WASHINGTON — The Obama 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.
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.
High-speed trains will not only improve transportation but reinvigorate manufacturing and put people back to work in jobs that pay well, LaHood predicted in a statement.
States gaining the most money include California, $624 million; Florida, $342 million; Washington, $161 million; and Illinois, $42 million. Other states receiving lesser amounts include New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, North Carolina, Iowa, Vermont and Indiana.
A commuter-rail line in Wisconsin between Milwaukee and Chicago will still get about $2 million.
In Ohio, Gov.-elect John Kasich had declared dead a proj ect that would have created passenger-train service between Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. He had requested that LaHood allow him to use the $400 million in federal funds on other transportation projects such as road construction or freight lines.
The economic-recovery law that authorized funding for high-speed-rail projects stipulated that the funds can’t be used for other purposes, however.
Wisconsin Gov.-elect Scott Walker campaigned against a Madison-to-Milwaukee rail line, which would have received $810 million, as a waste of taxpayer money. Walker also said he didn’t want to commit the state to annual operating subsidies once the line was complete, although the proj ect’s supporters predicted it would make money. Walker on Thursday called the death of the proposed line “a victory.” Walker had also sought to spend the money on other Wisconsin projects such as roads and bridges.
Without rail between Milwaukee and Madison, it will be difficult for Midwestern leaders to fulfill their vision of having 110-mph trains linking Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapolis-St. Paul. The route was a key segment in the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative effort by nine states.
