Lawmaker wants Highway 30 expanded

Work is still being done to expand U.S. Highway 20 to four lanes from Dubuque to Sioux City. State Representative David Tjepkes, a republican from Gowrie who sits on the House Transportation Committee, says the state should be just as concerned about Highway 30. Tjepkes says U.S. 30 should be widened to four lanes — at least west to Carroll. Tjepkes says “I know the traffic counts are quite high there and I’ve not had a chance to study accident data, but a lot of people have told me that they’ve had a lot of close calls and situations that they’re quite concerned.” Tjepkes says it is unclear when either U.S. 20 or 30 will get the D-O-T’s full attention. He says “A lot is depending on what happens with the freeway system in and around Des Moines. The last I heard is that’s taking a little longer and more moneys than they had projected, and when that happens, some of the other projects get pushed back.” Some work on Highway 20 is going on now in Webster County west of Fort Dodge. Crews on Highway 30 are working in east central Iowa between Marshalltown and Tama.