Regional Solutions for a Regional Issue

Mississippi Valley Freight Coalition


The Mississippi Valley Freight Coalition (MVFC) is a regional organization that cooperates in the planning, operation, preservation, and improvement of transportation infrastructure in the Mississippi Valley region. freight circle pictureThe Mississippi Valley region includes ten states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin) that share key interstate corridors, rail infrastructure, and inland and Great Lakes waterways. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by these states’ Departments of Transportation indicates their willingness to meet freight demand through regional cooperative efforts. The MVFC is built upon the work of the Upper Midwest Freight Corridor Study.


Freight Notes

You are invited to read the inaugural issue of the MVFC's quarterly newsletter, entitled Freight Notes. Ernie Wittwer, former director of the MRUTC and our new MVFC Facilitator, is also the editor of this publication. Welcome back Ernie!!

Students and Staff Survey at Truckers Jamboree

Students and staff participated in the 2008 Truckers Jamboree in Iowa to collect information for the MVFC projects on Truck Parking and Bottlenecks.

Click here for more photos from the 2008 Truckers Jamboree.

For project information on the MVFC Truck Parking Initiative click here.


MVFC Renewed

We are pleased to tell you that at the July 8th meeting of the Mississippi Valley Conference Board of Directors in Kansas City, the board unanimously approved the extension of the Mississippi Valley Freight Coalition (MVFC) for two years and the workplan for the 2008-2010 cycle.  At that meeting, Dr. Teresa Adams presented updates on the current projects and activities of the MVFC and outlined the planned efforts.

We appreciate that hard work and assistance to help make this possible.

This executive committee decision continues the Coalition at the same basic level it has operated since 2006.

 

Proposed Financial Plan

Year

State Pooled Fund

(per state)

CFIRE

(University of Wisconsin)

2008-2009

$25,000

$125,000

2009-2010

$25,000

$125,000

TOTAL

$50,000

$250,000

 

We look forward to having all ten states of the MVC region financially supporting the program activities for the first time.  With the ongoing activities in each of the states (i.e. the Kansas Freight Plan, Wisconsin's Truck Size and Weight Study, the I-70 Dedicated Truck Lanes Project, and many others), now is the time to proceed with regional freight project activities and information.

 

The staff here at the Center are committed to providing service to the states of the MVFC.  One exciting new initiative for us is to bring on a new staff member to coordinate the coalition activities, expand member services, and improve communication with the committees. With the growth of the CFIRE and MVFC programs, we look forward to being able to provide enhanced and timely services to you all.

 

2008-2010 projects

As expressed by the states through the Technical Committee back in March/April, further refined and improved, and now approved through the MVC Board of Directors and MVC Executive Committee, the MVFC projects for 2008-2010:

 

1.        Outreach Materials: Within the region and elsewhere, the general public and policy makers lack awareness of multimodal freight, its importance to our economy, and the fragility of our freight transportation system. This project will develop and disseminate outreach materials and media kits to promote awareness and understanding of freight operations and to communicate the importance of freight and multimodal networks to the economic competitiveness and well-being of the region. Each state's freight outreach plan will be considered in the course of this project in coordination with state members of the Technical Committee. Budget: $90,000

2.        Develop Regional Recommendations for Reauthorization: This project will craft a regional message for federal reauthorization. The message will be a broad policy level recommendation to help position and define the region by emphasizing its strength, uniqueness, and importance. Development of the message will build upon the coalition's analysis of the National Commission's report and will complement not duplicate efforts by AASHTO, the Midwest Governors Association, and others. Depending on the advice of the states, discussions on revenue may be included in the project. Budget: $80,000

3.        Transportation Profiles for MVC Commodities and Industries: This project will focus on exports and other outbound traffic of products grown or manufactured in the MVFC region. Selected key agricultural and industrial products will be used to demonstrate the flows of commodities in the region and a standard profile template will be developed for the industries and commodities. This project will also analyze trends and potential regional economic benefits of modifications in size and/or weight restrictions. Budget: $200,000

4.         Performance measures for evaluating multi-state projects: This project will develop freight focused performance measures for multistate corridor projects. The project will build upon measures being developed for multi-state alliances and interstate corridors such as the dedicated truck lanes corridor project, the Northwest Passage, Lake Michigan Interstate Gateway Alliance, and other Corridor of the Future projects. The research team will explore the transferability of measures across different multi-state efforts and recommendations for establishing performance measures for multi-state freight projects. Budget $110,000

5.        Critical Sections and Resiliency of Freight Corridors in the MVFC: This project will identify key nodes and sections, including intermodal connectors, on the MVFC freight network. The project will define and assess impact on the freight transport system if capacity is partially or completely lost. This project will involve risk assessments and include key components of the roadway infrastructure and intermodal connections.  Budget: $185,000

6.      Member Services for the MVFC Pooled Fund Activities: The MVFC member states will receive core services such as the coordinating annual meetings, supporting the website, quarterly reporting, newsletters, coordinating peer groups, and facilitating the Mississippi Valley Traffic Operations Coalition. Budget: $85,000


The 2008 Regional Freight Workshop was held in Indianapolis, Indiana on March 31st through April 2nd 2008. Presentations are now available! Click here for more information.

 

MVFC Quarterly Progress Reports for the are available here for the quarter ending 12/31/07.

 

See our projects!! They can be viewed on CFIRE's research page by clicking here.


Click here to read about the Mississippi Valley Freight Coalition in Research Review, UW-Madison's College of Engineering newsletter.


Relevant Documents


MVFC Executive Summary - a brief summary of the organization's efforts in freight planning and policy

MVFC Memorandum of Understanding - the 10-state agreement to pursue a regional approach to meet freight demand
MVFC Charter - a summary of the organization's mission and structure

MVFC Organizational Structure - a description of the working Committees within the MVFC
MVFC Committee Membership List - updated as of 10/13/2006

Study Progress Timeline - a study progress summary including milestones since 2002; updates as of 7/12/2007

The MVFC Pooled Fund can be viewed on the Transportation Pooled Fund website. For more information, please contact Greg Waidley at gwaidley@engr.wisc.edu.


Upcoming Events

 

Will be updated soon.