NJ: Only Car Drivers Benefit?

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign makes a very interesting observation today in light of the cancellation of the ARC Tunnel project. Though Governor Christie killed the tunnel project because of high costs, for some reason, that same logic just doesn’t seem to apply to road widening. Kate Slevin writes:

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.

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.

I hope some of you gasped a bit at reading that last part. Yes, borrowed $2 billion.

I guess spending is alright as long as it only benefits car drivers. Sorry to say this, Gov. Christie, but, as the popular phrase says, “widening roads to deal with congestion is like loosening one’s belt to cure obesity.”

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