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Southeast Iowa will be the focus of DOT car counts this summer

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The Iowa Department of Transportation is launching an annual summertime count of cars, trucks, and other vehicles traveling on the state’s roadways.

Mark Hansen helps oversee the effort for the DOT. He says the work is critical for the future of the state’s transportation system.

“We look at the city streets, the county roads, and the primary roads to get a feel for the type of vehicles that are on the roadways, the number of vehicles that are on the roadways, and we look at turning movements to see what the vehicles are doing at a particular intersection as well,” Hansen said.

This year’s count is concentrated primarily on southeast Iowa. “We do a quadrant of the state annually, so every four years we return to the place that we’ve been and we can gauge growth trends over the last time that we’ve been there,” Hansen said. Motorists in southeast Iowa will likely see DOT employees at various intersections entering information in hand-held computers.

“In addition to that, we have the black tubes across the roadway,” Hansen said. “You’ll hear the ‘thump’ when you drive across them…those are actually machine counters that we have there for 24 or 48 hours that are counting and, in some cases, classifying those vehicles.”

According to Hansen, the information that’s gathered allows transportation officials to better predict traffic volume and weight trends, allowing them to plan improvements that will give Iowans the most benefit for each tax dollar spent.

 

State Transportation plan includes big chunk of money for repairing bridges

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The I-74 bridge from Iowa into Illinois.

The proposed five-year Transportation Improvement Program that was released this week includes more than $1 billion in funding for bridge repair and improvement.

DOT spokesman Stuart Anderson says this will continue the ongoing effort to keep up with bridge maintenance. “That has been a real focus for the (Transportation) Commission, is increasing the amount of money they dedicate to what they call ‘stewardship investments’,” Anderson says, “so that would be investments in existing pavements and bridges. So, we have seen a significant reduction in the number of bridges on the state highway system that are structurally deficient.”

Anderson says the effort has made progress in updating bridges. “It’s gone from 256 bridges in that condition down to 51 in 2017,” Anderson says. One of the bridge projects in the plan is the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge replacement in Bettendorf. Anderson says keeping up the maintenance of bridges is a constant concern.

“While we’re making good progress on those bridges now, we are going to be seeing a wave of bridges that were built 40, 50, 60 years ago that we expect will need replacement in the next 5-to-10 years,” Anderson says. The plan is available to view on the DOT website and the Transportation Commission will act on final approval during their business meeting on June 12th.

 

State transportation plan features more interstate work, completion of Highway 20

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DOT interstate traffic camera view of I-35/80.

The draft five-year Transportation Improvement Plan that covers spending on all forms of transportation was presented to the Iowa Transportation Commission at their meeting Tuesday.

Three-point-four billion dollars of the program goes for the state roadways and DOT spokesman Stuart Anderson says that includes a lot of ongoing work on the interstates. “Probably the most significant projects on the interstates right now are what we would call modernization projects — so its totally reconstructing the interstate systems in Council Bluffs and Sioux City to meet modern design standards and to address increased traffic,” Anderson says.

Another interstate project adds a segment to the work on the highway between Ankeny and Ames. “This draft program does include the addition of reconstruction and improving I-35 from the north end of Ankeny up to Iowa 210 as you head towards Ames,” Anderson says.

There are also several projects on non-interstate highway. “We expect to complete the 4 lanes of U.S. 20 in western Iowa by this fall,” according to Anderson. “So that’ll complete the four-lane construction of U.S. 20 across the entire state. That’s been a project that’s been underway for many years.” Other state highway corridors are also in the plan.

“This five-year program continues work on four-lane improvements on U.S. 30 in Tama and Benton County. And also U.S. 61 down in southeast Iowa. So, significant corridor work will be continuing,” Anderson explains. Anderson says part of the funding comes form the gas tax increase.

He says this program includes a little more than $500 million of the fuel tax increase implemented in March of 2015. The Transportation Commission will take a vote on the program next month. He says the plan is available on the DOT website for any comment and the commission will act on final approval during their business meeting on June 12th.

 

DOT says Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Muscatine can turn speed cameras back on

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Speed cameras in Cedar Rapids.

The Iowa Department of Transportation issued a statement following today’s ruling by the Supreme Court that the DOT does not have the authority to regulate traffic cameras.

The statement says the DOT will “respect and uphold” the court’s decision and Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and Muscatine may immediately resume operation of the cameras if they chose to do so. Sioux City had previously taken the Department of Transportation to court over the traffic cameras and Mayor Bob Scott is pleased with the ruling.

“We thought that the rules were not put in place correctly and I think the decision — although we were criticized for challenging them by a lot of people — I think this decision reaffirms that we were correct,” Scott says. “Long story short, the legislature’s going to have the last work. I hope there is some common sense there.”

Scott hopes that the state legislature, cities and the DOT can now work out an effective partnership for using the cameras. He says he is not a big fan of traffic cameras, but he believes they do change behavior in certain places. “So I hope somehow through this decision the legislature can find a middle ground, I hope the DOT can find a middle ground, I hope the cities can find a middle ground and we can work together instead of being in an adversarial role, because I don’t think that serves the public very well,” according to Scott.

The cities had sought the judicial review in 2015 after the DOT had ordered some speed cameras turned off, stating that the cameras did not make interstate highways safer. Governor Kim Reynolds’ office released a statement saying “The governor supports limitations on automated traffic enforcement cameras and would support the legislature acting on this matter before the session ends.”

(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)

 

Future of traffic cameras a negotiating tool at session’s end?

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The battle over traffic enforcement cameras remains unresolved in the state legislature.

Earlier this year, the Iowa Senate voted to ban the cameras which catch vehicles speeding and running red lights. Then, the House voted to establish new regulations for the cameras.

Senator Brad Zaun of Urbandale is still pushing for an outright ban. He suggests this issue could wind up being a bargaining chip to decide other issues that have to be resolved before the legislature may adjourn.

“It may be one of the negotiating tools to get out of here,” Zaun told reporters Tuesday.

Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines wants the cameras to stay. He said cities need the revenue from the tickets.

“Twelve million dollars, it’s going to cost local government, if this bill will go to the governor,” Bisignano said.

Zaun responded.

“All we’ve had conversations about with these traffic enforcement cameras is about money,” Zaun said.

Zaun is among those who say the cameras are more about revenue than safety. Those who argue the cameras should stay say it’s too dangerous for police to pull drivers amid speeding traffic on highways that pass through cities.

Diverging diamond interchange proposed for I-35 in Ankeny

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The proposed interchange for Ankeny.

A major road construction project is getting underway in central Iowa and once completed, motorists in the area will travel through what’s called a diverging diamond interchange (DDI).

It’s happening in Ankeny and Iowa DOT construction engineer Benjamin Hucker says the DDI will be something new for most drivers.

“This will be the second diverging diamond interchange in Iowa,” Hucker said. “The first one is located on the west side of the (Des Moines) metro. That was opened a couple years ago.”

The new design should help ease traffic congestion and reduce the prevalence of severe crashes. Nearly 60,000 vehicles per day travel through the area,

Benjamin Hucker explains the interchange.

which is the interchange at First Street in Ankeny with Interstate 35. It’s one of the biggest road overhauls happening in Iowa.

“It’s certainly a large project, but our corridor work in Council Bluffs and Sioux City and the I-235 corridor work (in Des Moines) about 10 years ago was bigger than this…but it’s certainly one of our larger projects,” Hucker said. The $50 million project is expected to take three years to complete.

The current I-35 interchange at First Street in Ankeny often results in back-ups on the ramps and the interstate. Hucker said any upcoming closures to I-35 in Ankeny for the construction work will be temporary and only during the overnight hours.

 

Two drunk driving-related proposals headed to governor’s desk

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Sandy Salmon

The Iowa legislature has taken final action on two proposals related to drunk driving.

One would force recently convicted drunk drivers with a “temporary restricted license” to use a device that prevents their vehicles from starting if they’re intoxicated. Representative Sandy Salmon, a Republican from Janesville, has been seeking this “ignition interlock device” requirement for a few years.

“I took up this issue because of a constituent whose five-month-old great-grandson was killed by a drunk driver. I have since heard from folks whose lives have been painfully, tragically and irreversibly changed by a person driving drunk,” Salmon said. “This bill helps separate the drinking from the driving. Each time we drive, we must always remember that we are powering thousands of pounds of steel through the air like a torpedo and that is enough to kill somebody.”

The House unanimously gave this proposal final legislative approval yesterday. The Senate sent a different bill to the governor yesterday that seeks to reduce liability for bars and restaurants accused of over-serving alcohol to someone involved in a drunk driving accident.

Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, opposed the bill.

“We’re going soft on drunk driving,” Quirmbach said.

Supporters say the bill’s needed to help bar and restaurant owners find cheaper liability insurance. Senator Rick Bertrand, a Republican from Sioux City, said the bill had been so watered down by Republicans in the House that there was only one worthwhile section left.

“Just like a grease trap in the back of a tavern, this thing stinks, but we’re all going to hold our nose and we’re going to vote it out of here because of that one piece of it,” Bertrand said.

The original bill would have set a $175,000 maximum on damage awards from a bar or restaurant in a drunk driving case. The final version of the bill would let juries award an unlimited amount of money for “substantial or permanent” damages from a drunk driving accident.

Governor quashes DOT idea of Interstate 80 as toll road

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Governor Kim Reynolds.

Governor Kim Reynolds is giving a thumbs down to the idea of charging motorists traveling on Interstate 80 a fee.

“I don’t think Iowans are interested in tolls,” Reynolds said. “I have no interest in tolls.”

Making Interstate 80 a toll road was listed by Iowa DOT officials as an option for financing expansion of the route. Representative Gary Carlson, a Republican from Muscatine, says as the DOT begins planning for the future, officials are “trying not to shut off any ideas.”

“So those types of things get brought up in those discussions,” he says, “but in the particular idea of putting a toll road on Interstate 80, I just don’t see that happening in my lifetime.”

Carlson, who is chairman of the House Transportation Committee, says due to congestion on Interstate 80, expanding the corridor from four-lanes to six-lanes through eastern Iowa is a “very real possibility.” But Carlson says using traffic tolls as collateral for loans to finance road construction isn’t working well in other states.

“Iowa’s road system has really been based on pay-as-you-go,” Carlson says. “I think that has been prudent and I don’t see really any directional change from that.”

Senator Tod Bowman of Maquoketa, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Transportation Committee, says placing toll booths along Interstate 80 is a non-starter in the legislature.

“I haven’t heard from any of my constituents that want that and so I’m not going to be supportive of it,” Bowman says. “And I don’t believe the DOT should be going in that direction.”

Bowman says legislators might revisit the issue in the future if vehicles get so sophisticated that a toll could be charged automatically — but only to the out-of-state vehicles traveling through Iowa.

Eight counties will be first to get license plates with new design

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New license plates are going out to 8 counties.

The new license plate design picked by voters at this year’s Iowa State Fair will start showing up in a handful of counties in the next few weeks.

Iowa Department of Transportation spokesperson, Andrea Henry, says the new plates went into production this week and will go out to the counties which need a new supply.

“We have an automatic inventory reordering system that tracks the number of plates each county treasurer has,” Henry says, “but we do have a list of eight counties who will be receiving them first. Those are: Crawford , Palo Alto, Carroll, Clinton, Emmet, Fayette, Hancock and Muscatine counties.”

The plates will feature the new design that is a reboot of the old plates. They will also be made of a new material.

A new type of material is being used in the license plates.

“We are actually using a new high-definition sheeting which is a new product that our vendor has out that provides better reflectivity for the plates themselves,” Henry says. She says license plates are replaced for each vehicle very ten years.

“So it depends on where you are at in that ten-year cycle. So, say if you just received a brand new plate last year — you will not receive another new plate for another nine years,” she says. Henry says if you don’t want to wait a long time for the new design, you can get it for a small fee.

“If anyone would like the new plate and are really anxious to do that, they can request that from the county treasurers and it just costs five dollars and they can get that new design and the brand new plate,” Henry says. The selection of the new plate design created some controversy in the state.

The DOT created the design in house to save money and the three final designs were criticized as unimaginative, which prompted the DOT designer to speak up to defend the design.

(Photos courtesy of the Iowa DOT)

 

Ban the cams? No, but House votes to regulate traffic enforcement cameras

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A bid to ban traffic enforcement cameras fell eight votes short in the Iowa House. Instead, the House has overwhelmingly voted to establish new state regulations for the devices used to ticket vehicles caught running red lights or speeding.

Representative Wes Breckenridge, a Newton policeman, said the cameras can be a safety tool when used appropriately.

“You take a stop light or stop sign,” Breckenridge said. “If I’ve had 12 accidents in the last six months at that location, I can tell you if I was the chief of police, I would want to put a stop light camera there.”

Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton is among those who object to the cameras. He argued they’re primarily used to generate tax revenue for local governments.

“If traffic cameras are the best thing since sliced bread, puppies and world peace, why doesn’t every town have ’em?” Kaufmann asked.

Other critics like Representative Jake Highfill of Urbandale say Iowans feel “ripped off” by traffic camera tickets.

“If the cities need more revenue, they should raise their taxes and stop abusing this,” Highfill said.

Representative Ashley Hinson of Cedar Rapids said the bill would set up a new petition process for those hoping to get a camera taken down, plus there’d be new requirements for keeping the cameras properly adjusted.

“Let’s face it — Iowans speed. They run red lights,” Hinson said. “…This is a law enforcement tool to hold people accountable and there are sensible regulations and due process built in.”

Representative Ras Smith of Waterloo said the bill also calls for a “rigorous structure” that would govern where traffic cameras may be used.

“We’ll use data as evidence in areas where we think traffic cameras are applicable,” Smith said. “…I think this is thoughtful. I think it’s well-planned-out and I think it’s great for the people of Iowa.”

Earlier this year, the Iowa Senate voted to ban traffic cameras. However, just a year ago, the Senate voted to keep the cameras, but establish new regulations. With all those variations, it’s unclear how or even whether the issue may be resolved this year.