Middle Market Digest-The Midwest

CHICAGO—All the talk about renewing US infrastructure could have big implications for both Chicago and the Midwest in general. Today GlobeSt.com spoke with Walter Kemmsies, an infrastructure expert for JLL, a conversation we will continue next week. One of his hopes is that new infrastructure spending doesn’t all go towards roadbuilding. Politicians tend to love building new roads and resurfacing existing ones, largely because that work is so visible. However, projects which help freight move across the country and allow its eventual export get done in areas, such as rail yards, ports and canals, that are largely hidden from view. And as Kemmsies says, “people vote; freight doesn’t.” But renovating that hidden infrastructure, such as the system of locks which helps barges move down the Mississippi, could provide a big boost to Midwest exporters, many of whom use the Port of New Orleans. Kemmsies is hoping to see enabling legislation that will allow public-private partnerships to tackle these jobs, as well as enough funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to revitalize the Mississippi. What he has in mind is something similar to the vast expansion of inland ports done by companies like BNSF in Kansas City. Much of that work, however, has served the import-dependent market for consumer goods. What remains to be seen is if the US will commit to doing what’s necessary to reach its potential for exports.

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