Potosnak Calls on Christie to Restart ARC Tunnel

Democratic congressional nominee Ed Potosnak held a press conference at Westfield's train station Monday afternoon to call for restarting construction of a long awaited new rail tunnel linking New Jersey to Manhattan.

Potosnak, who is challenging Republican incumbent Leonard Lance, used the press conference to call on Gov. Chris Christie and state and federal leaders to continue construction of the tunnel - officially named Access to the Region's Core. Christie halted the $8.7 billion project - of which New Jersey is paying $3 billion - for 30 days while he and federal transportation officials examine anticipated $1 billion in cost overruns on the project.

The project is expected to bring direct access to midtown Manhattan for Raritan Valley train users, along with expanding access to the enlarged Penn Station that New York officials are planning, including the conversion of the Farley Post Office into a new station named after former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY).

"The ARC represents the Raritan Valley's only chance for a one-seat ride to Manhattan," said Potosnak. "Its value is too great to lose."

Potosnak says $100,000 to $200,000 is lost for each day the project sits idle.

"We need to find the money for this project," he said. "For every $1 in New Jersey taxpayer funds, we can leverage $2 of federal and Port Authority funds. I will make sure our dollars come back to our communities. Two plus two does not equal four; it actually equals a lot more."

The project is funded jointly between the federal and state governments, along with the Port Authority. The decision made by Christie is largely a state government decision.

Potosnak says the ARC tunnel can double the number of people and trains that reach Manhattan every day, while shaving about 20 minutes from the travel time each way. The current train tunnels were built in 1910 and are shared by Amtrack and New Jersey Transit, which Potosnak says is "completely inefficient." In the short term, Potosnak says resuming construction will create contracting jobs, and in the long term will allow more people to work in Manhattan, where the average salary is higher than in the suburbs.

He also surmised that property values in towns with direct access to the ARC tunnel, like Westfield, would see a "substantial increase."

Potosnak criticized Lance, for failing to support the project. He accused Lance of putting political goals ahead of his constituents, and played up his teaching background, saying that he is not a career politician but instead has "real-world experience."

"Leonard Lance had the chance to deliver the required funding, and he did nothing," said Potosnak.

Lance, known as an expert on state finances from his days as state Senate minority leader, expressed support for Christie's decision, citing the state's current fiscal crisis.

"I completely support the Governor's decision to conduct a 30-day of this matter," he said when asked by Patch. "The ARC project will likely be one of the largest and most expensive infrastructure projects in United States history.  And in light of New Jersey's finances Gov. Christie has every right to review the project thoroughly.  I applaud the governor fiscally prudent decision to determine carefully whether New Jersey can ultimately afford the more than one billion dollar price tag."

While a senator, Lance opposed former Gov. Jon Corzine's plan to divert $1.25 billion in new toll revenue to fund the ARC project. During his tenure in the legislature, Lance also authored an amendment to the state constitution calling for voter approval of future state borrowing. ARC project funding through bonding has been an issue some have raised against the transit project.

Potosnak was coming from a speaking engagement in Montgomery, Somerset County, where he was advocating the reopening of the West Trenton train line, closed in 1983 due to lack of ridership. The West Trenton line would connect to the Raritan Valley line in Bridgewater.

"(Westfield) Station is a living landmark," said Potosnak. "The railroads played a vital role in the development of the United States."