As a way to congratulate the ongoing work of the Southeast Connector Road Project in Des Moines, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx visited the city on Friday afternoon.

The project was awarded a $10 million TIGER grant three years ago, and has helped create a 2 mile extension of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. Des Moines was a stop of Foxx’s tour to highlight the nation’s third annual Infrastructure Week.

“This is how we can move forward, with projects like these,” said Foxx. “Bold ideas. Doing more than the minimum. Giving us long term sustainability and growing America the way America needs to be grown.”

Foxx noted that the need to increase funding for transportation is a bipartisan issue.

“This is not a Democratic or Republican issue,” said Foxx. “This is an issue of America insurgence and putting us in a position to win in the 21st century.”

Foxx said he hoped projects like the one in Des Moines will have enough funding to finish.

“We need to be able to finish projects like this,” said Foxx. “This project is a big idea, and it’s not only going to make a big difference in Des Moines but also in the state of Iowa.”