Draft FY 2017-2021 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program presented to the Iowa Transportation Commission
AMES, Iowa – May 10, 2016 – The Iowa Department of Transportation presented the Iowa Transportation Commission (Commission) with the draft Fiscal Year 2017-2021 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program (Program) at its meeting today. The Program reflects Iowa’s multimodal transportation system through inclusion of investments in aviation, transit, railroads, trails, and highways. The Commission and the Iowa DOT remain committed to providing modern, safe, and efficient transportation services to the public.
Program overview
A major component of the Program is the highway program, and this Program continues to advance investment of funding to improve state roads and bridges. These advances are possible due to additional revenue authorized by Senate File 257 and signed into law by Governor Terry E. Branstad on Feb. 25, 2015. As directed by the legislation, 100 percent of the additional revenue allocated to the Iowa DOT will be spent on critical road and bridge construction projects. These critical projects address pavement, bridge, and safety needs and also provide the necessary transportation infrastructure to lower transportation costs and support Iowa’s growing economy. A list of projects able to be funded due to Senate File 257 is included in the highway section of the Program.
Highway program
The highway program documents programmed investments in the Primary Highway System for the next five years. For FY 2017-2021, approximately $3.5 billion is forecast to be available for highway right of way and construction.
The highway section was developed to achieve several objectives. The Commission’s primary investment objective remains stewardship, including safety, maintenance, and modernization of Iowa’s existing highway system. More than $1.6 billion is programmed from FY 2017 through FY 2021 for modernization of Iowa’s existing highway system and for enhanced highway safety features.
The Program includes more than $1.2 billion of investments in Iowa’s state-owned bridges. Over the last few years, the number of structurally deficient bridges on the state highway system has been reduced from 256 in 2006 to 81 in 2015 as a result of the Commission’s emphasis to improve the condition of Iowa’s bridges.
The Commission and Iowa DOT continue to recognize the critical importance of an effective and efficient interstate highway system. The interstate highways connect all transportation systems in Iowa and allow major freight movements to occur delivering Iowa products to the world’s marketplace. The highway section includes significant interstate investments on Interstate 29 in Sioux City, the interstate system in Council Bluffs, and the I-74 Mississippi River bridge replacement in Bettendorf. Portions of these investments address stewardship needs.
Additional capacity and system enhancement projects
Another highway programming objective is developing and constructing capacity and system enhancement projects. The Commission was able to add construction for four-lane improvements to U.S. 61 in Des Moines County from 210th Street to north of Mediapolis and accelerate the construction of U.S. 30 in Benton County for the Iowa 21 interchange.
The Commission was also able to add several significant small and medium sized projects that address safety and condition needs. These projects include the following.
- Iowa 3 in Bremer County in Waverly
- Iowa 3 in Dubuque County from Pfeiler Road to north of Boy Scout Road
- U.S. 6 in Polk County on Hubbell Avenue in Des Moines
- U.S. 20 in Webster County from east of County Road P-73 to Iowa 17
- U.S. 20 in Black Hawk County from Iowa 21 to I-380 in Waterloo
- Iowa 27 in Black Hawk County from U.S. 20 to Ridgeway Avenue in Cedar Falls
- U.S. 69 in Wright County from north of the Union Pacific Railroad to County Road C-20
- U.S. 75 in Plymouth County from Jackson Street in Merrill to County Road C-38
- U.S. 151 in Linn County from south of Church Street in Fairfax to north of Dean Road
- Iowa 934 in Black Hawk County on University Avenue in Waterloo (as compensation for a transfer of jurisdiction)
Continuation of previously programmed projects
The Commission remains committed to previous highway programming actions by maintaining the schedules of large multiyear corridor improvement projects. These multiyear corridor improvement projects include the following.
- Iowa 1 in Washington County at Iowa 22 in Kalona
- Iowa 3 in Dubuque County from Luxemburg to Pfeiler Road
- Iowa 13 in Linn County from north of County Home Road to south of Central City
- U.S. 20 in Woodbury County from east of Moville to Correctionville
- U.S. 20 in Sac County from west of Adams Avenue to U.S. 71
- U.S. 20 in Dubuque County at Swiss Valley Road
- U.S. 30 in Tama/Benton counties from the Tama bypass to U.S. 218
- U.S. 30 in Linn County for the Mount Vernon and Lisbon bypass
- U.S. 34 in Monroe County at Iowa 5 in Albia
- U.S. 52 in Dubuque County for the Southwest Arterial
- U.S. 52 in Winneshiek County at Iowa 9 in Decorah
- Iowa 57 in Black Hawk County in Cedar Falls
- Iowa 58 in Black Hawk County at Viking Road in Cedar Falls
- U.S. 61 in Des Moines County from Burlington to 210th Street
- U.S. 61 in Louisa County from south of Iowa 92 to Muscatine County
- U.S. 63 in Wapello County from County Road J-12 to U.S. 34 in Ottumwa
- U.S. 63 in Black Hawk County from Jefferson to Newell streets in Waterloo
- U.S. 65 in Jasper County at the Iowa 117/330 intersection
- Iowa 92 in Warren County at Iowa 28 in Martensdale
- Iowa 100 in Linn County from U.S. 30 to Covington Road in Cedar Rapids
- Iowa 122 in Cerro Gordo County in Mason City
- Iowa 141 in Monona County from east of County Road L-32 to west of County Road L-37
- Iowa 141 in Polk County from Iowa 44 to I-35
- Iowa 146 in Marshall County from County Road E-49 to U.S. 30
Federal funding
A large part of funding available for highway programming comes from the federal government. Accurately estimating future federal funding levels is dependent on having a multiyear federal transportation authorization bill. The current authorization, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, was signed into law Dec. 4, 2015. For the first time in many years, this authorization bill provides federal funding certainty for most of the time period covered by the Program. However, it is a five-year authorization bill that will expire Sept. 30, 2020, which is before the last year of the FY 2017-2021 Highway Program. Therefore, there is some federal funding uncertainty after this date.
In addition to providing increased certainty of federal funding, the FAST Act also provided additional funding for road and bridge projects. Due in part to the FAST Act funding increases, the total amount of road and bridge construction funding included in the Program is approximately $300 million more than last year’s Program. This has permitted the Commission to invest even more funding to address Iowa’s critical road and bridge needs across the state.
Draft Program is available for public comment
The draft Program is posted and available for public comment on the Iowa DOT's website www.iowadot.gov/program_management/five_year.html. The Commission is currently scheduled to consider approval of the Program at its meeting in Cedar Falls to be held June 14.
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Contact: Stuart Anderson, director of the Iowa DOT’s Planning, Programming and Modal Division, 515-239-1661 or [email protected]