The Iowa Transportation Commission got a look at a draft of the five year transportation plan at its meeting in Sioux City today. The plan would begin in 2007 and has an estimated cost of two-billion dollars — which is about 90-million dollars above the projected revenue.
D-O-T staff say there are several reasons the cost of the plan is expected to go over the estimated highway funding. The plan says project costs have increased “dramatically” the past 12 to 18 months, which has reduced the buying power of the money available to the D-O-T. At the same time the D-O-T staff says both federal and state funds have decreased, while the need to do work on the current highway system is increasing due to the age of the current highways.
The plan’s objectives include completing the four-lane construction of the Iowa 60 corridor in northwest Iowa and the Des Moines to Burlington corridor in southeast Iowa. The completion of the I-235 project in Des Moines, and investing an average of 170-million dollars in interstate improvements or rehabilitation.
The commission says it will have to look at making adjustments to the plan if there is a further increase in the cost of construction or drop in federal and state highway funds. The commission will vote in the highway portion of the plan next month. To see the entire plan, surf to: ww.iowadot.gov.
Related web sites:
Iowa D-O-T website