The Costly Secaucus Boondoggle Revisited

The Record has decided to revisit the boondoggle that is known as the Secaucus Interchange - the NJ Turnpike Exit 15X.

The $250 million exit connecting the turnpike to the Secaucus Junction train station had the lowest traffic volume of any turnpike interchange last year -- even though it serves one of the most congested sections of the 120-mile highway.

The few motorists who use it enter a vast emptiness surrounding the train station that -- despite promises to the contrary -- lacks office development, access to major highways or parking.

Two years after it opened, lawmakers, advocates and motorists now question whether Exit 15X will ever prove to be useful since plans to build development and parking have stalled, and the interchange has done little to relieve traffic congestion.

Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole, R-Wayne, said the money spent on the interchange could have been better used for bridge rehabilitation and replacement projects and other infrastructure needs.

You could have seen this coming from a mile away, and it comes as traffic at the nearby exits skyrockets despite projections that suggested that the Exit 15X would siphon off vehicles from those other exits.

This whole project is a money pit.

The Secaucus Transfer, the NJ Transit project that links all of the NJ Transit train lines save one so that riders can switch trains, is itself a boondoggle that hasn't lived up to expectations because not enough people use it to justify the exorbinant cost - which is upwards of $500 million.

The turnpike exit was another mistake, which costs taxpayers and commuters $250 million for ramps that no one is using. It doesn't lead to where people want to go, and the Transfer doesn't have a parking garage that might actually reduce congestion on the highway by taking people out of their cars and putting them onto trains (though the trains themselves are already near capacity during the rush hours anyway).

Between these two extravagant projects, this is where nearly $850 million dollars was spent - and taxpayers will continue footing the bill for years to come in debt financing.

This is money that could have been better spent elsewhere in NJ Transit, or at a minimum had costs been contained during the construction of the train project, which was originally expected to cost $50 million.

The interchange was originally expected to cost $180 million, so this latest figure shows a serious jump as well. Curious how that happens.

All that money spent, and nothing to show for it. Imagine what that money could have been used for - new buses or trains, or money that could have gone to building the THE tunnel into Manhattan, which is sorely needed to increase capacity on the NE Corridor.

UPDATE:
Seems that the boondoggles and the insanely high taxes and poor services in return are finally getting to New Jersey residents. The latest poll suggests that half of New Jersey residents are considering bailing. Of that figure, about half figure they'll actually act on the intention.

New Jersey must do something to contain costs, and of course, I fully expect voters to pass yet more debt on to taxpayers when the $450 million stem cell deficit funding resolution goes before voters in November. The state is adding to its already crushing debt load with this proposal, which is supposed to fund stem cell research that biomedical researchers have already chosen to ignore in favor of more promising research paths.

Taxpayers will be bombarded with sympathetic and heart rending stories that are supposed to convince them that the stem cell funding program is sound and good for the state, all the while ignoring the costs adding up in paying for it all. And as more taxpayers leave the state, those left behind will be forced to pay the ever higher burden.