The Port Authority is all atwitter about the fact that lower materials costs have pushed the final price of the Connector project down by $14 million to $538 million. One supposes they are looking for a word of congratulations from a skeptical public. Not likely to happen.
First of all, this was a project that was projected to cost $360 million, found its way to $435 million before the first dirt was moved, and was held at that level only by eliminating $80 to $90 million in costs through dropping the convention center leg. So, when we add it all up, the new "final" estimate is 92 percent above the original forecast.
And who can guarantee that today’s lower materials prices that have resulted from the severe construction downturn nationally and internationally won’t begin to climb sharply once Obama’s infrastructure heavy stimulus package kicks in?
The basic fact remains; $14 million in cost reductions at this point represents a mere 5.4 percent of the cost overruns the Connector has incurred so far. Not much to brag about.
