Iowa City is considering making its buses free to ride. Transportation director Darian Nagle-Gamm hopes the move will help bring back pre-pandemic ridership “We think this could really make a difference. If you give people a service, a quality transportation service in town that they can just hop … [Read more...]
Electric bikes and scooters may be the rage, but they can also be a menace
National Bike to Work Week starts today and the sudden proliferation of electric bikes, e-scooters and even e-skateboards is bringing a new series of risks and challenges -- as well as benefits. Cara Hamann, director of training and education at the Injury Prevention Research Center, based at … [Read more...]
Draft of 5-year transportation plan now available for comment
The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved a draft for the updated five-year construction and improvement plan. The DOT's Stuart Anderson says they had to deal with inflation and increases that made the dollars not stretch as far as they updated the plan. "So with those higher construction … [Read more...]
Some state road construction projects likely to be delayed by higher costs
The Iowa Transportation Commission is considering delaying some projects in its five-year construction plan as inflation and other factors impact the costs of building and maintaining state roadways. The DOT's Stuart Anderson says they've been analyzing a lot of data as they prepare the plan for … [Read more...]
DOT, AAA team up to push for better driving habits
The Iowa Department of Transportation and AAA Iowa are working together to highlight the need for drivers to improve their habits to cut traffic fatalities. The DOT's Andrea Henry says part of the effort is their "What Drives You?" campaign. "What drives them to get home safely every night. So … [Read more...]
Stanhope Train Depot could be back home by June
After nearly a year of fundraising efforts, the Stanhope Train Depot will be returning to that Hamilton County community this summer from the farm field where it's sat idle for some four decades. Rick Young is one of the organizers of the project which seeks to move the red, 140-year-old building … [Read more...]
Iowa will see more train traffic after railroad merger approved
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board today approved the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern railroads -- a move that eventually will triple train traffic through parts of eastern and southern Iowa. Board chair Martin Oberman talked about the decision in an online news … [Read more...]
RISE grant approved for Plymouth County project, settlement reached with Burlington
The state Transportation Commission has approved a grant to build a roadway into proposed plant at a site in Plymouth County south of Le Mars. Deb Arp of the DOT presented the proposal for what's called a RISE grant. "The proposed roadway provides improved access to the bioenergy facility -- a … [Read more...]
DOT to spend millions to repair roadway potholes caused by tough winter
If you've hit some rough stretches on state highways recently, you are not alone. The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved amending its budget to spend $15 million on weather repairs. The DOT's Stuart Anderson says there's been an above-normal number of freeze-thaw cycles this winter that … [Read more...]
Dubuque towboat to start early Mississippi navigation season
An Iowa towboat is headed upstream from Dubuque and it appears there will be an early start to the navigation season on the Upper Mississippi River. Al VanGuilder with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, says there are already some areas of open water at Lake Pepin along the Minnesota-Wisconsin … [Read more...]