New Fort Dodge intersection developed to reduce number of crashes and serious injuries

September 20, 2022

If you’re a parent of more than one child, you know a thing or two about how to reduce conflict. Some sage advice includes separating the conflicting items (in this instance, children) to give them time to think about what to do next, potentially reducing the risk of injury.

It’s really not so different with drivers approaching an at-grade intersection on a four-lane highway. The more you can separate the drivers and give them time to think about what’s next, the fewer conflicts or crashes will happen and the severity of the conflicts that do happen is reduced.

That’s exactly what is going on right now on U.S. 20 at Poplar Avenue near Fort Dodge. A new “reduced-conflict” intersection was opened recently with the goal of seeing fewer crashes and injuries at an intersection that may be getting much busier soon with the opening of a travel plaza.

Multi-year I-80/380 project transforming travel in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids corridor

August 22, 2022

Whenever you have a large amount of traffic of various vehicle types converging on one spot, there are a unique set of safety concerns. With “Safety First, “People Matter” and “Customer Focused” as three of our Iowa DOT core values, addressing these concerns is a top priority.

The Interstate 80/380 interchange in Iowa City is a major crossroads for the state of Iowa and the rest of the nation. As one of the busiest interchanges in the state, I-80/I-380 is a vital link in the overall connectivity, mobility, freight movement, and economic well-being. A multi-year project now underway includes installing new directional ramps to increase the safety and flow of traffic and replacing the current loop ramps that have seen weaving traffic which created congestion and safety issues.

New app tests process of identifying available truck parking

August 19, 2022

Driving down the interstate, you get a feel for all the commerce that moves in the trailers of semis. With “Safety First” as a core value of the Iowa Department of Transportation, we’re doing everything we can to support professional drivers, including assisting in research to help them find parking when they need to rest.

Iowa’s first dual-language signs are installed on U.S. 30 near Tama

August 10, 2022

What does the Iowa Department of Transportation’s core focus “Making lives better through transportation” mean in reality? For our Cultural Resources team, it means working with Iowa’s tribes to help preserve their culture for future generations and bring the heritage of native peoples to travelers.

Traveling on U.S. 30 near Tama, you’ll notice new signs erected at the edge of the Meskwaki Settlement. The sign features the Meskwaki Tribal Logo next to the native language spelling of the tribe “Meskwakiinaki”, which is above the English spelling of “Meskwaki Settlement.”

Keeping you safer on Iowa’s roadways – update on joint operating procedure agreement between Iowa DOT and Iowa State Patrol

July 26, 2022

The Iowa Department of Transportation and the Iowa State Patrol have similar goals to do everything we can to promote safe travel on Iowa’s roadways. In recent years, the two agencies have collaborated on a document to spell out exactly how the agencies work together on traffic incidents on Iowa’s state and U.S. highways and interstates. This Joint Operations Policy Statement sets goals and objectives for collaboration.

Keeping you safer when the unexpected happens

July 19, 2022

You're
 on the road, just trying to get where you need to go and you see a line of cars slowing down in front of you. You assume there’s a crash up ahead but wonder when the line will get moving again.

When there is a crash or other incident on the road, it puts both those sharing the road and first responders at risk.  Two of our Iowa Department of Transportation core values are “Safety First” and “People Matter.” Part of living those core values includes managing roadway incidents in a coordinated way to make sure anyone involved in an incident is cared for in a fast and efficient manner and ensuring the safety of all responders and those travelers on the road near an incident.

New tool evaluates similar intersections for safety

July 18, 2022

Intersections provide the potential for you to be involved in a crash simply because there is often more than one vehicle at a time using that intersection. One wrong move from a driver can cause a crash.

Statewide, there are thousands of intersections of all shapes and sizes. The Iowa Department of Transportation has the daunting task of evaluating these intersections for potential safety improvements and deciding how to spend our limited safety funding in a way that provides the most benefit to you when you’re on the road.

A new way of analyzing information by comparing data from intersections that are similar in the way they are set up is proving to be effective in assisting Iowa DOT staff with identifying the potential for crash reduction. For example, the potential for crashes on low-traffic rural intersections with 55-mile-per-hour speed limits would be compared to each other rather than to all intersections in the state. This updated way of looking at the potential for safety improvements will help keep you safer as you travel around Iowa.

Recent Iowa DOT Awards

July 6, 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 over the last quarter.

Iowa DOT provides employees with commercial driver training

June 28, 2022

Note: This is the third post in a series on Iowa DOT training of field employees.

The safety of our Iowa Department of Transportation employees and everyone who drives in Iowa relies on the consistent and thorough training of our team. In an Iowa DOT garage, the team members are called on to do a wide variety of tasks. They plow snow, repair shoulders, remove brush to improve sightlines, and repair signs and guard rail, which are a few of the many safety assignments they accomplish every day. One thing most of these tasks have in common is the need for our team members to drive very large equipment.

Oversized loads pose special challenges for work zones on Iowa highways

June 6, 2022

In Iowa, big things are moving on our highways. Whether you see a flatbed loaded with a massive piece of farm equipment or a specially designed truck hauling a huge wind blade, oversize and/or overweight loads are a common sight on Iowa roads. Sometimes traveling around these types of loads can cause frustration or pose challenges but a lot of planning goes into making sure those loads are traveling safely down our roadways and around other traffic.