U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will visit Gary on Wednesday as part of a tour of industrial sites and infrastructure projects in the Hoosier State.
The former South Bend mayor will be joined by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, for a visit to the Gary/Chicago International Airport, where he also will meet with members of the United Steelworkers. Buttigieg and Mrvan will be joined by Gary Mayor Jerome Prince and Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Michael Smith at a press conference.
The Indiana trip is intended to “highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in America and creating good-paying jobs in Indiana and across the country,” according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).
In April, Mrvan helped secure $6 million in federal Community Projects money for infrastructure improvements at the airport, with $4 million going toward construction of a heavy air cargo logistics apron on the airport’s west side and $2 million to install a sanitary sewer to the cargo center.
On Wednesday, Buttigieg will also visit Elkhart to celebrate a $2.6 million USDOT awarded to the city aimed at addressing issues with railroad crossings. The following day Buttigieg will be in Indianapolis to tour the Sheet Metal Workers apprenticeship facility and speak with union workers and apprentices, as well as to visit a road project that received $25 million from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Freelance reporter Carole Carlson contributed.
