D-O-T director says rare butterfly won’t hold up highway

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s director doesn’t believe concern over a rare butterfly will delay construction of the four-lane expressway linking Marshalltown to Des Moines. Mark Wandro says D-O-T officials met late last week with the Department of Natural Resources and have worked out a solution.Wandro says the bigger concern is how the construction would impact the water flow through soil in the area.Wandro says any additional tests won’t make much of a delay in the project and he expects it to be completed on schedule.The discovery of the mulberry wing butterfly in the construction area prompted officials to delay the project to study the environmental impact on the butterfly.