CONGRESSMAN DEREK SCHMIDT SUPPORT LETTER Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Congressman Derek Miller Backs Future Interstate 66 Through Southern Kansas Kansas 2nd District Member supports advancing the East-West TransAmerica Corridor through Pittsburg and Parsons and west along U.S. 400 toward Wichita.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MISSOURI — OCTOBER 21 2026

TransAmerica Corridor, Inc. (TAC) announced today that U.S. Representative Derek Schmidt (KS-02) has issued a Letter of Support for the continued planning and development of the East-West TransAmerica Corridor (High Priority Corridor 3), commonly known as the Future Interstate 66 Corridor, and for the efforts of TransAmerica Corridor, Inc. to advance it.

In his October 21 letter, Congressman Schmidt wrote: “I support continued efforts to advance the I-66 Corridor through southern Kansas, passing through the Pittsburg and Parsons areas before continuing west along the U.S. 400 corridor toward Wichita.”

Kansas is already part of the corridor in federal law. The route Congress set out in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA §1105(c)(3), as amended) runs from Kentucky into Illinois and Missouri, “exiting western Missouri and moving westward across southern Kansas.” Schmidt’s letter notes that the federally designated corridor extends through Missouri into southern Kansas, linking Kansas communities with markets across the central and eastern United States.

Schmidt pointed to the corridor’s potential to strengthen freight movement, agriculture, manufacturing, economic development and access to communities throughout Kansas, calling improvements to the east-west network a long-standing priority of his. He also voiced support for continued coordination among Kansas transportation officials, neighboring states, local communities, economic development organizations and federal partners to determine the improvements needed to advance the corridor.

Schmidt joins Congressmen Hal Rogers (KY-05), James Comer (KY-01) and Mike Bost (IL-12) and Congresswoman Carol Miller (WV-01) in supporting the corridor. His is the first Letter of Support from a Member of Congress west of the Mississippi River.

“Congressman Schmidt’s letter carries the I-66 Corridor across the Mississippi and into the heart of the country,” said Robert Spurlock, President & Executive Director of TransAmerica Corridor, Inc. “Congress wrote southern Kansas into this corridor’s route. Our work is to finish what Congress started, and Kansas leadership is essential to getting it done. We are grateful for the Congressman’s support and look forward to working with his office and with communities from Pittsburg and Parsons to Wichita.”

“This links the I-66 Corridor from southern Illinois into Missouri’s 8th Congressional District at the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge at Cape Girardeau, then on to Van Buren, Springfield and Jasper, where it connects directly into U.S. 400 and continues across southern Kansas,” Spurlock added.

TransAmerica Corridor, Inc. has completed initial outreach to all 19 congressional districts along the I-66 Corridor from Kansas to Virginia and continues to build support among Members of Congress, state transportation agencies and local communities.