The industries and farms of the Mississippi Valley  region can compete in the marketplace only if their products can move reliably, safely and at reasonable cost to market. Growing congestion threatens the sustainability of this freight movement. The people of the region are dependent upon farms and industries for their livelihoods and their economic quality of life depends on the flow of goods to our markets. Therefore, the Mid-America Freight Coalition is created to protect and support the economic wellbeing of the industries, farms and people of the region by keeping the products of those industries, farms and people flowing to markets reliably, safely, and efficiently.
The Coalition will carry out its mission by:

• Sharing information between agencies that will improve the understanding of freight issues and the management of freight services and facilities.
• Reaching out to and sharing ideas with private sector shippers and carriers on approaches to making freight flow more smoothly through the region.
• Gathering, analyzing and sharing information on the movement of freight throughout the region with sister agencies and with private sector interests.
• Defining a system of regionally significant freight highway, rail and water corridors and facilities and establishing performance expectations for those facilities that will guide their management and operations.
• Evaluating, implementing and operating technologies and other roadway appurtenances from a regional perspective and in a manner that supports the reliable, efficient and safe movement of freight.
• Evaluating, implementing and enforcing traffic and vehicle regulations that promote the reliable, efficient and safe movement of freight.
• Identifying corridors or bottlenecks that frustrate the movement of freight and taking actions, individually or as a group, to improve those corridors or bottlenecks.
• Defining and supporting national transportation policies will support and improve the movement of freight in the region.

To carryout the steps outlined above, the Coalition will be organized as follows:

• The University of Wisconsin Transportation Center and its partner institutions in the region will provide staff services and management coordination.
• A Customers Committee made up of representatives of the shippers and carriers of the region will provide advice and information from the perspective of the private sector.
• A Technical Committee made up of representatives of the participating agencies will provide detailed oversight and direction to the effort.
• An Executive Committee made up of the agency heads or their designees will provide policy direction and decision making for the Coalition.
• Funding will be provided through a pooled fund supported by the agencies, University Transportation Center funds provided by the Wisconsin Transportation Center, and project specific construction or operations funds provided by the agencies.

To ensure the continued progress of the effort:

• Staff from the University of Wisconsin, with the advice and approval of the committees, will prepare a plan for specific actions of the Coalition.
• The plan will be reviewed, evaluated and extended after each two-year period.
• Staff from the University of Wisconsin will provide quarterly reports to the committees on the activities and progress of the Coalition.
• The committees will meet jointly at least annually; and the committees will meet individually, either in person or electronically, at least semi-annually.

For more information, download the complete MAFC Charter.