Major Iowa Road Plans Bolstered By Federal Infrastructure Law Approved

From Lyon County to Lee County, Fremont to Allamakee, Iowans all over the state will see improvements to their roads and bridges.

The Iowa Transportation Commission approved the Iowa Department of Transportation’s five-year Transportation Improvement Program on Tuesday, greenlighting the hundreds of proposed highway infrastructure projects across the state.

A large part of the funding available for this program comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021. According to the White House, Iowa will receive about $5 billion overall, with $3.4 billion for highways and $432 million for bridge replacement and repairs.

The IIJA paid for projects which were already scheduled and also provided the funding for the commission to add more.

Some of the added projects include:

•             Road work in Sioux Center
•             A Des Moines River bridge in Ottumwa
•             The Gordon Drive Bridge in Sioux City
•             An interchange in Cedar Falls
•             And improvements to US 63 in Tama County

The main goals of the highway program are safety, maintenance, and modernization. In that vein, the program includes more than $1.2 billion for Iowa’s state-owned bridges and more than $2.8 billion is set aside for the modernization of the highway system.

In general, the five-year plan covers all kinds of infrastructure including trails, aviation, and railroads.

Two of Iowa’s six federal delegates voted for IIJA: Rep. Cindy Axne and Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Nikoel Hytrek
6/15/22

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