The final version of a Wisconsin Department of Transportation long-range plan still has alternate routes through Eau Claire and La Crosse for high-speed passenger rail service between Tomah and the Twin Cities.

The DOT soon will study which route might be best.

The agency said Wednesday it has formally adopted its new Connections 2030 long-range plan, available online at www.wiconnections2030.gov.

Local business and government leaders argued at an Aug. 26 public hearing on the plan in La Crosse that studies years ago already had determined Amtrak's Empire Builder route is the most ideal in the region for planned high-speed passenger rail service between Chicago and St. Paul. That route goes through Tomah and La Crosse, as well as Winona and Red Wing in Minnesota.

Backers of that route announced last week they have formed the Empire Builder High Speed Rail Coalition.

Coalition members remain convinced that is the best route, said the group's coordinator, James Hill, who also is executive director of the La Crosse Area Development Corp.

DOT officials have told him a state study of route alternatives should take about six months, with a decision expected next spring, Hill said Wednesday. "We think the cost-benefit analysis in the alternatives study will in the end confirm the Empire Builder route would be the most cost-beneficial," he said.

State Rep. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, said Wednesday the Empire Builder route makes the most sense. She also is a member of the new coalition.

A provision inserted into the state budget by state Sen. Pat Kreitlow, D-Chippewa Falls, requires the DOT to do a cost benefit study of both routes.