Transportation Impacts: When major flooding closes a vital connection

May 9, 2022

This is the first in a series of stories of how Iowa transportation projects impact the lives of our friends and neighbors, improving safety and making lives better through transportation.

In March 2019, a bomb cyclone struck several western and midwestern states, dropping intense rain and melting heavy snowpack on frozen ground. The subsequent runoff breached levees, flooded roadways, and decimated communities. One of those flooded roadways, Iowa 2 in Fremont County, severed the Iowa/Nebraska 2 corridor, which connects I-80 in Lincoln, Nebraska, to I-29 in Iowa. This unique connection is vital for commercial traffic traversing the region and area residents who live on one side of the Missouri River and work on the other. When Iowa 2 flooded and was closed, a commute for the locals that typically took 10-15 minutes suddenly turned into a 60-90- minute trip, and freight traffic was impacted at a similar level.

Recent Iowa DOT awards

March 11, 2022

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 innovation and leadership earns us attention and accolades from our industry partners and peers. We are proud of the business units and individuals across the Iowa DOT who have been recognized for the following awards.

Shawn Havick's Legacy continues to impact our DOT family

January 26, 2022

When you come to work for the Iowa Department of Transportation, especially in a maintenance garage, you take on a lot of responsibility to keep those who travel “your” roads safe. Whether that’s repairing guardrail, edge rutting or snow plowing, many of our employees feel a sense of responsibility for those traveling in their area. When bad things happen on those roads, especially when one of our folks is the first on the scene, it takes a toll that isn’t often recognized.

Standing corn leads to safety legacy for Solon family

January 13, 2022

Kurt Stahle and his brothers Kyle and Kevin grew up on a farm near Iowa City. They’ve been driving Iowa 1 for decades and know every spot along the road that is prone to hang on to the worst winter can dish out. That’s why the brothers are proud participants in the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Standing Corn Snow Fence program.

Kurt said, “We grew up driving that road and we’ve seen the increase in traffic since Iowa 1 has become a main north-south artery into Iowa City. With the hills, there is often black ice at the crests that people can’t see. Before we started with the standing corn program, I lost several mailboxes to people spinning out on the ice and we used to have to call the local maintenance garage to get the plows back over our way. We don’t have to do that anymore.”

Permanent snow fence provides another option for improving winter driving safety

December 7, 2021

National research has found that it costs 100 times more to plow snow than to trap it with a snow fence. While installing snow fence does replace plowing snow, it is used in targeted areas that quickly fill back in a few minutes after the plow has cleared the road.

Just like you probably wouldn’t choose a hammer as the most effective tool to cut a piece of wood, we must also choose the right snow fence tool to greatly increase our efficiency and probability of success. At the Iowa DOT, our snow fence tool kit contains an assortment of options that includes temporary wooden or plastic fencing; living snow fence using trees, bushes, or native grasses; standing corn in farm fields; round bale barriers next to the roadside; and permanent fence installed in areas where blowing and drifting snow have historically been an issue.

New online renewal option gives commercial drivers more time behind the wheel

November 10, 2021

Commercial drivers are the backbone of our economy. Now more than ever, it’s critical that a driver has options when it comes to quickly and safely renewing a commercial driver’s license. To give drivers more time on the road and less time in an Iowa DOT driver’s service center, a new Iowa law allows most CDL holders to renew their CDL online.

What happens once you call 911 for a traffic incident?

September 29, 2021

You’re on the interstate, just enjoying the Iowa scenery when - all of a sudden - someone quickly merges from a ramp and clips the back of your vehicle. Your car spins and hits the cable barrier. Luckily you didn’t hit anyone else and you’re OK but pretty shaken. You grab your cell phone and call 911. What happens next?

“Every 911 call comes into one of Iowa’s 113 ‘public safety answering points,” said Ted Shipley of the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Operations Division. “Typically, that would be a communication center for the Iowa State Patrol, county sheriff’s office, or other law enforcement. The answering point dispatches resources within their area of responsibility such as emergency medical services, fire, police, or the traffic management center.”

Iowa’s rural public transit – making lives better

September 23, 2021

You can’t slow Rosie Osterburg down. With several decades under her belt, Osterburg, who lives in Spencer, doesn’t drive, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t get wherever she needs to go. From her exercise classes four days a week at the local YMCA to medical appointments in Sioux City, Osterburg relies on her rural transit system called RIDES to help her maintain her schedule.

Iowa 31 project in NW Iowa provides more than just a stable roadside

September 22, 2021

We exist to make lives better through transportation, but what happens when transportation improvements and the desire to preserve part of our history intersect?

Our mission is to provide a safe and efficient transportation system, and as we deliver the projects that achieve that mission, we also follow federal and state laws that ensure environmental stewardship. As planning progressed for a bank stabilization along the Little Sioux River and Iowa 31, Iowa DOT Location and Environment Bureau staff realized early on that this particular project would be very different than most. Archaeologist Brennan Dolan shared “we recognized from day one that this project would be mostly contained within the boundaries of a large prehistoric village site.” Following months of planning, archaeological excavation, and construction, in June the State Historical Society of Iowa awarded the Iowa DOT the 2021 Excellence in Archaeology and Historic Preservation Award. 

New edge rut chute keeps workers and motorists safer

September 7, 2021

NOTE: Innovation often happens as a progression over time. Little improvements that are passed organically are combined with other improvements gradually changing the way we do business. Often times we are unaware of everyone involved with the innovation.  Since this article was originally posted, we’ve heard from several of our innovators in Iowa DOT garages including those in Denison, Ida Grove, Pacific Junction, and Boone who have fabricated other edge rut chutes designed to make the work of our maintenance crews easier and more efficient. We apologize for anyone who was unintentionally not recognized in the article and we're proud of all of our innovators who take on challenges and solve problems in the name of making lives better through transportation. Thanks to all of the dedicated employees for their creativity!

As you’re driving along you probably don’t think much about the edge of the road and the rock that transitions between the paved shoulder and the ditch. The rock is meant to help you safely transition back onto the pavement. However, sometimes that rock settles or is moved by weather or traffic causing a rut to develop along the pavement. When this happens that rut may catch your tire and pull your vehicle in an unexpected way, potentially causing a safety issue.