December 9, 2010

“A month before he’s even been sworn into to office, Governor-elect Walker has lost good jobs for Wisconsinites,” U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore of Milwaukee said in a written statement. “He’s denied our state an opportunity to be part of a new, nationwide transportation system that would have brought economic benefits along with it.”

Gov. Jim Doyle:  “This is a tragic moment for the State of Wisconsin. Our team worked hard to win a national competition to make us a leader in high speed passenger rail. We were positioned to be not only a center of the line, but to be a manufacturing center as well. Now we are moving from being the leader, to the back of the line.

“Eight hundred and ten million dollars that would have gone to create thousands of jobs in Wisconsin will now create jobs in other states. Bogus arguments that this money can be used for roads have been proven false. As Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota continue to work on the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, the connection of Chicago to Minneapolis will avoid Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Madison, La Crosse, Eau Claire and other Wisconsin communities will lose the benefit of those connections. Together with many others I have worked hard to move Wisconsin into the future. I obviously am deeply saddened to see us take a major step backward.”

From the evening that we broke the news that Wisconsin had been allocated $810 million in federal funding for high-speed rail to Thursday’s announcement that the state’s allocation will instead be given to other states such as Illinois, California and New York, BizTimes.com has been ground zero for news, analysis and commentary about the project.

Knowing full well that our audience was divided about the issue, we carefully steered clear of taking a stance one way or the other, opting instead to be the messenger and a conduit of the community’s commentary.

And so, we’ll serve up a missive today on what appears to be the final chapter of the story.

The decision to take away Wisconsin’s high-speed rail money triggered a flood of media statements from elected officials and organizations.

Like the past few months’ public debate over the $810 million project, there’s little middle ground. Thursday’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Transportation is either a tragedy that benefits other states or a demonstration of fiscal sanity.

“It is to the Wisconsin taxpayers’ benefit that they will no longer be required to pick-up the additional tab for a high-speed train that the majority of residents will never ride,” according to a statement from U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Menomonee Falls).

Wisconsin will keep only a fraction of the $810 million it won in federal high-speed rail money, while the rest will help fund train lines in California, Florida, Illinois and other states, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

Governor-elect Scott Walker had vowed to kill the planned 110-mph Milwaukee-to-Madison passenger train route that was to be funded with Wisconsin’s share of $8 billion in federal stimulus dollars. Ohio Governor-elect John Kasich had issued a similar promise for a planned 79-mph line connecting his state’s three largest cities, funded by $400 million in stimulus cash.

Efforts to build a high speed rail line connecting Madison and Milwaukee suffered a major blow Thursday, after the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it is withdrawing the $810 million awarded to Wisconsin and sending it to other states. The DOT also took about $400 million in federal funding for rail away from Ohio.

Governor Jim Doyle says the decision is a “tragic moment for the State of Wisconsin.” In a statement, Doyle blamed the decision on Governor-elect Scott Walker’s adamant opposition to the rail project.

Walker campaigned on his plans to stop the train and has stood by his opposition to the project since winning the election in November.

The United States Department of Transportation announced Thursday that it would pull $810 million in federal funding from Wisconsin.

The money was earmarked for a high speed rail line from Milwaukee to Madison. However, incoming governor Scott Walker has repeatedly said he would kill the project. Walker argued the line would be too expensive to operate. The governor of Ohio also said he would reject federal rail funds.

The two states’ rail funds will now go to projects in other states, including Illinois and Minnesota.

$1.2 Billion Was Slated For Wisconsin, Ohio Projects

President Barack Obama’s administration is taking $1.2 billion in high-speed rail money away from Ohio and Wisconsin and awarding it to 12 other states, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday.

Both Ohio and Wisconsin have elected incoming Republican governors who oppose the rail projects. Those governors, whose states have been hit hard by the economic downturn, had asked if they could divert the money to other projects.

But LaHood said he was awarding the money to states that are eager to have it for their rail projects.

The Obama administration is taking $1.2 billion in high-speed rail money away from Ohio and Wisconsin and awarding it to other states, congressional sources said Thursday.

Both Ohio and Wisconsin have elected incoming Republican governors opposed to the rail projects. The Department of Transportation plans to award their money to rail projects in California, Illinois, New York and other states, sources said. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly before the department’s announcement.