The Wall Street Journal is reporting last month’s closure of lanes on the George Washington Bridge is being seen by some in Bergen County as political retribution by New Jersey’s Republican governor.
The report suggests Fort Lee’s Democratic mayor was retaliated against for not having endorsed Gov. Chris Christie’s re-election bid.
Local access lanes to the GWB were closed last month for multiple days for the Port Authority – which is jointly controlled by Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo – to perform a traffic study. However, people familiar with the dispute told the Wall Street Journal no study was conducted.
The lane closures triggered “massive congestion in Fort Lee for four straight weekdays” and ended abruptly after the authority’s executive director fumed about the closure in an email and said the move likely broke state and federal laws, according to the report.
Christie’s campaign labeled the suggestion the closure was retaliation as “crazy.”
