Issue Brief
Transportation Infrastructure
Background
Transportation infrastructure is critically important to a thriving regional economy. Modern,
effective transportation infrastructure creates immediate jobs, supports the unique needs of
inland metropolitan regions, and creates a gateway that facilitates international trade and exports.
The most recent surface transportation bill, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century
Act (MAP-21), which addresses many priorities for the Great Lakes region, expires later in 2014.
The Coalition supports the reauthorization of MAP-21, together with sustainable and predictable
sources of funding. The transportation investments Congress made in the recent Fiscal Year
2014 omnibus appropriations bill are an encouraging sign that our nation will soon begin the
long road back to world class transportation infrastructure. The future of Great Lakes
manufacturing depends on it. The Coalition believes that increased motor fuel taxes can play an
important role in a sustainable revenue mix, that current project financing programs such as
TIGER, TIFIA, PNRS, and P3 can be important contributors, and that miles-driven techniques
such as interstate highway tolls may also be required.
The Coalition’s Priorities
American prosperity is closely linked with the ability to move goods and materials smoothly
through the Great Lakes region, which produces 35% of US manufacturing output, provides 40%
of US manufacturing jobs, and accounts for 28% of exports. In the Midwest, the nation’s
industrial core, a single disruption of a “just in time” supply chain due to inadequate
infrastructure can impact results throughout the entire chain. Congress can ensure the continued
vitality of the Great Lakes region and its industries with three forward-looking actions:
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Develop a sustainable funding strategy to support the nation’s increasing needs for
modern and efficient surface transportation infrastructure;
Maintain and improve vital trade corridors through federal regional transportation
infrastructure financing programs, such as TIGER, TIFIA, PNRS, and P3;
Enable pilot programs for new funding techniques, such as tolls on interstate highways.
These actions are essential to the trade corridors that get the region’s manufactured and
agricultural goods and commodities to market. They will significantly reduce the barriers which
have combined to delay rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure. Strong Congressional action will
enhance our nation’s multi-modal assets in an increasingly competitive international economy
that relies on global supply chains.
Contributing Chambers of Commerce
The following Chambers are contributors to the development of the Coalition’s plan for growth and job creation in
the Great Lakes region:
Allegheny Conference on Community Development
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber
Battle Creek Area Chamber of Commerce
Buffalo Niagara Partnership
Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
Columbus Chamber of Commerce
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce
Detroit Regional Chamber
Duluth Chamber of Commerce
Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership
Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce
Greater Cleveland Partnership
Greater Des Moines Partnership
Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce
Greater Louisville, Inc. – The Metro Chamber of Commerce
Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce
Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce
Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce
Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce
Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Northern Michigan Regional Chamber Alliance
Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce
Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce
Rockford Chamber of Commerce
Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce
Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce
Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce
West Michigan Chamber Coalition
Youngstown/Warren Chamber of Commerce
1601 K Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006-1600
202-661-3881
www.greatlakesmetrochambers.com