This had to be one of the odd things that anyone has ever done in the state of New Jersey. Hope this is not what New Jersey residents asked for when they elected Chris Christie as their Governor. If they have not realized by now, this decision he made today to kill the $8.7B ARC Tunnel project will make them fully realize what they are dealing with. What the residents of NJ got now is a somewhat myopic politician who does not have a vision to lead the state in the face of adversity!

First, I advise you to read the extracted paragraphs below (from NY Times) to understand what is really going on before reading up any further. If you already know, what the context is, then read on.

Now that you are well-read into the issue, let’s start looking at the nuts and bolts of this madness. What bothers me is the fact that NJ is already suffocating with its ever growing congestion and this Governor decides to kill a project that would have ease the congestion (at least the cross-border traffic between NYC and NJ) quite a bit over the coming years. The state’s growing population is adding to the exploding traffic situation, which is already a nightmare for many to deal with. Many of its roads are already bursting at the seams and this decision is going to make it even worse.

The total annual cost of traffic congestion in New Jersey in lost time, operating cost, and fuel consumption is approximately $4.9 billion. The average annual cost of congestion for New Jersey is estimated at $880 per licensed driver. Mind you these numbers are from a study, done almost a decade ago, that was partially supported by a grant from the Foundation of the New Jersey Alliance for Action, and the National Center for Transportation and Industrial Productivity, a member center of the University Transportation Centers Program, at NJIT. You can be safe to assume that these above mentioned congestion-induced numbers might have ballooned over the years to a much higher level, given the amount of economic and population growth experienced over the past decade.

By spending on this ARC tunnel, it would have encouraged more people to take their trains to work in NYC rather than to drive. Imagine what it would be like 20 years from now. What happens at that time? Will Chris Christie be around to undo this decision? Nope. Probably not and by then the state would have slipped so far behind other states in economic competitiveness and lost its value as a livable community, it will look more like a sorry state than an attractive state. It will no longer be the state that appeals to people as a destination to move to, buy houses, live, educate and raise their children.

It took 20 years to plan and several million dollars to get to this point and now the stakeholders and the general public have to go home, with nothing to show for, only crying over spilled milk! It is going to make the stakeholders, such as the Port Authority of NY & NJ, to run for cover when New Jersey proposes another big project of this kind. Trust me, this is a pretty good move to lose any trust you had earned with your stakeholders.

Alright, aside from the monetary impact there are numerous other undesirable impacts that are going to sprout from this decision-making! The growing congestion is going to worsen the air quality in the entire region and possibly harm the health of the people living in the region. This is not only going to affect the bottomline but also the well being of the resident of the state and the entire tri-state region (NY, NY & CT). It will cost them more money to care for its resident’s health at some point than to pay for this tunnel.

Is this what it all boils down to – undoing the progress of a state/Nation in the face of financial challenges? Where is the political will to march forward in times of adverse challenges!

I thought I was the only one who is puzzled by this decision but there is plenty of good company and they pretty much everyone has their own reason to be be upset. Here is Paul Krugman taking issue with Christie.