Waco: Sen. John Cornyn discusses infrastructure needs

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, made his way to Waco Monday morning to tour construction along Interstate 35, highlighting the need for infrastructure improvements in Central Texas and beyond.

“Infrastructure is important to our state and to our nation because this is where we improve public safety,” Cornyn said.

“We make sure our roads are safe, we improve air quality so we don’t have traffic lingering in places like this, and we keep our economy moving.”

Cornyn says “real infrastructure” like roads, bridges, airports, seaports, and projects like the I-35 expansion need to be the focus as Waco and other cities throughout the state continue to see growth.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity to really build an economy right now that is vibrant, to bring financial security to families that have traditionally been financially insecure, but none of that can happen without good infrastructure,” Waco Mayor Dillon Meek said.

Local lawmakers say the only way that can happen is with funding to support it.

“TxDOT, the local community, the federal government, and state government, we’re all working together to bring more infrastructure to Waco,” said Stan Swiatek, the Texas Department of Transportation’s Waco District engineer.

“The list is a lot further than we have money for.”

Funding for these projects is something they say is missing from President Biden’s infrastructure plan.

“Ninety five percent of it has nothing to do with things like you seen behind us here today,” Cornyn said.

Republican lawmakers, like Cornyn, are asking for several things to be removed from the plan like universal Pre-K and free college tuition at community colleges.

Cornyn says lawmakers need to get back to the basics when talking about infrastructure in Washington.

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