Jul 30, 2008 6:54 pm US/Eastern
NJ Transit Project In Jeopardy During Weak Economy
NEW JERSEY (CBS) ―
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New Jersey and the Port Authority have already committed $4.5 billion to the project, which would not only double the number of daily trains but would also allow NJ Transit to function independently.
CBS
It's a project that would give New Jersey Transit a badly needed new station, with six tracks just north of Penn Station under 34th Street.
But the plan is in jeopardy, a possible victim of the recent economic downturn.
For the past 100 years, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak have used one tunnel, under the Hudson River, to run trains into and out of New York.
Transportation officials hope a new tunnel project, scheduled to start next year, will allow them to run more trains into the city by 2016. But a new report is casting doubt on that timeframe.
"It needs to get done," Gov. Jon Corzine said. "I am committed to doing absolutely everything, using every platform I can."
Corzine is concerned with a new analysis by the Federal Transit Administration that found that the Arc Project, short for Access to the Region's Core, could be in jeopardy of being funded by the federal government because its transportation trust fund is running out of money.
Riders are concerned too. For Dan Cruthers, who uses the Raritan Valley Line, a new tunnel would mean he'd be able to take a train directly into Manhattan.
"It would be a lot easier to go right into the city instead of getting off on Metropark and transferring to another train," Cruthers said.
New Jersey and the Port Authority have already committed $4.5 billion to the project, which would not only double the number of daily trains but would also allow NJ Transit to function independently. Instead of relying on Amtrak tracks for their own service as they do now, NJ Transit would have its own tracks.
The total cost of the ARC is more than $7 billion.
Delays to the project would push construction figures up because of inflation.
But federal transportation officials say they will continue to work with New Jersey Transit to make sure the project goes through.
The tunnel project still has strong support on both sides of the river, but New Jersey Transit officials say they won't begin construction until they have secured all the necessary funding.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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