By Press Times staff
GREEN BAY – Last week U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin announced that five new routes in Wisconsin were selected “as priorities for passenger rail expansion.”
Each of these projects will each receive $500,000 in planning and development grants, including funding that will support the creation of a corridor from Milwaukee to Green Bay that would connect the existing Hiawatha service between Chicago, Ill., and Milwaukee with an extension to Green Bay.
“Green Bay-Milwaukee-Chicago intercity passenger rail service was envisioned as part of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, a plan for a 3,000-mile regional high-speed rail system in the Midwest developed by nine Midwest states. The service will extend the popular Hiawatha Service along one of the most densely populated transportation corridors in the state and will build upon successful intercity bus service that currently operates two round trips per day between Milwaukee and Green Bay. The service will also provide all-weather mobility options for cities and communities across this corridor,” Baldwin said in an April letter to Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose.
“WisDOT has worked with Amtrak on their Wisconsin Corridor Development Study, which identified the Hiawatha Service extension to Green Bay as an important link to business headquarters and educational opportunities in the Green Bay area. In studying the potential development of this Corridor, WisDOT proposes to work with the FRA, Illinois, Tribal and local governments, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Amtrak, hosts railroads, and other interested parties in detailing local routing, service plans, and service options. Local needs and conditions across the corridor will be considered.”
Funding will come from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“Passenger rail helps people get to work and school safely, boosts tourism and recreation, and grows our local economies, and I am proud to deliver funding to help expand it in Wisconsin,” said Senator Baldwin. “I voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to move our economy forward and get Wisconsinites where they need to go efficiently and safely, and I am excited to see these plans for passenger rail move forward.”
“The Corridor ID Program is a comprehensive intercity passenger rail planning and development program that will help guide intercity passenger rail development throughout the country and create a pipeline of intercity passenger rail projects ready for implementation. Each selected corridor will be granted $500,000 for eligible activities related to the initiation of a grantee’s corridor development efforts including the development of a scope, schedule and cost estimate for preparing a service development plan,” a release from Baldwin’s office stated.
After the study is completed, the five projects may be selected for future grants and will need environmental clearance.
“We are thrilled to have the extension of passenger rail service to Green Bay included in the Corridor ID program. This decision is not the end of the line, but it’s a critical piece of the journey to restore passenger train travel to Green Bay,” said Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich. “The ability to connect the people and products of our region to destinations in the area and beyond, with various modes of transportation, is a core feature of any 21st-century infrastructure plan.”
“Safe, reliable infrastructure is critical to the success of Wisconsin’s economy and workforce, and this federal funding is an important first step in improving the passenger rail system in Wisconsin and expanding our opportunities to serve more communities across our state,” stated Gov. Tony Evers. “With these strategic connections, we can keep our state moving forward and keep building the 21st-century infrastructure Wisconsin needs to support a 21st-century economy and workforce.”
“The long range WisDOT rail plan was the result of listening to the public, and community leaders and many others have asked for passenger trains to reach more of our communities,” said WisDOT Secretary Craig Thompson. “We will work closely with all our stakeholders to explore this possibility, and we will also continue to look at other proposed improvements that are aligned with our long-range plans.”