Message Monday - June 29, 2015 - Orange Cones = No Phones

June 29, 2015

As we cruise into summer, the number of work zones is at its peak on Iowa’s roadways. To plan ahead for your July 4th weekend and other summer travel, check out the DOT’s 2015 major construction project website to provide motorists information on major construction projects that may impact travel.

The site, http://www.iowadot.gov/roadconstruction/2015Projects/index.html, includes an interactive map containing the 47 highway or bridge projects across Iowa that have the potential to cause a major impact to the traveling public. It provides detailed information about each project, including the project location, description, start date, completion date, contracted cost, and more, updated weekly. The map does not contain all Iowa DOT projects that are happening this construction season.

New Q&A series works to promote customer engagement

June 25, 2015

Transportation is a broad and complicated topic. It makes sense that the public would have a wide range of questions they might like to ask the Iowa Department of Transportation. In an effort to foster a transparent culture and encourage interaction with our customers, the Iowa DOT wanted to find a way to allow the public to ask questions on a consistent basis. This Friday, we will begin promoting a new question and answer series on our blog titled “Thursday 3 with the Iowa DOT.”

Personnel updates for June 5 to June 18, 2015

June 25, 2015

Information provided by the Office of Employee Services

Message Monday - June 22, 2015 - Good drivers have shifty eyes

June 22, 2015

There is a definite safety advantage for a driver who is scanning the surroundings compared to a driver looking down at a phone. A good driver will constantly look at the road in front, be aware of who is behind, notice a car that could be coming into your blind spot to the left or the crazy driver on the right.

In residential areas and at stop signs, it’s actually a good idea to make eye contact with the driver at the opposing stop sign or the pedestrian crossing the street. Good drivers know their surroundings.

Increasing transportation options for north Iowa workers

June 18, 2015

How do you get where you need to go? Sometimes we take for granted the ability to just hop in the car and get from point A to point B.  For those who have transportation challenges, the Iowa Department of Transportation is working to make more options available.

According to the Iowa Economic Development’s website, Iowa’s $27.6 billion advanced manufacturing industry is the state’s single largest business sector with three times the revenue of agriculture. Many of these manufacturing facilities are located in less populated areas, making the search for employees a challenge. In north central Iowa, the Region 2 Transit System partners with area manufacturing plants to provide reliable transportation for employees to and from the workplace.

New video explains transportation asset management

June 16, 2015

Analyzing and understanding the condition of the transportation system, including how best to manage repairs and where to make updates is a huge undertaking. As you’ve read in previous blog posts, transportation asset management is all about providing the right treatment to the right asset at the right time. Asset management is a new way of making decisions for the Iowa Department of Transportation and can be a complicated concept to grasp. 

The team working to develop the transportation asset management plan has created a video to help customers and other transportation stakeholders better understand the concept of transportation asset management.  It is the first in a series planned to explain how the Iowa DOT looks at investments in the system.  

This Iowa DOT team extends their reach far beyond the workplace

June 15, 2015

What gets you out of bed on a Saturday morning? For a select group at the Iowa DOT, it was a 75-mile run from Jefferson to Des Moines which also provided a valuable lesson in teamwork that will enhance relationships between varieties of groups within the Iowa DOT.

The Market to Market® Relay, a run on the Raccoon River Valley Trail May 9, brought eight DOTers from various places in the agency together as one of 325 teams raising money for the trail and for Above + Beyond Cancer.

Former Ms. Wheelchair Iowa strives to make a difference in the world of transportation

June 15, 2015

Michele Meadors is no stranger to public transit – as a matter of fact it is her only means of transportation. As a part of Ride Transit Week, Meadors shares her story on how public transportation is a vital resource not only to her, but to the community.

Message Monday - June 15, 2015 - Safety is no accident

June 15, 2015

We have all heard the phrase, “There is an accident waiting to happen.” Many of us have even used it from time to time. 

Well, that is exactly the right thing to say when you see someone using a smart phone while driving. Most texting drivers probably won’t get into a crash today,  maybe even not tomorrow. But luck will run out for many of these drivers, and sooner rather than later. 

Being crash-free is no accident. It takes self-discipline, training and understanding that your actions (and reactions) as a driver is the single most important thing in keeping you safe.

The 123 fatalities this week is an increase of six from last Monday. To see Iowa highway fatality statistics updated daily, go to http://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf

Heather Mills McCartney lost her leg when a police motorcycle hit her in 1993.  See the PSA she did for the “Safety is no accident” campaign.

https://youtu.be/sMgVqKsB6U4

511 redesigned to better assist travelers

June 12, 2015

Getting around Iowa safely, efficiently, and conveniently and during the busiest construction season in history could be a bit of a challenge, but finding the traffic information you need during the summer travel season is now easier than ever. The Iowa Department of Transportation recently revamped its full-feature 511 traveler information website available by clicking the “full featured” button on www.511ia.org. Sinclair Stolle, the Iowa DOT’s 511 project manager, said, “This is the first major update to our full featured website since 2008. The first thing people may notice is how quickly the site loads. The new site allows users to choose just the details that matter to them."