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Transportation Commission cuts out rules governing traffic cameras

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Speed cameras in Cedar Rapids.

The Department of Transportation rules governing speed cameras that led to a lawsuit against the state are now off the books.

DOT Director of Traffic and Safety Steve Gent says the Transportation Commission took action at its meeting Tuesday. “The commission approved rescinding the automated traffic enforcement rules that the DOT worked with the Iowa Legislature to get in place to provide some oversight on the automated cameras around the state,” Gent says.

TheDOT  had ordered some cameras turned off under the rules issued in 2015. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on April 27th of this year that the doesn’t have the authority to stop cities from using traffic cameras along interstates. Gent says the commission took action to comply with the ruling.

“This is really just the paperwork of trying to rescind those rules once we got that ruling,” he says. The said the traffic cameras rules were designed to ensure the highways were safe — and that goal hasn’t changed.

“Going forward we’ll gladly work with any city or county that wants to put automated enforcement cameras out on the primary highway system,” Gent says. “Certainly they’ll be some minor things…we’ll make sure the roadway is safe, make sure when they are implementing a system putting devices on a system that they are using proper traffic control. Some of those general things to keep everybody safe.”

He says the cameras that hange over the roadway don’t create much concern after they are installed because they don’t move. The moveable cameras raise more safety concerns. “It’s either a vehicle with a camera in it or a trailer. But we’ll accommodate either type of those,” Gent says. Gent says any change in the regulation of the cameras is now up to lawmakers to decide.

“That is totally up to legislators. The Iowa DOT, we are always available to answer questions — but we will absolutely not take any proposals to the legislature,” according to Gent. Iowa Lawmakers have tried for several years to pass a ban or other types of regulation on the traffic cameras without any success.

 

Date set to celebrate completion of Highway 20 four-lane expansion

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Work is winding down on the expansion of Highway 20 in northwest Iowa.

After years of waiting, the date has been set for the dedication of the completion of the final segment of the expansion of Highway 20 to four lanes in northwest Iowa.

The DOT’s Dakin Schultz says the Highway 20 Association has set a ribbon cutting for October 19th at three p.m. in Holstein at the new Boulders Inn & Suites hotel on the south side of U.S. 20 and U.S. 59.

Schultz says there are some final pieces being completed along the highway. “We’ve got the work between Correctionville and Holstein that we’ll be looking at completion on that. All the paving, mainline paving is complete out there. The contractors are working on shoulders and will continue to do grading work,” According toe Schultz. “From Holstein over to Early, all the pavement is down.” Crews are doing other finishing work east of Moville.

He says they are doing clean up work, putting up signs and doing work on side roads that has to be completed to connect gravel roads. Schultz says they expect to have that section open before October. The completion of the final segment will end the work that has gone on for several years to expand Highway 20 to four lanes from Dubuque to Sioux City.

More information on the completion celebration will be released as the event gets closer.

(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)

Costly mistake by contractor will extend construction time on Highway 30 bridge

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DOT camera view of bridge piers at I-35 and Highway 30.

One of the largest and most expensive road construction projects in Iowa is being delayed because of a big mistake.

A flyover bridge is being built to serve as a new exit ramp to U.S. Highway 30 for motorists heading northbound on Interstate 35 at Ames. Iowa Department of Transportation engineer Scott Dockstader says the contractor, Minnesota-based Minnowa Construction, messed up.

“The bridge is being built right now and we have piers in the middle. Our contractor that’s constructing the bridge made a few mistakes with the elevation of the piers and more importantly, the anchor bolts that go into the piers to connect the beams aren’t positioned properly,” Dockstader explains.

Workers are now using jackhammers on the six piers that were built too high and will be pouring new concrete to correct the mistake. “To make those repairs they are chipping down the concrete to get down to those anchor bolt sleeves to get them positioned properly and while they’re there, they will fix the elevation error also,” Dockstader says.

Construction of the flyover bridge was originally estimated at 23 million dollars. The contractor, not taxpayers, will be on the hook for the costly error. Dockstader says Minnowa will forfeit a lot of money for each day the project runs behind schedule. “We have liquidated damages on the project of $5,500 per day,” Dockstader says. “We set this project up to be a two-year project, more than likely, because we have 240 working days. Any of these delays will count against those working days, so it’s very likely the contractor will be in liquidated damages at the end of the project.”

Around 40,000 vehicles pass through the intersection daily. The new flyover bridge was supposed to be ready for traffic by the end of this year. For now, because of the mistake, it’s unclear when the project will be finished. Dockstader says, when completed, the bridge will be much safer for motorists who currently exit I-35 northbound using a cloverleaf ramp.

 

DOT seeking federal funds to build advanced training center in Jasper County

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Map showing the location of the proposed TIM.

The Iowa Department of Transportation Highway Division is seeking federal funding to open a special facility in Jasper County that would train its employees and others who respond to traffic accidents and problems.

The plan would use 70 acres of land provided by Jasper County near the Iowa Speedway to create the $11.8 million Traffic Incident Management Center (TIM). The director of the DOT Highway Division, Mitch Dillavou, says the center will help them learn the best way to respond and clear accidents and other problems on the state highways.

“We want to start clearing these incidents as fast as you can, because the longer people sit in traffic, the longer something can happen. Every minute that goes by there’s another 2.8%  chance of another incident happening. And we want to improve the way that we clear up incidents,” Dillavou says.

The head of the Motor Vehicle Enforcement, David Lorenzen, says a test track of sorts would be build on the site that features real-life roadways. “Two lane, four-lane, intersections, gravel roads. We’ll put roundabouts, cul-de-sacs, anything that would create what we have in Iowa today,” Lorenzen explains.

Lorenzen says the need to be on top of issues has increased as the traffic volume has increased. “Our vehicle miles traveled are at an all-time high –33 billion vehicle miles traveled in Iowa — and that continues to increase. Trucking is increasing it. The system is really strained, so we’ve got to do the best we can on the system to keep it clear,” according to Lorenzen.

He says the site would allow them to do the training in realistic conditions. “All this training can be conducted at the speeds that we run on our roads today — that is why it is such a large facility,” Lorenzen says. “It would also law enforcement and emergency vehicles to train in emergency operations modes.” Lorenzen says they used to do some training at the Iowa Speedway, but the track gets income from testing by race teams that are now using it and that makes it cost prohibitive.

The DOT is seeking federal money to help fund the cost of construction, which includes laying out the highway sections. “There would be one building which would be a multiple use classroom, very generic building that could be split off into various uses,” Lorenzen says. “We’ve also recently had conversations with the Jasper County Conservation Board, they are directly next to the Sheriff’s office and they are building a learning center out there and they want to talk with us about if there was a way for some coop opportunities so they would not have to build a classroom.”

Lorenzen says police and sheriff’s departments are interested, as is the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy to use the facility for training. He says Tennessee had the only center of this type and then one was recently built in Colorado.

“So this would be the third one that we are aware of in the nation and we feel that it would have a pretty heavy draw from folks at least from the law enforcement end as a regional type draw because there’s just not a lot there. I know that fire folks are very interested in it too and some of those aspects,” Lorenzen says. Dillavou says they are seeking the full cost of the center in what’s called a BUILD grant.

They are hoping the $840,000r cost of the land will be considered as part of the state’s input for the project. Dillavou says the other states have used fees to help fund the ongoing costs of their centers, but that is something they would look into if the funding comes through and the center moves forward.

 

Many telling DOT to keep state rest stops open

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DOT camera view of I-35 rest stop parking near Story City.

Iowans are letting the DOT know what they think about a proposal to close down some state rest stops.

The leader of the DOT Highway Divisions, Mitch Dillavou, updated the Transportation Commission this morning. “We are getting a lot of comments — and that’s good,” Dillavou says.

The DOT released a draft plan last month that ranked the 38 full-service rest areas and listed 11 that could possibly be closed in the next 20 years. The agency asked for public input on the idea and Dillavou says so far, most people don’t like the idea of closing any rest areas.

“I would say that there’s a lot of support to keep ’em. Both from the trucking industry to people driving — even my own personal side of it. People like the convenience of the rest areas,” according to Dillavou. The proposal has gotten a lot of attention since it was first revealed by Radio Iowa and other media.

Dillavou made his comments after being asked about the issue during a workshop with the Transportation Commission prior to their regular meeting in Ames. “I thought we had a pretty laid out plan, it’s not that we are just going to go in and shut down all of these rest areas. We have the truck parking component to put in there too,” Dillavou says. “I would say there is a lot of support to keep the rest areas open.”

Commission chair John Putney of Gladbrook says he’s heard from a lot of people about the plan. “I think this is a very sensitive issue — not only from a public relations standpoint, but from a political standpoint,” Putney says. “I think this is something we have to have a very hard look at.”

Putney says he’s also heard a lot of support for the rest stops.”Some of the rationale I think has been that now we have all these truck stops and so on. People have told me, ‘you know when we travel we don’t stop at truck stops. We look forward to stopping at bonafide rest stops that we’ve created,'” according to Putney. “Like I said, I think it’s just something that needs a lot of hard study.”

The DOT plans to continue taking public input through September of 2019. A study on the availability and need for truck parking will be done by that time and will be used along with the public comments to determine how the DOT will proceed with the rest stop proposal.

 

 

July 1st all convicted drunk drivers in Iowa must use ignition interlocks

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A new state law that takes effect this Sunday will force anyone with a drunk driving conviction to install an “ignition interlock” on their vehicle if they want to legally drive during their probationary period.

The devices test a driver’s breath and prevent the vehicle from starting if the driver has been drinking, but until now only repeat drunk drivers and first time offenders with a high blood alcohol level have been forced to use them in Iowa. Brad Fralick is a spokesman for Intoxalock, a Des Moines-based company that makes and installs the devices.

“Currently there’s about 5400 of these devices in use in Iowa,” he says. “We expect that with this law that number will jump to between 8000 and 9000 devices in use in the state.”

It costs about $80 to install the device, another $70 a month to rent it and then about $40 dollars to have it removed when the probationary period is over. Those fees are all paid by the convicted drunk driver.

“When they install it, it goes in the ignition module, so it’s going to be up under the dash,” he says. “It’s going to have a cord attached to it. It’s a relatively short cord…enough to allow you to take the test, but not so long that it would be easy for someone else to try to blow for you.”

After the engine starts, the devices periodically require another breath test to make sure the driver is sober and that no one else blew into the device to start the engine. Several states also require cameras which provide visual confirmation the driver is testing his or her own breath.

“We think that Iowa is going to go to camera devices,” Fralick says, “probably through the administrative rule process, so I would expect those to be in use in Iowa relatively soon.”

Iowa is now one of 30 states which require everyone convicted of drunk driving to install these devices.

“Unfortunately, with ignition interlocks, it’s a numbers game,” Fralick says. “The more of these you get into the vehicles, you see a corresponding impact on fatalities, crashes and arrests.”

A study published last year in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine indicated there had been a seven percent decrease in fatal drunk driving crashes in states where everyone convicted of drunk driving must test their breath before their vehicle will start. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the devices reduce repeat arrests for drunk driving by about 70 percent while they are installed.

Another alcohol-related state law goes into effect today. It reduces liability for bars and restaurants accused of over-serving alcohol to someone involved in a drunk driving accident.

Governor comfortable with DOT’s rest area review

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Governor Kim Reynolds.

Governor Kim Reynolds says she backs the process the state Transportation Commission has undertaken to determine which, if any, interstate rest stops and parking areas will be closed. The public may submit comments to the Iowa DOT right now.

“This is their opportunity to weigh in and talk about how it would impact them and then once they gather all the comments, the DOT commission will review that and they’ll make a decision going forward,” Reynolds told reporters today.

The public comment period runs through September of next year. That’s about the time a study will conclude that’s measuring how heavily truckers use the rest stops and parking areas to take required rest periods.

“We do have some of the larger trucking stops now that are trying to put in place parking and overnight and they have areas where they can go in and actually shower and abide by the rules that are in place,” Reynolds said. “We are seeing more and more of those and I hope that’s been a part of the study that they’ve looked at when they made the recommendations to close those. I haven’t looked at the report or what they’ve looked at, so that’ll be part of the process moving forward.”

The DOT has classified 11 of the state’s 38 rest stops and all 16 interstate parking areas as “low-rated” and targets for possible closure. Officials say the state spends nearly $4 million in upkeep on the rest stops and parking areas targeted for closure.

Six of the “low rated” rest stops are in western Iowa; two are in southern Iowa, one in far eastern Iowa and two in central Iowa.

Here’s the draft report: Rest-Area-Implementation-Plan-Draft

DOT asks for your input on which rest areas to close

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Map of current rest areas.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is asking for your help in determining which state rest areas along interstate highways are staying, and which ones will go away. DOT spokesperson Andrea Henry says this is the third phase of the review the rest area program.

“What we have done is come up with a draft plan of what we recommend to do with the rest areas in the next 20 years. As part of that plan…we put that out for public comment and let people look through that and give their feedback,” Henry explains.

The state has 38 full-service rest areas and 16 that are for parking only. She says they have looked at a variety of factors to see how the rest areas are being used. “Usage of the rest area — which includes how the normal everyday citizen is using that as well commercial drivers like truck drivers,” Henry says. “We’re looking at the ages of the facilities, we are looking at the services they provide, spacing between rest areas.” Henry says they took all the information and came up with a plan.

“We treated each one of the rest areas and then we ranked them to look at ones that we could potentially close and still be able to provide the same services or resting points for the traveling public, and made those recommendations for closures,” Henry says.

The best rated rest stops in alphabetical order are :I-80 Adair eastbound and westbound; I-380 Cedar Rapids Northbound; I-80 Davenport Westbound; I-35 Dows northbound/southbound; I-35 Northwood northbound/southbound; I-80 Tiffin Eastbound; I-29 Pacific Junction Northbound.

The lowest rated in alphabetical order are: I-80 Davenport eastbound; I-680 Loveland eastbound and westbound in Pottawattamie County; I-29 Missouri Valley northbound; I-29 Onawa northbound and southbound; I-35 Osceola northbound and southbound; I-29 Sergeant Bluff northbound; I-35 Story City northbound.

Henry says they would like to shut down the lowest rated rest stops in the next 20 years to ensure they have run out their useful life. Henry says they want to make sure they are getting the most use out of the reststops because it takes a lot of money to run them.

“They currently cost about $3.7 million per year for operations. That’s just to keep them going,” she says. “And then of course we have the improvements that we program. In the current five-year program that includes seven point-five million over the next five years.” Henry wants anyone who uses the reststops to look over the recommendations and give their opinion.

“You can go to our website — which is iowadot.gov/restareaplan. And on that are all of the background materials as well as that draft implementation plan. There is also a nice video on there that helps explain the process and our approach to the rest area system,” Henry says. Henry says they will be taking public comment through September of 2019. She says it stretches for more than one year to give time for a study of truck parking that’s underway to be completed.

“And then after that we will take all of those comments into consideration and look at the draft plan and draft a final plan,” Henry says. The rest areas were first constructed along the interstates in the 1960’s.

Federal officials originally recommended that there only be a 30 minute drive between a rest area or other available facility, and that was later changed to one hour. The availability of services along the interstates has changed as cities grew up around them and that has sometimes led to reststops that are no longer needed. The DOT closed two reststops on I-80 near Waukee after a survey in 2012 found they were not being heavily used.

 

Ferry service to help commuters across the Mississippi River during work on Sabula bridge

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New Sabula Bridge view from Illinois DOT drone video.

Ferry and bus service will start this week to help residents around Sabula, Iowa and Savanna, Illinois cross the Mississippi River after a bridge project delay.

Bob Younie, maintenance director for the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the $80 million main channel bridge is almost done, but a smaller bridge on the Iowa side is having foundation trouble and needs to be rebuilt.

“Our plans were to drill shaft piling 150 feet into sand to hold the bridge up and we do this stuff all the time, except the sand didn’t cooperate with us,” Younie says. “We had to do some redesign and reworking so that we have a safe bridge and that’s going to take an extra three months to get that done.” That project was originally going to take 40 days. Sabula and Savanna residents who need to get to the other side of the river have a 36-mile commute to the nearest bridge — at Clinton. Starting Tuesday, a ferry will begin offering free service between the cities.

“It’s a 15-vehicle car ferry, no commercial vehicles though, just normal passenger vehicles and pickups,” Younie says. “It also takes passengers. That’s going to be crossing the river between Sabula and Savanna, just going back and forth for 12 hours in a day.” It’ll run from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. weekdays and from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. weekends. A transit bus service is also being launched today between the communities.

“There’s going to be a morning service and an evening service between Savanna and Sabula, just a normal passenger bus,” Younie says. “The two cities have worked in cooperation with local employers and they’ve established some stops that we’ll be using and some times of operation. We think that also will return some mobility to the citizens and we’re really excited about that.”

The ferry service alone will cost $7,000 per day to operate, which Younie says is actually cheaper compared to the lost cost to citizens who are having to commute back and forth. He couldn’t estimate how many people will use the ferry or the bus, but hopes those who’ve been impacted by the bridge work will give it a try. The construction project should be done by early September.

 

Extreme heat causes pavement buckling issues across the state

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Buckled pavement on I-80 near Anita. (DOT photo)

The Iowa Department of Transportation is having an early summer blowout — but its not a party for anyone.

DOT assistant director of maintenance, Ken Morrow, says it is a lot of extra work as high temperatures caused the pavement to buckle.

“There are several across the state — some of them pretty severe,” according to Morrow. The buckling or blowouts happen when water gets under the pavement and heats up and the steam pushes up the pavement like the top coming off a boiling pan of water. Morrow says they try to prevent this from happening using drains along the roadways, so it is not there to heat up and blow.

Morrow says the concrete is most susceptible to the problem. “Asphalt is a lot more forgiving — but there are very few roads that are full-depth asphalt – – so those will kind of push and roll,” Morrow explains. But he says most of the roads are poured concrete that is capped by asphalt and the water gets below the concrete and heats up and causes it to pop. The blowouts usually happen in the early afternoon when the temperature hits its peak for the day.

“Very few of them pop after sunset, so if you can get by until about nine or ten o’clock, you are pretty safe again,” Morrow says. “Often times it’s just about the time that the crews are going home that they happen. So, hopefully it doesn’t happen after they are gone and you spend an hour trying to get them back.” The extreme heat we’ve had in the high 90s and triple digits is the other ingredient along with the water that mix to create the problem.

“You are not going to see very many happen if it’s below 100. So, it’s got to be starting push that 100-degree air temperature — which will show you well up into the hundreds — 120’s maybe even 130 degrees in pavement temperature,” Morrow says. The blowouts are something that usually are a possibility later in the summer — not a few weeks after the state crews removed the snow-fighting equipment off their trucks.

“I mean you think you’re done with one thing,” Morrow says, “I mean we fought winter clear into April this year and it seem like it turned on a dime into these high 100-degree temperatures. And we’re right back in a major emergency type of situation. Dealing with blowups can be very critical to the safety of that traveling public.”

Morrow says they usually come out and push down the buckled concrete and put on a temporary patch to get traffic moving. He says they most often have to come back later and do a full cut of the concrete to fill in where the pavement buckled.