Category: News
Moving mussels proves to be a real workout in Northeast Iowa
May 7, 2024
Just like your liver filters your blood, mussels in the Mississippi River filter out toxins and help balance the river’s ecosystem. To protect the mussels from damage during the construction process, two recent Mississippi River bridge projects involving the Iowa Department of Transportation have included relocating thousands of mussels, some of which are on the endangered species list.
Reviving Iowa’s Pristine Prairie Beauty
April 25, 2024
Back in 1905, when Henry J. Cuddeback acquired his family farm near Washington, Iowa, the landscape was already transformed with crop fields and pastures. Yet, long before settlers arrived, the land thrived with expansive tall grass prairies and vibrant wildflowers. Over the generations, the Cuddeback family witnessed significant changes surrounding their farm, including the gradual loss of Iowa's native beauty.
Jim Cuddeback, Henry's great-grandson, developed a deep passion for preserving native prairie grasses and wildflowers during his time at the University of Northern Iowa. Little did he know, he was on the brink of joining a movement aimed at restoring Iowa's prairie legacy along roadsides throughout the state.
Heads up speeders! Iowa DOT helping smaller cities and towns improve safety
April 22, 2024
Do you ever find yourself driving and suddenly realize you're going faster than you thought? It's a common scenario, especially on familiar roads, where getting a bit too heavy-footed on the accelerator is easy. This habit can be dangerous, particularly as you come into a town where you'll often see frequent stops and people crossing the road. Unfortunately, it’s typical for drivers to miss these reduced speed limits.
Willy Sorenson, a traffic safety engineer in the Traffic and Safety Bureau, noted a common request from cities. “They often ask about lower speeds as you enter their city limits to increase the safety of their streets, but they have a few issues including budget constraints and limited law enforcement availability to enforce the lower speeds. We wanted to step up and find a way to offer cost-effective solutions to help these smaller cities and towns improve safety.”
Collaborative efforts taking shape for planning safer work zones
April 15, 2024
With the relatively mild winter we’ve had, you’ve likely already encountered work zones on Iowa roads. With National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week kicking off today, here's more information about how we work with our partners to plan safer work zones for everyone.
At the end of last year, we convened our third Work Zone Information Sharing Workshop. The two-day meeting brought together not just Iowa DOT management, central office, and field forces, but our partners in law enforcement, academia, motor carriers, traffic control contractors, the traffic management center, and Federal Highway Administration officials.
Recent Iowa DOT awards
April 4, 2024
The Iowa DOT is focused on making lives better through transportation. Whether we are working to put safety first or focusing on our customers, innovation, and leadership are at the heart of the work we do. Sometimes that work earns us attention and accolades from our industry partners and peers. We are proud of those across our DOT team who have been recognized for the following awards.
How you can help keep Iowa roads safer
March 4, 2024
One of the main things you need to be safe on the road is predictability. That means getting from Point A to Point B without any surprises. Whenever an unexpected incident happens, whether it is a crash, stalled vehicle, debris on the road, or anything else that could impact traffic, your trip becomes less predictable and more hazardous.
At the Iowa DOT, we rely on a lot of tools to help keep your trip as predictable as possible. Two of our core values, Safety First and Customer Focus, are put into practice doing just that in our Traffic Management Center in Ankeny. The dedicated staff monitors hundreds of roadside cameras 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and fields incoming calls from law enforcement and other sources. They then work to make sure you have the information you need by lighting up the message signs along the road and posting information to the 511 system.
Modern equipment requires modern testing methods
February 19, 2024
Getting behind the wheel of your vehicle today, you’re likely to have many additional safety features that didn’t exist even just a few years ago. This technology is also making its way into commercial vehicles that share our roads.
Updated technology is changing the training and driving skills required of commercial drivers. These updates are in turn changing the way we test the skills of the men and women behind the wheel of large commercial trucks.
Using data to visualize construction projects in a new way
February 2, 2024
Everywhere you look these days data is being collected. Whether it’s to enhance your shopping experience or develop new products the strategic collection and connection of data has the power to improve our lives.
At the Iowa DOT, we are continuously collecting data on the construction and maintenance projects we work on every day. This mountain of data is simply a bunch of images, documents, and numbers if it can’t be connected in a meaningful way.
Saving a life – all in a day’s work for these two from the Williams garage
January 30, 2024
What started as a short trip to Iowa Falls to bid a co-worker goodbye on his retirement turned into something completely different on Nov. 30 for Chris Glenn and Jerid Ratzke from the Williams garage.
The pair were traveling on U.S. 20 when they noticed something strange off in the distance. Ratzke said, “At first I thought it might be a twisted billboard, but then we got closer and noticed that it was the trailer from a semi.”
Because it was so unusual to see a trailer off the road and into a wooded area, Ratzke and Glenn decided to investigate. Ratzke said, “It was still dark, so we couldn’t see it very well from the road. When we got closer, we saw there were mangled pieces of the tractor and trailer hanging from a tree. The cab was still attached to the trailer, but it was rolled on its side.”
Above and beyond – just a few stories from the snowstorms of January 2024
January 29, 2024
The rash of January snowstorms put a real strain on our resources but many don’t realize the things our snow fighters do to make sure you can safely get to where you need to go. During this most recent storm, we had several garage staff who worked 12- to 16-hour shifts for 16 days straight. In some areas, there are no hotels close enough to ensure that our snow fighters can safely and easily get back to the shop for their next shift. It’s not uncommon for these dedicated men and women to sleep in sleeping bags on cots in the garages, unable to get back home for days at a time for a home-cooked meal or to sleep in their own bed. But as is always the case, our crews stepped up and did what needed to be done. There are dozens of stories out there that may never be told outside of the garage, but here are just a few stories that have been shared of DOTers who went above and beyond the call of duty.