Economic Development Council
What the Council does
The TransAmerica Corridor Economic Development Council (TAC-EDC) is the formal advisory and coordination body where TAC’s partners (economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, corporate partners, county governments, and municipalities) shape the corridor’s economic future together.
The Council provides unified regional leadership on corridor-wide development strategy, coordinating multi-state economic initiatives, investment campaigns, and site development efforts across the TransAmerica Corridor. It guides TAC’s research priorities, policy agenda, and regional advocacy work, and strengthens collaboration between chambers, municipalities, and corporate stakeholders. The Council also supports workforce development, business recruitment, and freight mobility initiatives along the route.
How the Council Works
Partner organizations serve on the EDC rather than TAC’s Board of Directors, a deliberate structure that keeps the corridor’s governance strong while keeping participation open and broad:
Independent, conflict-free governance.
TAC’s Board stays impartial. Many partners represent entities seeking funding or economic advantage along the corridor, and board service could compromise that independence.
Room for the whole region.
The EDC can include multiple municipalities, chambers, EDOs, and corporate partners, far more participants than a fiduciary board is built to hold.
Clear roles.
The Board carries fiduciary oversight, legal responsibility, and financial stewardship. The EDC focuses on planning, strategy, and advocacy.
Influence without governance burden.
EDC members help shape economic and corridor priorities and regional strategy without taking on legal responsibility for the nonprofit.
Multi-state neutrality.
With TAC spanning a dozen states, keeping partner organizations off the Board avoids imbalance or political tension, the EDC gives every partner equal footing.
National Reach
Because TransAmerica Corridor is a member of the Congressionally Authorized Future Interstate Coalition (CAFI) — alongside the Alliance for I-69 Texas, the I-27 Ports-to-Plains Alliance, and the I-14 Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition — EDC members aren’t just plugged into corridor-level planning. They’re connected to a national effort spanning 22 states and 14 designated Future Interstate corridors, all pushing for the same thing: a dedicated federal funding program to finish the corridors Congress has already authorized.
That connection gives EDC members:
A voice in national policy
CAFI is actively pursuing a Multi-State Future Interstate Highway Formula Funding Program in the next federal surface transportation reauthorization — funding that would flow to state DOTs based on unconstructed mileage of authorized Future Interstates. TransAmerica Corridor’s participation in CAFI means our interests are represented in that national push.
Access to a broader research and advocacy
Members can draw on CAFI’s national coalition data — covering safety, freight efficiency, and economic development outcomes tied to interstate investment generally — to support local and state-level advocacy, in addition to TAC’s own corridor-specific research.
Strong allies
TransAmerica Corridor’s EDC members stand alongside a national roster of chambers, EDCs, counties, and municipalities advocating for the same federal funding mechanism, from Virginia to California.
BECOME A PARTNER
Participation in the TAC-EDC is included with Economic Development, Chamber, Municipal, County, and Corporate Partnership levels. Members take part in: Quarterly briefings and technical roundtables, The Annual Corridor Economic Summit, Multimodal infrastructure and land-use working groups, Advocacy campaigns for federal and state funding, Corridor-wide marketing and investment promotion efforts.
Partners