After days of silence on the topic, Gov. Jim Doyle addressed his choice to halt production on the high-speed rail line Monday, saying he would leave the decisions on the rail project to his successor, Governor-elect Scott Walker.
""While I could force the issue, I believe that this project will only be successful in the long run if the State of Wisconsin and the U.S. Department of Transportation are strong partners,"" Doyle said in a statement.
Doyle praised the project and said not moving forward with construction would have serious economic ramifications, including potential job losses and the state having to return $14 million to the federal government.
Walker was an ardent critic of the rail project throughout his campaign, calling it a ""boondoggle"" and saying he would reject the nearly $810 million in federal funding for it and stop construction altogether.
Doyle said if the money is turned away, the U.S. DOT has made it clear they would hand it over to another state.
""There has been talk that this money could be used for roads. That is pure fiction,"" Doyle said in a statement. ""There are already states lined up with rail projects waiting for us to turn back this money.""
New York Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo recently wrote to the U.S. DOT to request the funding Wisconsin and Ohio are likely to turn away in order to enhance New York's own upstate rail lines. Ohio Governor-elect John Kasich has opposed a high-speed rail system that would link Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, according to The Wall Street Journal.
