A subway to New Jersey?

The city is mulling a $5.3 billion proposal to extend the No. 7 subway line into Secaucus after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie axed a planned Hudson River commuter rail tunnel that would have ended on West 34th Street in Manhattan. While the No. 7 extension plan wouldn’t be the direct New Jersey-to-New York City commute that some transportation advocates were hoping for (commuters would still have to transfer in Secaucus to NJ Transit lines) it would be about half as costly as the original plan, which Christie killed due to potential cost overruns. The federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had each already committed $3 billion toward the tunnel project, and it’s unclear whether that funding could be redirected to the extended subway line, which would be the first to leave city limits. “Extending the 7 line to New Jersey could address many of the region’s transportation capacity issues at a fraction of the original tunnel’s cost, but the idea is still in its earliest stages,” said Robert Steel, a spokesperson for the deputy mayor for economic development. “Like others, we’re looking at — and open to discussing — any creative, fiscally responsible alternatives.” [NYT]

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