Ballooning cost estimates have led Republicans to explore a potential lawsuit challenging Governor Corzine’s plan to use highway tolls to pay for construction of a rail tunnel under the Hudson River, Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean said:
“Apparently, the governor’s month-old estimate of the cost of the Trans-Hudson tunnel project is already incorrect. Revised projections released this week put the tunnel’s cost at $1.1 billion more than revealed when the Governor pushed through a doubling of Turnpike tolls.
“Who will pay for this $1.1 billion overrun, and who should taxpayers hold accountable for other cost increases that may be occur in the future? It’s unlikely anyone in the Corzine administration can produce an accurate estimate of how much this decade-long project will really cost. We can assume expenses will continue to rise, and that, if the polls indicate it’s his best option, the governor will try to raise tolls or cancel or delay critical highway maintenance projects to pay for any cost overruns.
“This is exactly why the law that merged the Turnpike and Parkway authorities banned the use of tolls for non-highway projects. Legislators wisely concluded that state drivers will tolerate tolls only if the proceeds are used to provide safer, better-maintained highways.
Bleeding off money to pay for other projects undermines that implicit promise to state drivers.
“We will explore all options for forcing the governor to limit Turnpike revenues to highway projects.”
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April 4, 2008
