The Associated Press is reporting that The Federal Transit Administration sent New Jersey Transit a bill for $271 million, the share of what the federal government put into the canceled ARC tunnel project.

According to the article, New Jersey has 30 days from the November 24 writing to return the cash. New Jersey Transit Director James Weinstein had said earlier this month–when the federal government first made the threat–that he was unsure if the state would have to repay the debt.

More than $600 million had already been spent on the construction of the tunnel, which had begun in 2009 and was halted then cancelled by Governor Christie in October 2010. The state is already battling an over $10 billion budget deficit, and Christie said New Jersey simply couldn't afford the project.

The over $9 billion transit project would have given Main/Bergen Line commuters a straight shot to Manhattan and cut many Bergen commute times by around 20 minutes round trip.

Amtrak had expressed interest in taking over the killed project, but disputes of who would shoulder the costs ended up dashing that possibility as well.