Governor-elect Scott Walker is continuing to negotiate the alternative options for the $810 million in federal high-speed rail funding, which has sparked both ire and approval from labor unions.
Walker said on ""UpFront with Mike Gousha"" there will be no new rail line connecting Milwaukee and Madison, but he has been in contact with U.S. Department of Transportation Ray LaHood about where that money could be redirected.
""He's looked at options related to rail, whether it could be this line or an alternative,"" Walker said of LaHood. ""I still think there's a number of options on the table.""
LaHood wrote to Walker last week, explaining the money could not be redirected toward roads and bridges, as Walker had requested.
Although he did not directly say he would request to use that money for existing rail lines in the state, Walker said on Gousha's program he has ""no problem"" with the existing line between Milwaukee and Chicago.
The Wisconsin chapter of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations asked Walker in a statement to reconsider his stance on the Madison-Milwaukee line.
""This is an opportunity to create good, family wage jobs and set the stage for further economic growth,"" Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt said of the proposed rail line.
However, another labor union, the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, joined Walker in his request that the federal government allow for the funding to be redirected toward other transportation projects if the new line will not be constructed.
Although the WTBA did not come out in support for Walker's decision to stop the train, Walker's Transition Director John Hiller cited the union's letter as evidence that Walker's plan has the backing of private-sector unions.
