The Iowa Department of Transportation says it needs at least 200-million dollars to meet critical needs for building and repairing roads and bridges in the state. The report predicts a shortfall of four-Billion dollars over the next twenty years.
The D-O-T’s Dena Gray-Fisher says the report was developed in collaboration with county and city officials. She says a group’s been meeting for the last 9 or ten months, hammering out the needs to figure out which are most critical and trying to address the challenges including escalating construction costs and flat revenues.
The report offers a number of revenue-raising options, including raising the pickup-truck registration fee to the same level as cars, and hiking the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel. State legislators will consider the proposals in their upcoming session.