Christie halted the country's largest public-works project earlier this month because of anticipated cost overruns (see Oct. 8 AASHTO Journal story), but agreed to a two-week reprieve at U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's urging. The governor's transit team has until the end of this week to identify financial options that could keep construction on track, the Associated Press reported.

Cost projections for the tunnel have nearly doubled. The tunnel started at an estimated $5 billion in 2005, and federal officials put the price tag in recent months at $9 billion to $10 billion. Christie recently estimated the cost at $11 billion to $14 billion, though Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, said that figure was likely far too high.

Under the project's current financial structure, the federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are each contributing $3 billion. New Jersey's share is $2.7 billion plus any cost overruns that might occur.

"This is a mathematical equation," the governor said. "If it's $2 billion to $5 or more billion over, I'm not doing it. I'm not letting the people of New Jersey be responsible for a never-ending bill."

He referenced Boston's recently completed Big Dig, a massive interstate highway tunnel project whose nearly $15 billion cost far exceeded the original estimate.

Christie declined on Monday to specify what type of financial arrangement he was looking for. So far, New York City and New York state have not offered to contribute to the project.

Construction Workers Rally to Save Tunnel & Their Jobs

Hundreds of construction workers attended a rally Tuesday at the tunnel construction site in North Bergen, nj.com reported.

Lautenberg and New Jersey's other senator, Democrat Robert Menendez, touted the job-creation potential of the endangered Access to the Region's Core Tunnel. Several speakers criticized Christie for threatening to kill the nation's largest infrastructure project.

"Some people have accused me of having 'tunnel vision,'" Lautenberg said. "I have 'tunnel vision' because I want workers to have jobs -- 6,000 construction jobs."