The state Transportation Commission approved spending several million federal dollars this week for projects designed to improve trails, cut pollution and get more kids to walk to school. Craig Markley of the Department of Transportation says $4.5 million was approved for 15 projects in Iowa’s “Clean Air Attainment Program.”

Markley says it’s an application-based program that awards funds based on the highest potential for reducing traffic congestion and pollution. The projects included street improvements and fixing traffic lights to make the flow of traffic more efficient. The commission approved $1.7 million dollars for the “Safe Routes to School” program.

Markley says the purpose of the program is to increase the number of elementary and middle school students who walk or ride bikes to school. The funding is available to local governments, private nonprofit groups, regional organizations, public or private schools. He says it can be used for variety of projects.

He says it can be used for sidewalk improvements, street calming or speed reduction, bicycle crossings, curriculum or promotional materials to encourage kids to walk or bike to school, and also for enforcement activities. The commission also approved nearly five million dollars for what are called “Transportation Enhancement Programs.”

One of the largest projects spends $750,000 on the Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District in Sioux City. Markley says it provides a place for people to come in and get our of their vehicles, it also has a walking trail and a one mile segment of the Big Sioux River Trail. The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association and Sioux City are conducting the project. there’s also $350,000 for the Stuart Rock Island Depot restoration.

Markley says this is phase two of this project as they received funding a couple of years ago for some outside maintenance work. You can see more about the projects on the Iowa Department of Transportation’s website at: www.iowadot.org.

Iowa’s Clean Air Attainment Program projects and approved funding amounts are listed below.
·73rd Street/Hickman Road Intersection Improvements (Windsor Heights), $388,000
·86th Street and Douglas Avenue Intersection Improvements (Urbandale), $480,000
·A Avenue Northeast from Seventh Street to 10th Street Traffic Signal Interconnect and Detection Upgrade (Cedar apids), $74,850
·Bi-State Clean Air Partnership (CAP) “Make Outdoor Air Quality Visible” (Bi-State Regional Commission), $40,000
·Citywide, Fixed-Time Signal Upgrade (Des Moines), $320,000
·Cottage Grove Avenue Southeast and Forest Drive Southeast Traffic Control and Capacity Improvements (Cedar Rapids), $514,160
·Des Moines River Trail, Phase 1 (Des Moines), $426,526
·Gordon Drive (Iowa 12) Traffic Signal Coordination (Sioux City), $545,995
·Keyline Transit Medical Loop (Dubuque), $300,160
·Kirkwood Boulevard Southwest and 76th Avenue Southwest Traffic Control and Capacity Improvements (Cedar Rapids), $239,200
·Route No. 7 Fort Des Moines/Hubbell Service Improvements (Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority), $224,250
·Route No. 11 Jordan Creek/Mills Civic Parkway Service Improvements (Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority), $42,011
·Traffic-Adaptive Signal Control System, Jordan Creek Parkway (West Des Moines), $216,000
·U.S. 30/Iowa 1 Intersection Improvements (Mount Vernon), $373,419
·U.S. 151/Iowa 13 and Mount Vernon Road (Linn County Road E-48) Signalization (Linn County and Iowa Department of Transportation), $352,000
Transportation Enhancement Program projects and approved funding amounts:
Trail and bicycle facility
·Cedar Valley Nature Trail Reconstruction and Surfacing Phase 3 (Linn County Conservation Board), $750,000
·Flint River Trail (Des Moines County and Burlington), $474,345
·Heart of Iowa Nature Trail Phase VII and VIII, Surfacing and Bridge Completion (Story County Conservation Board), $381,600
·Khrushchev in Iowa Trail (Guthrie County and Creating Great Places), $365,000
·Rolling Prairie Trail Bridge (Butler County Conservation Board), $210,000
·Urban Youth Corps (Iowa Department of Transportation), $100,000
Scenic and environmental
·Des Moines River Greenbelt Scenic Overlook on the High Trestle Trail (Boone County Conservation Board and Polk County Conservation Board), $140,000
·Iowa’s Living Roadways Projects™ Program (Trees Forever and Iowa DOT), $400,000
·Roadside Beautification/Maintenance Reduction: County Highways (Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa DOT), $225,000
·U.S. 63 Streetscape Enhancements (Waterloo), $476,938 

Historic and archaeological
·Archaeological Survey of the Glenwood Resource Center (Golden Hills RC&D), $292,402
·Milwaukee Railroad Shops Historic District: Alternative Transportation Project (Siouxland Historical Railroad ssociation and Sioux City), $750,000
·Stuart Rock Island Depot Restoration (Stuart), $350,000
Safe Routes to School projects:
Noninfrastructure
·Clinton County School District Safe Routes to School Plan (East Central Intergovernmental Association), $50,000
·Delaware County School District Safe Routes to School Plan (East Central Intergovernmental Association), $50,000
·Iowa Safe Routes to School (Iowa Bicycle Coalition), $136,295
·Pleasant Valley Community School District Safe Routes to School Study and Plan (Pleasant Valley Community School District), $7,000
·Safe Routes to School: I-WALK Model (Iowa Department of Public Health), $209,916
·Noninfrastructure costs for recommended infrastructure projects, $7,000

Infrastructure
·Anita Chestnut Street Safe Routes to School (Anita), $151,200
·Belmond Sidewalk Program (Belmond), $43,812
·Cedar Heights Elementary Safe Routes to School Project (Cedar Falls), $76,450
·Harrison Elementary Sidewalks (plus $1,000 for noninfrastructure activities) (Cedar Rapids), $131,353
·Hubbell Elementary School Enhanced School Crossings (Des Moines), $120,000
·Lincoln Elementary School Safe Routes to School Project (Waterloo), $154,620
·Polk Elementary Sidewalks (plus $1,000 for noninfrastructure activities) (Cedar Rapids), $116,220
·Richardson Elementary School Priority Improvements Project (Fort Madison), $77,356
·Sioux Center Schools Sidewalk Improvement Project (plus $5,000 for noninfrastructure activities) (Sioux Center), $136,530
·Spencer School Sidewalk Improvement Program (Spencer), $79,475
·Sunnyside Sidewalk Extension to Aldo Leopold Middle School (Burlington), $186,809