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Anyone who questions the value of the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s annual advocacy trip to Washington, D.C., need only look at the progress of projects such as the Principal Riverwalk and the new World Food Prize Foundation headquarters to know the lobbying efforts are effective, says Jay Byers.

“They’re huge projects, and without the federal government’s role, I’m not sure either of these would have gotten done,” said Byers, the Partnership’s senior vice president for governmental relations and public policy.

The two high-profile initiatives, both of which are nearing completion, are among dozens for which the Partnership will seek federal appropriations during its 31st annual three-day trip, which begins Wednesday. Numerous projects that have appeared on previous years’ agendas are again on the list of priorities, part of the Partnership’s strategy of keeping long-term projects as well as policy objectives top-of-mind with key leaders in Washington, Byers said.

Seven high-priority transportation projects, as recommended by the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, were selected to be highlighted as funding requests this year:

• Southeast Connector – $2 million

• North-South Metro Parkway – $2 million

• Southwest Connector – $2 million

• Northwest 66th Avenue roadway and bridge reconstruction – $1 million

• Grand Avenue bridge over the Des Moines River – $1.5 million

• Extension of Alice’s Road – $2 million

• Iowa Highway 92 reconstruction – $2 million

“They’re projects we think make sense in terms of reasonable (requests),” Byers said. “We know that budgets are tight, so we really tried to have a tight list of projects.”

The top priority the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) will bring to the delegation is the downtown transit hub project, for which it is requesting $1.2 million in federal funding. DART has already secured $4 million in state I-JOBS money for the project.

Another transportation project that will be “a huge focus” this year is passenger rail, Byers said. In January, Iowa received $1 million in federal funding to study a route through the state and has applied for further federal grants.

Recreational trail projects have received a lot of attention in the past few years as a tool for attracting more young professionals to the state. However, “the only (trail) project we’re focusing on as a priority this year is the Riverwalk,” Byers said.

The MPO and the Partnership are supporting a request for $9 million, which is needed to finish the last two sections of the trail on the east side of the Des Moines River, a portion of which will connect to the newly constructed Center Street pedestrian bridge opening this summer.

Among a number of “quality of life” requests is $975,000 for the World Food Prize Foundation to create exhibits and displays for the Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Hall of Laureates, which will be housed in the renovated former Des Moines Public Library building downtown. The foundation has raised $28.2 million of the nearly $30 million needed to complete the project this year.

Other funding requests include capital improvement and equipment needs of Greater Des Moines hospitals, among them $272,000 for an advanced life support ambulance for Methodist West Hospital, $1.66 million for the pediatric inpatient and intensive care units at Mercy Children’s Center, and $1.1 million for a new CT scan machine for Broadlawns Medical Center.

Among a number of education-related projects are a $1.6 million request from Des Moines Area Community College to help fund construction of its planned technical academy in downtown Perry, and a $1.19 million request from the Des Moines Independent Community School District for a school readiness project.

The event is also an opportunity to meet and greet some of Washington’s power elite, including all seven members of Iowa’s congressional delegation. Attendees will also hear presentations from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois.

“We’re really excited about our speakers, to have the No. 1 ranking Republican and the No. 2 ranking Democrat,” Byers said. “They were both our first picks.”

Participants will have a choice of informational workshops that include sessions on innovation at the federal level, education funding and sustainable redevelopment. Visits to the embassies of India, Brazil and Australia are also planned.

“Each country was chosen because they are potential destinations for future trade mission trips,” Byers said, noting that last year’s visit to the Chinese Embassy led to the Partnership’s mission to China scheduled for September.

Though Partnership staff and participants will probably use social media to blog and tweet throughout the trip, the Partnership wants to make sure there’s no substitute for attending in person.

“We decided against any live video to protect our attendees’ investments in the trip,” Byers said. However, archived video of certain events from the trip may be made available this year. “It’s something we’ve been asked about and that we know has a great deal of interest,” he said.