GOP senators' report calls North Shore Connector a monumental waste
Share with others:
It might have been a new low for a project that has become a magnet for criticism: A report on Tuesday lumped Pittsburgh's North Shore Connector with cocaine-sniffing monkeys as examples of government waste.
Two U.S. senators released a report alleging misspending in the $862 billion federal economic stimulus program, and cited the Port Authority's North Shore Connector as one of 100 projects "that give taxpayers the blues."
The authority quickly answered the criticism leveled by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., saying they had mischaracterized the project's intent and its benefits.
U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, also defended the project and said the report "is first and foremost a partisan political attack intended to mislead the public into thinking the stimulus bill didn't work."
The senators' report, "Summertime Blues," questioned the allocation of $62.5 million in stimulus funds to the connector, which it said "will primarily serve to bring commuters to sporting events and a casino."
It also noted cost overruns that pushed the price from an original estimate of $390 million to the current $528.8 million.
"Unfortunately, the North Shore Connector has been plagued with problems since its inception, making it seem in this case that federal officials are throwing good money after bad," the report said.
Among the other stimulus-funded projects targeted in the report were $71,623 to Wake Forest University for research on how monkeys react under the influence of cocaine; $294,958 to the same university for studying whether yoga can "reduce the frequency and/or severity of hot flashes" in menopausal women; and $341,000 to plant palm trees in Fresno, Calif.
Stimulus money helped rescue the connector project after inflation and delays put it in jeopardy of being halted short of completion. It is now about 75 percent complete and scheduled to begin passenger service to new stations near PNC Park and Heinz Field in March 2012.
First Published August 4, 2010 12:00 am
