Rahm Emanuel: ‘Your Economy Will Move in the Speed of Your Infrastructure’
WASHINGTON — Investments in freight and infrastructure projects are ideal ways for cities and metropolitan regions nationwide to realize economic growth, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace event Oct 8.
“If you do not invest in a 21st-century infrastructure, your economy will move in the speed of your infrastructure. We have a 20th-century infrastructure, that’s the speed. Cities are where the economic, intellectual and cultural energy of the world economy is. Chicago is one of those,” the Democratic mayor said.
Emanuel said his administration has adopted policies designed to optimize commerce by enhancing freight connectivity and public transportation. Emanuel and other elected officials here also called on Congress to advance a long-term highway bill this year to help his city and others access more transportation dollars.
Later today, Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak at the event.
A survey from the American Society of Civil Engineers conducted in 2013 projected that about $3.6 trillion in total investment by 2020 is needed to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure system. That year, a group of engineers assigned a D+ grade to the country’s overall infrastructure.
