Crumbling Iowa roads need help
Laura Klairmont - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: Metro
- Page 1 of 1
The condition of Iowa's highway system and bridges - some erected as early as the late 1800s - could need upgrades that may require increasing state revenues by $200 million per year.
A total of $4 billion is needed to fund the most critical renovations to Iowa's public-roads system - which consists of approximately 114,000 miles of highways, roads, and streets, according to the state Department of Transportation.
The proposal, called "Transportation Investment Moves the Economy in the 21st Century" would promote statewide road construction and maintenance over the next 20 years.
"You have to maintain the roads, or they will fall apart," said Dena Gray-Fisher, the state DOT director of media and marketing services. "We are a pay-as-you-go state; you need to have revenues coming in in order to reward any revenue price."
The DOT proposed the initiative to the state Legislature in January. If enacted, the road funding would help restore the interstate system and Iowa's commercial-industrial network, according to a DOT report. At the county level, funding would go towards replacing deficient bridges.
Potential sources of funding for the project include an increased per-gallon tax on motor-vehicle fuels and higher fees for vehicle registration and driver's licenses.
"There is quite a wide gap between meeting the needs of the road system and the money that needs to be spent to do so," Gray-Fisher said.
The plan promises to return more than $6 in economic productivity for each $1 invested.
Gray-Fisher said small towns and rural sectors - which desire to switch from gravel roads to pavement - compose a large portion of areas that need renovation. She noted that sufficient funding has not been acquired.
"The notion of the initiative is that the road-tax fund is dwindling," said Jeff Davidson, Iowa City's director of transportation planning. "The revenue of the road-tax fund has been flat for the past few years."
Iowa City Mayor Ross Wilburn has publicly endorsed the proposal, along with the Iowa League of Cities, Iowa State Association of Counties, Iowa County Engineers Association, and Iowa Good Roads Association, among others.
State lawmakers have yet to act on the proposal, Gray-Fisher said.
"I don't think legislative action will be made this year," Davidson said. "The downside of the plan is that Iowa residents will have to spend more money."
E-mail DI reporter Laura Klairmont at:
laura-klairmont@uiowa.edu
A total of $4 billion is needed to fund the most critical renovations to Iowa's public-roads system - which consists of approximately 114,000 miles of highways, roads, and streets, according to the state Department of Transportation.
The proposal, called "Transportation Investment Moves the Economy in the 21st Century" would promote statewide road construction and maintenance over the next 20 years.
"You have to maintain the roads, or they will fall apart," said Dena Gray-Fisher, the state DOT director of media and marketing services. "We are a pay-as-you-go state; you need to have revenues coming in in order to reward any revenue price."
The DOT proposed the initiative to the state Legislature in January. If enacted, the road funding would help restore the interstate system and Iowa's commercial-industrial network, according to a DOT report. At the county level, funding would go towards replacing deficient bridges.
Potential sources of funding for the project include an increased per-gallon tax on motor-vehicle fuels and higher fees for vehicle registration and driver's licenses.
"There is quite a wide gap between meeting the needs of the road system and the money that needs to be spent to do so," Gray-Fisher said.
The plan promises to return more than $6 in economic productivity for each $1 invested.
Gray-Fisher said small towns and rural sectors - which desire to switch from gravel roads to pavement - compose a large portion of areas that need renovation. She noted that sufficient funding has not been acquired.
"The notion of the initiative is that the road-tax fund is dwindling," said Jeff Davidson, Iowa City's director of transportation planning. "The revenue of the road-tax fund has been flat for the past few years."
Iowa City Mayor Ross Wilburn has publicly endorsed the proposal, along with the Iowa League of Cities, Iowa State Association of Counties, Iowa County Engineers Association, and Iowa Good Roads Association, among others.
State lawmakers have yet to act on the proposal, Gray-Fisher said.
"I don't think legislative action will be made this year," Davidson said. "The downside of the plan is that Iowa residents will have to spend more money."
E-mail DI reporter Laura Klairmont at:
laura-klairmont@uiowa.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
thrufaithalone
S.A.M.
posted 4/24/07 @ 5:52 PM CST
And whose fault is it they're spending money on amenities instead of necessities? The REAL downside is we're so busy forking over money to to self-proclaimed "Great Places" and spending money on "toys" (trails, etc. (Continued…)
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