As Bethany Stich walks to work, she helps ease local traffic congestion, saves on fuel costs and exercises.
The assistant professor of political science and public administration understands the value of the right transportation from the local to national and international level. In a globalized economy, transportation options increase the quality of life for communities and lower costs for industries or businesses. Having railroads, navigable waterways and interstate highways nearby saves on the cost of producing goods.
That's why Stich and other university researchers have partnered to examine the economic feasibility of connecting the stretch of rail on the C&G Railroad from Greenwood to West Point. Connecting the rail line would make selling corn grown in the Mississippi Delta to chicken farms in other parts of the state more economically feasible. It also would lower shipping costs of supplies for the steel mill that recently opened near Columbus.
"All of it surrounds the global supply chain," Stich said.
Applied research by Stich and others at MSU contributes to state and national economies.