US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has urged Congress to pass a long-term funding bill that can help boost transportation investment in communities such as Des Moines to improve industrial areas and roadway safety, as well as create jobs.

The move follows Foxx’s tour to Des Moines’ Southeast (SE) Connector project as part of the nation’s third annual Infrastructure Week.

It is claimed that the Infrastructure Week will bring together thousands of stakeholders across the country to highlight the importance of investing in infrastructure, and to encourage US Congress to act on a long-term transportation bill.

"Des Moines needs our help connecting travellers on Martin Luther King Parkway to economic opportunity."

Foxx noted: "Des Moines needs our help connecting travellers on Martin Luther King Parkway to economic opportunity.

"Improving infrastructure can lead to more economic growth but it requires an investment in our future – the kind of investment we can provide if Congress passes the President’s Grow America Act."

Earlier this year, the administration unveiled a plan to address the infrastructure deficit with a $478bn, six-year surface transportation reauthorisation proposal, the Grow America Act.

The proposal will see investments made in roads, bridges and other infrastructure needed to promote long-term economic growth, improve safety and efficiency.

If the Grow America Act is passed, Iowa would receive $633.4m for highway and transit projects.

Additionally, the US DOT released a landmark study earlier this year, titled ‘Beyond Traffic’, which looked at the trends and choices facing American transportation over the next 30 years.

The SE Connector is a major element in a series of infrastructure improvements for south-east Des Moines, Iowa, an enterprise zone area in need of new investment and development.

Following completion, the project will extend the existing Martin Luther King Boulevard from Des Moines’ central business district east to US 65.

The project is being carried out in phases that include an already completed downtown bridge across the Des Moines River and segments of the road that are nearly complete to take the roadway from downtown to Southeast 14th Street.

The existing phase of the SE Connector will extend the road east to South East 30th Street and encompasses approximately 2.78 miles, while the current project phase is scheduled to be completed by late 2016.

Estimated to cost $51m, the current phase has relied on $24m in federal aid funds and about $70m in additional funding is needed to complete the second phase of the project, which will extend the parkway an additional 2.5 miles to US 65.