Protecting your investment

December 20, 2019

This time of year, the lines at area car washes grow on any day where temperatures rise. If you think keeping your personal vehicle maintained in Iowa’s winter conditions is tough, image how challenging it can be for the fleet of more than 900 snowplows maintained by the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Our snowplow trucks are out in the harshest of weather conditions, plowing snow and applying rock salt and brine, a salt and water mixture, to help keep you moving. Keeping roads clear takes its toll on the equipment.

“Each of our snowplow trucks costs about $170,000 to purchase. With more than 900 trucks in our fleet, that’s a very large investment,” said Tina Greenfield of the Maintenance Bureau. “Our goal is to keep each vehicle 12 to 15 years, so maintaining those vehicles in good working conditions is a top priority.”

Iowa farmers helping keep Iowa roads clear

December 17, 2019

Good partnerships benefit all those involved. Over the years, the Iowa Department of Transportation has developed some pretty unique solutions to improve wintertime mobility and highway safety using partnerships with dozens of farmers statewide.

Back in the 1980s, our field forces began working with farmers who held fields along state highways in open areas where the terrain is open and flat to create the standing corn program. The partnerships involved the farmer planting corn that can be left in fields during the winter to serve as snow fences that slow down or stop snow from blowing and drifting across the road. More recently, this cooperative effort has included using round bales as snow fences, as well.

Virtually showing Iowa initiatives on the world stage

December 11, 2019

We all know Iowa is an amazing place to live, but how can we communicate that to the world? Location and Environment Bureau Director Tammy Nicholson was recently able to show Iowa nice to more than 42,000 scouts from all over the world at the 2019 World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia.

Nicholson and her husband, Kent, who works in the Bureau of Design, are no strangers to scouting. Both of their sons are Eagle scouts and the couple has led countless scout groups over the years, but this experience was once in a lifetime for Tammy.

U.S 52 - Dubuque's SW Arterial - They said it couldn’t be built

December 9, 2019

Nearly 40 years after it was originally proposed, the U.S. 52 project, known to locals as the Southwest Arterial, in Dubuque is nearing completion. The joint project between the Iowa Department of Transportation and the City of Dubuque proves that perseverance pays off.

Connecting local industrial centers to each other and the rest of the Midwest and the world is the driving force for completion of this 6.1-mile, four-lane divided freeway that will provide and modern transportation alternative through southwestern Dubuque, linking the Dubuque Technology Park on US 61/151 with the new Dubuque Industrial Center West and the existing Dubuque Industrial Center near U.S 20.

Where mobility and history intersect

November 12, 2019

Although many people don’t think of a department of transportation in this way, we are really a mobility company. Our jobs revolve around providing safe and reliable ways for people to get where they want to go. But there are a lot of facets to transportation that most people don’t even consider. Finding interesting ways to let people in on what we do and why we do it can be challenging.

MVE Officer Dahm on national award-winning team

November 1, 2019

Officer Ryan Dahm from Iowa Motor Vehicle Enforcement recently participated in the 2019 North American Inspectors Championships held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance holds the North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) to test, recognize, and award commercial motor vehicle inspector excellence. Each jurisdiction is invited to send an officer to compete against other top inspectors from jurisdictions all across North America. Dahm was chosen by his management team to represent Iowa. A total of 51 people participated.