Report: Killing NJ tunnel plan costs jobs

Christie, a first-term Republican, inflated cost estimates when he stopped construction of the Access to the Region's Core project, known as ARC, in October 2010, saying his state couldn't afford it, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

The report was requested by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat who chairs the transportation subcommittee. Lautenberg, 88, has called the Hudson River tunnel cancellation "one of the biggest public policy blunders in New Jersey history," saying it would cripple the state's growth for decades by limiting access to Manhattan.

"ARC was critical to the future of New Jersey's economy and it took years to plan, but Governor Christie wiped it out with a campaign of public deception," Lautenberg said in a statement yesterday. "The future of New Jersey's commuters was sacrificed for the short-term political needs of the governor."

Christie mentioned the tunnel issue yesterday during a speech in Manhattan.

"I abandoned the getting-everything-you-want thing a long time ago but I refuse to compromise my principles," he said. "When they want to build a tunnel to the basement of Macy's and stick the New Jersey taxpayer with a bill of 3 to 5 billion over, no matter how much the administration yells and screams, you have to say no."

The project was estimated by the Federal Transportation Administration to cost as much as $12.4 billion, with New Jersey paying 14.4 percent, according to the report.

Christie had said state officials estimated the price could reach $14 billion, with New Jersey responsible for 70 percent of the total cost.

In its introduction to the study, the GAO said "Current tunnel, bridge and rail infrastructure serving this corridor is already at or near capacity."

Christie's cancellation freed $4 billion earmarked for the tunnel to help replenish New Jersey's highway fund, which is running out of money for new projects, said Assemb. Joseph Cryan, a Union Democrat.