New Jersey Tunnel being scrapped

[Texas Proud]

An interesting article...

NJ gov: I'm sticking with decision to scrap tunnel - Yahoo! News


Now, this got me thinking... $9 billion goes a LONG way...

If this became the ONLY tunnel for the trains and all 185,000 people were to go through, then the cost is $48,649 per person to construct.... this does not include the operating costs...

NOW, lets spread that over a whopping 100 years... that is still $486 per year per person... and if you say that people on average go to work 240 day that works out to be about $1 per trip...

Now, if only HALF the people were to use the tunnel and the other half use the existing tunnels.... then the cost is $2 per trip... again, only the cost of construction... not interest, operating costs etc. etc.....


Was this ever a cost effective way to get people from here to there

Are the people in NJ willing to have their ticket prices increase by $80 per month to pay for this


Or is this just one of those 'its good for everybody so everybody should pay'... like the sports stadiums that we all seem to be paying for if we visit or not....

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud An interesting article... NJ gov: I'm sticking with decision to scrap tunnel - Yahoo! News Now, this got me thinking... $9 billion goes a LONG way... If this became the ONLY tunnel for the trains and all 185,000 people were to go through, then the cost is $48,649 per person to construct.... this does not include the operating costs... NOW, lets spread that over a whopping 100 years... that is still $486 per year per person... and if you say that people on average go to work 240 day that works out to be about $1 per trip... Now, if only HALF the people were to use the tunnel and the other half use the existing tunnels.... then the cost is $2 per trip... again, only the cost of construction... not interest, operating costs etc. etc..... Was this ever a cost effective way to get people from here to there Are the people in NJ willing to have their ticket prices increase by $80 per month to pay for this Or is this just one of those 'its good for everybody so everybody should pay'... like the sports stadiums that we all seem to be paying for if we visit or not....

They already banged me for a $100/month increase this year while at the same time reducing service levels. Fine with me if they kill off this boondoggle.

[dex]

Aside for the cost to NJ it makes sense for NJ's development - if it takes you too long to commute into NYC; build in NJ.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex Aside for the cost to NJ it makes sense for NJ's development - if it takes you too long to commute into NYC; build in NJ.

That is where I ended up at the end of my stint in NY... I lived in Manhatten and commuted to NJ... I used the ferry when I lived downtown and PATH when moved uptown... costs were reasonable...

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 They already banged me for a $100/month increase this year while at the same time reducing service levels. Fine with me if they kill off this boondoggle.

OUCH...

[walkinwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud An interesting article... NJ gov: I'm sticking with decision to scrap tunnel - Yahoo! News Now, this got me thinking... $9 billion goes a LONG way... If this became the ONLY tunnel for the trains and all 185,000 people were to go through, then the cost is $48,649 per person to construct.... this does not include the operating costs... .

I was doing the same calculations in my head when he canceled it for the first time & it seems really excessive!

Here's what I found on wikipedia for the chunnel, which at 31.4 miles is a much larger project.

Quote:

At the 1994 completion actual costs were, in 1985 prices, £4650 million: an 80% cost overrun.[11]

[Fireup2020]

Big news topic here (NJ)...apparently there is X billion from the feds that will either go towards this project (that NY benefits more from - and NJ gets the larger share of the bill) OR the X billion will go towards funding existing road/bridge repairs. (this is aside from the money NJ has to pay back since the project was scrapped) Should be a no brainer. Even as a gov't employee I am a Christie fan!

[jimnjana]

Wonder if non union contractors could have bid on this. Bet it would have cost much less and have been on time.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimnjana Wonder if non union contractors could have bid on this. Bet it would have cost much less and have been on time.

Darn right! In fact they should use Chinese laborers like when they built the transcontinental railroad system.

[jimnjana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Darn right! In fact they should use Chinese laborers like when they built the transcontinental railroad system.

I wouldn't go that far... but them non-documented immigrants might be the answer.

[NW-Bound]

The following excerpt is from the OP's linked article.

Currently, Amtrak and NJ Transit, the state's commuter railroad, share a single, century-old tunnel underneath the river that has been at capacity for years.

Whoa! How could they afford or even be able to build that original tunnel 100 years ago, without the modern equipment we have now? Were the Chinese laborers back then all of Herculean strength? I don't understand.

Also,

More than 625,000 people trek into Manhattan from New Jersey each work day, about 185,000 by rail, and even a minor delay translates into long waits.

That's a lot more commuters than I had thought. Why not bring work to the people, instead of people to work? How many of those jobs simply require a desk, a PC, a phone, and an Internet connection?

PS. I just had an idea. Why not let the Chinese build this for us? They make all everything else for us already, from cheap things sold at dollar stores up to sophisticated electronics. What's a tunnel to them, and I am sure they have modern construction equipment too.