N. J. and feds reach agreement on tunnel funds

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that under an agreement reached with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the state will reimburse the federal government $95 million for money that was supposed to be spent building the ARC Tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan. Christie terminated the project, and the DOT has been seeking repayment of $271 million in federal dollars already spent on it by the state.

“The $95 million settlement will permit DOT to recover all of the $51 million in New Starts money provided to New Jersey for the ARC Project, so that those funds can be made available to other communities for public transit projects,” said a statement by the DOT. “This amount also recovers approximately 50% of the funds provided to New Jersey under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and this money will be returned to the United States Treasury. In addition to the cash payment amount, New Jersey will be required under the terms of the settlement agreement to spend more than $128 million in CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality” program funds on transit-related projects that have been reviewed and approved by DOT.”

Secretary LaHood expressed appreciation for the support of New Jersey Democratic Senators Lautenberg and Menendez “in reaching an agreement that is good for the taxpayers of New Jersey, and also helps to improve infrastructure in the state. I thank the governor and his legal team for reaching this agreement.”