in underpowered locomotive hauled trains in place of multiple unit equipment and the slowed schedules where some trains are slower than those run with MP54s with same number of stops also contributes to my lack of confidence.
The expansion at least is the use of highway tolls for the highway on which they were collected. I could agree with allowing the communities to collect property taxes on the toll roads but that is a different issue.
[…] When It Comes to Highway Widening Projects, Christie Sits Back and Watches Costs Soar (MTR) […]
Has any of the 58% of New Jerseyans preferring road and bridge spending to bus and rail spending thought of the fact that state highways are often boondoggles? The wider they become, the more money is wasted on the blasted things.
[…] fall, Christie’s argument always that the state couldn’t afford any cost overruns. But the Tri-State Transportation Campaign caught Christie signing off on billions in borrowing for two highway widenings that had tripled in price […]
The tols do not actually pay the whole cost. That is untrue. The remaining burden is covered by tax payers.
Car use is never factored in to the real cost on top of tthe highway construction.
People get very angry who drive cars and would have to pay the actual toll bill that would be rquired to pay for the maintenance of roads.