Corzine Touts “THE” Job Creator

As commuters that slog into NYC, our ears always perk up when we hear about a NJ Transit plan to speed the daily grind of our commute. Is the “The” project an answer to our prayers? No typo – “THE” stands for Trans-Hudson Express. We hope if the project goes forward someone can up with a better name.

More to the point. When the government touts projects as job creators you know you had better secure your wallet. You might recall New Jersey’s River line project, another job creator, that was initially supposed to cost $314 million dollars and ending up setting taxpayers back $1.1 billion. The project was a complete fiasco. The projected number of riders on the River Line never materialized and New Jersey’s taxpayers are stuck with $70 million a year tab. Each round trip costs the commuter $2.20 and the taxpayers $70. You can read more about the River Line in our post here.. Hey Governor Codey, here’s a way you can help close the budget gab. Close the River Line and sell the trains.

New York loves the idea of “THE” with 75% of the jobs created projected to be located in New York. Anything that brings more New Jersey residents into the “Big Apple” to work, the better – all that income tax received from folks that don’t live in their state. Taxation without representation - don’t get us started.

Snips from the AP report below the entire article here.

NJ Transit hopes to get its plan for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River on track, touting it as a job creator and time-saver for thousands of commuters.

A study released Wednesday says the proposed Trans-Hudson Express tunnel, known as the "THE," would immediately double rail capacity into and out of New York, meet NJ Transit's needs for at least 20 years, and help support development along the west side of Manhattan as well as in New Jersey.

There's just one problem: Getting the $5 billion or so it would take to build it.

The study said the tunnel would generate $10 billion in new economic activity in the region and add $480 million to its tax base over the next 20 years. It also projected 44,000 new jobs created in the region over the next decade because of the new tunnel, nearly 16,000 in New Jersey and 28,000 in New York.

Of those, it estimated, 7,450 would be created in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties; 4,400 in Middlesex, Somerset and Union; 2,150 in Morris, Sussex, Hunterdon and Warren; and 1,800 in Monmouth and Ocean. If funding is approved, officials estimate that construction could begin in 2006 or 2007, and could be completed by 2014.

U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, D-NJ, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor. "Our region's economic health and our quality of life is tied tightly to this project. Getting more commuters off our roads and on to trains will lower emissions and result in cleaner air. Shorter commuting times will result in increased labor productivity and increased leisure time."