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This Lady Helped Kill Trans-Hudson ARC Tunnel Project
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 12, 2010
Modified Nov 12, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 12, 2010
Modified Nov 12, 2010
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As the feds await NJ Transit to repay the $271 million in federal assistance funds sunk into the now-cancelled Trans-Hudson ARC Tunnel project, NJ Governor Chris Christie explained who convinced him to kill the huge infrastructure plan: His wife. Christie said, "The lobbying to me on this one was from [the first lady]... She's, like, 'So this thing's going 10 stories under Macy's, [and] then I gotta go back up and I gotta walk over to Penn Station. I get on a subway...' She said, 'This is crazy. This doesn't make any sense.'" But was Mary Pat Christie wrong?
Intriguingly, the ARC website says, "The modern commuter station will allow customers to reach escalators without fighting crowds or waiting. With ARC, travelers will arrive directly and conveniently into subway concourses at 8th, 7th, and for the first time 6th Avenue and Herald Square. The new 6th Avenue connection will save customers close to 10 minutes a day versus the existing Penn Station." Mary Pat Christie makes big bucks as a VP High Yield Corporate Bond Department at Cantor Fitzgerald.
In the meantime, Amtrak is no longer interested in partnering with NJ Transit on a tunnel.
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Chris Christie
governor christie
Mary Pat Christie
nj governor
nj transit
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trans hudson tunnel
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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