AMES, IA — The Iowa Transportation Commission approved the Fiscal Year 2024-2028 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program at a recent meeting. Each year, based on guidance and direction from the Commission, the Iowa Department of Transportation prepares a detailed list of transportation projects to be accomplished in the next five years. This list, called the Fiscal Year 2024-2028 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program, provides details about proposed investments in Iowa’s multimodal transportation system covering aviation, public transit, railroads, trails, and highways.The highway and bridge projects included in this program are funded with approximately $4.3 billion of state and federal funding forecast to be available over the next five years. Projects included in the program are consistent with the goals and objectives of the State Long-Range Transportation Plan and are determined by using safety, traffic, congestion, condition, and other data. This assures the projects are those necessary to provide modern, safe, and efficient transportation of goods and the traveling public.

The cost to construct roads and bridges has continued to increase significantly over the last year. During the same time, the money available to fund those construction projects has largely remained the same. Because of the cost increases, the commission had to take steps including proposing to delay several projects by no more than one year to keep the program balanced. Through these actions, the commission was able to develop this year’s program without removing any projects from last year’s program.

When reviewing the projects, the commission prioritizes projects that improve the safety and condition of existing state highways and bridges, and this program includes more than $3.5 billion of investments in that area. Significant investments in bridges have been made over the last 17 years, dropping the number of poor-condition bridges on the state highway system from 256 in 2006 to 26 in 2023. This program includes more than $1.3 billion of additional bridge investments.

This program includes projects to add lanes for more vehicles where necessary, replace major river crossings, and modernize interchanges to improve safety and handle future traffic demands such as:

• I-80 Middle Road Interchange reconstruction in Bettendorf
• I-80 Mississippi River bridge replacement
• I-35/80/235 Southwest Mixmaster modernization in Polk County
• I-380 widening from 120th Street to U.S. 30 (including Wright Brothers interchange reconstruction) in Linn County
• I-35 bridge replacement and widening at the U.S. 30 interchange in Ames
• I-35 widening between Ankeny and Iowa 210
• I-29 Madison Avenue interchange reconstruction in Council Bluffs
• I-29 interchange construction in Woodbury County
• Addition of more than 100 truck parking spots

Projects in this program that address safety and improve the way the roads function include:

• Iowa 21 near Belle Plaine and Iowa 333 in Hamburg to improve access during times of flooding
• U.S. 75 north of Sioux Center to the south junction of U.S. 18 to replace aging pavement
• Iowa 149 Des Moines River Bridge to Woodland Avenue in Ottumwa to replace aging pavement
• Iowa 12 Gordon Drive Bridge in Sioux City to replace an aging viaduct
• Iowa 58 Greenhill Road Interchange in Waterloo to replace an existing at-grade intersection
• U.S. 151 Interchange with Linn County Road X-20 at Springville to replace an existing at-grade intersection
• U.S. 30 Interchange at 610th Avenue at Nevada to replace an existing at-grade intersection
• Super-2 improvements on U.S. 63 in Tama County to provide more passing opportunities
• Iowa 9 Mississippi River Bridge replacement in Lansing