N.J. taxpayers might as well kiss their money goodbye.
The consortium constructing the South Jersey Light Rail Line wants another $140 million. The state doesn't want to pay it.
Here's a thought: Scrap the whole thing.
No, that's not going to happen, but is anybody surprised that this project is both behind schedule and over budget? If so, we've got a bridge to sell to you.
There are so many things to question about the rail project, including just how many people actually will use a Camden-to-Trenton rail line. Maybe a Camden-to-Mount Holly line would have made more sense. Maybe rail service could have been extended to help relieve traffic jams along Route 42.
Maybe. Could have. Should have. Hindsight certainly is 20/20, and in this case it shows us a boondoggle on par with E-ZPass, auto emissions and the taking of Manhattan from the Indians.
This project smelled rotten from the start, when NJ Transit waited until its board endorsed the project before scheduling public hearings. There also was the question about whether the public should have had the chance to vote on the bonds financing the project.
But here we are. And there go a billion or so of our dollars - depending, of course, on what the courts say about cost overruns.
Maybe we're being too cynical. Maybe the rail line will be the engine that drives economic rebirth in the communities alongside its tracks. Maybe schedules can be worked out so that hordes of people from Trenton or, heck, New York City, will be able to flock to the Camden waterfront to see a late-night concert. Maybe, a couple of decades from now, people cruising along the Camden-to- Trenton line will have fond memories of the deep thinkers who had the vision and foresight to support this project.
On second thought, nah. It's a boondoggle. The taxpayers got taken. Their money is as good as gone. The best we can hope for now is that the overruns aren't too painful and that, at some point, there is some reason to actually ride the train.