(Kate Hinds, Transportation Nation) Earlier this week New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg tried to save the ARC tunnel by asking the Port Authority to guarantee to pay for any cost overruns on the ARC tunnel.
Today he's issued a statement that says NJ would not only have to repay $300 million to the federal government if the state kills ARC--but it would have to pay interest.
"How does it make fiscal sense for the state to write a $300 million check to the federal government right now?" asked Senator Lautenberg. "It's bad enough that the Governor's blunder cost our state $400 million in federal education money over the summer - but now he wants to add $300 million to the tab. Canceling the tunnel project is not just bad transportation policy - it's bad fiscal policy."
Lautenberg says $300 million is the amount of federal money that New Jersey has already spent on the tunnel.
