“The condition and needs of our infrastructure in Arkansas will always be one of my top priorities in Congress,” Ross said. “As a new co-chair of the I-69 Congressional Caucus, I will continue to emphasize the importance of the I-69 project to our nation’s transportation system and to the economy of Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District.”

Ross and fellow Co-Chair Roger Wicker (MS-01) have sent a letter to the Secretary of Transportation emphasizing the need to designate I-69 as one of the five “Corridors of the Future.”  As a “Corridor of the Future,” I-69 would become a nationally-recognized priority, making it eligible to receive the necessary resources to accelerate its construction.

“The I-69 Corridor will not only provide updated infrastructure development in our nation’s highway system, but it will also stimulate economic growth through new construction and by bringing in new businesses that create jobs,” Ross said. “It is time to begin investing in America again and I will continue to work to secure the required funding and resources needed to move this essential interstate corridor forward toward completion.”

Ross has been a member of the I-69 Caucus since he was first elected to represent Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District in Congress in 2000. U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, along with Representatives Marion Berry (AR-01) and John Boozman (AR-03) are also members of the I-69 Caucus.

The Interstate 69 Mid-Continent Highway Caucus is a bipartisan group of 56 Members of Congress interested in promoting the development and completion of Interstate 69, a true north-south highway linking Port Huron, Michigan to Texas' border with Mexico.

The I-69 Corridor is the only direct national link to two of our major trading partners, Canada and Mexico.  The corridor has the nation’s busiest border crossings on both borders, accounting for 49 percent of the nation’s trade with Canada and 49 percent of the nation’s trade with Mexico.  I-69 is a major national freight corridor linking manufacturing and agricultural centers.  It will provide a direct route for domestic and international commodity flow, relieving congestion on many less direct routes - reducing travel time, fuel consumption and costs - and increase the reliability and efficiency of the nation’s freight system.

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