Governor Understands We Cannot Spend Money We Do Not Have

Sen. Michael Doherty

Senator Mike Doherty (R-Warren/Hunterdon) issued the following statement after Governor Chris Christie’s announcement that construction on the Hudson River Rail Tunnel would be terminated:

“Governor Christie made the right decision today by stopping construction of the new Hudson River Rail Tunnel. Our Governor understands we cannot spend money we do not have and New Jersey must start living within its means.

“A financial audit, conducted by the federal government, estimated that cost overruns on the project could top more than $5 billion. New Jersey taxpayers and tollpayers would have been the ones held responsible to pay this multi-billionaire dollar bill. Additionally, the design of the project, as it stood, was inefficient and ineffective towards solving the long-standing capacity problems that are affecting rail travel into and out of Manhattan from New Jersey.

“With this decision, Governor Christie is protecting the people of New Jersey from higher taxes, higher tolls and more debt.”