AMES, IA — The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved the Fiscal Year 2020-2024 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program. The program documents investments in Iowa’s multimodal transportation system covering aviation, public transit, railroads, trails and highways. The commission and the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) remain committed to providing modern, safe and efficient transportation services to the public.This program continues to reflect the additional projects that are possible because of the fuel tax increase implemented in 2015. As directed by the legislation, 100 percent of the additional revenue allocated to the Iowa DOT will be spent on road and bridge projects that are critical to maintain Iowa’s transportation infrastructure and create opportunities for expanded economic activity. A list of projects able to be funded due to the funding increase is included in the highway section of the program.

A major component of the program is the highway program that documents programmed investments in the Primary Highway System for the next five years. For FY 2020-2024, approximately $3.5 billion is forecast to be available for highway right of way and construction. The commission continues to maintain a balance between rural and urban investment with approximately 55 percent of the $3.5-billion program being invested in rural areas.

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 $2 billion is programmed from FY 2020 through FY 2024 for modernization of Iowa’s existing highway system and for enhanced highway safety features.

The program includes more than $1 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 43 in 2018 as a result of the commission’s emphasis to improve the condition of Iowa’s bridges.

The highway section includes significant interstate investments on I-29 in Sioux City for reconstruction, six-lane improvements on I-35 in Polk and Story Counties, the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge replacement in Bettendorf, the I-80/380 Interchange reconstruction near Iowa City, six-lane improvements on I-80 in Johnson and Cedar Counties, I-380 in Hiawatha for the Tower Terrace Interchange and the I-80/I-29 system in Council Bluffs.

Along with these interstate projects, the commission continues to program improvements to non-interstate corridors, including U.S. 30 in Tama and Benton Counties, U.S. 52 in Dubuque County, U.S 61 in Des Moines County and U.S. 63 in Wapello County. Portions of these investments address stewardship needs.

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 Louisa County from 0.5 miles north of Iowa 78 to 2 miles south of Iowa 92. The commission was able to add several multi-year projects that address safety and operational needs. These include the U.S. 30 Missouri Valley Bypass in Harrison County, U.S. 63 Oskaloosa Bypass in Mahaska County and U.S. 218 in Bremer County from Janesville to Waverly. The Iowa 9 Mississippi River bridge replacement project was also added.

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 1 in Johnson County in Iowa City
• Iowa 13 in Delaware County from north of Manchester to Iowa 3
• S. 20 in Woodbury County in Sioux City
• S. 20 in Black Hawk County from Hudson Road to U.S. 63
• S. 34 in Montgomery County from west of Iowa 48 to County Road H-34
• Iowa 38 in Cedar County in Tipton
• S. 63 in Poweshiek County from U.S. 6 to Tama
• Iowa 64 in Jackson County in Maquoketa
• S. 65 in Cerro Gordo County in Mason City
• S. 75 in Plymouth County from Woodbury County to Hinton
• S. 75 in Sioux County in Sioux Center

The commission remains committed to previous highway programming actions by maintaining the schedules of large multi-year corridor improvement projects. These multiyear corridor improvement projects include the following:

• Iowa 1 in Jefferson County in Fairfield
• Iowa 3 in Dubuque County from Luxemburg to Sageville
• Iowa 13 in Linn County from north of County Home Road to south of Central City
• Iowa 17 in Boone County north of U.S. 30
• S. 18 in Floyd County at the U.S. 218 intersection in Floyd
• S. 20 in Webster County from east of County Road P-73 to Iowa 17
• S. 20 in Black Hawk County from U.S. 63 to Iowa 21 in Waterloo
• S. 20 in Dubuque County at Swiss Valley Road
• Iowa 21 in Keokuk County from Iowa 149 to Delta
• S. 30 in Story County from east of I-35 to Nevada
• S. 52 in Jackson County from the Mississippi River to north of Sabula
• S. 63 in Wapello County from County Road J-12 to U.S. 34 in Ottumwa
• S. 69 in Polk County from I-80 to Southeast 33rd Street in Ankeny
• S. 69 in Wright County from north of the railroad to County Road C-20
• S. 75 in Plymouth County from Hinton to Merrill
• Iowa 92 in Keokuk County at the Iowa 21 and the County Road V-33 intersections
• Iowa 92 in Washington and Louisa counties from east of U.S. 218 to Iowa 70 in Columbus Junction
• Iowa 141 in Monona County from east of County Road L-32 to west of County Road L-37
• S. 218 in Black Hawk County from Broadway Street to the Airport interchange in Waterloo

Because a significant portion of Iowa’s highway system serves interstate and national systems and interests, a large part of funding available for highway programming comes from the federal government. The current federal authorization bill, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, expires on September 30, 2020, which is before the second year of the FY 2020- 2024 Highway Program. Therefore, there is significant uncertainty about federal funding after this date.