By Tom Liddy
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN - Pay up.
New Jersey is on the hook for $271 million it spent on the design and early development of a trans-Hudson rail tunnel that Gov. Chris Christie scrapped.
The order was handed down Friday by US Transportation Secretary Ray LoHood in a letter to Christie as well as a 52-page report by the Federal Transit Administration, the Associated Press said.
Christie canned the project, Access to the Region's Core, in October out of fears of cost overruns of up to $5 billion beyond the $8.7 billion budget.
The project would have established a rail link between north Jersey and Midtown Manhattan, where more than 90 businesses would have been pushed out to make way.
LaHood said Christie and New Jersey officials broke the contract.
"After the initial contract was entered into and later expanded at Governor Christie’s request, the state of New Jersey broke the terms," LaHood said, according to NJ.com.
"The governor’s unfortunate decision will affect the commuters in New Jersey and the entire Northeast region for generations."
Christie's office disagreed with the decision, but had not decided if it would appeal, the site said.
