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.
Even in the worst winter storms, some travelers may not be able to stay put and wait for the weather to improve. Because safety is at the core of everything we do at the Iowa Department of Transportation, our advice will always be to sit tight if the conditions are bad enough that it is dangerous for you to be driving. But if you must travel, we’ll be there for you, using the latest technology to safely clear the roads.
A bridge is simply a way to get you over an obstacle. But can it become more than a way to get you from point A to point B?
At the Iowa DOT, our bridge designers are ratcheting up the appearance and messages you’ll see on seven bridges being rebuilt along with the expansion of Interstate 35 from Ankeny to Ames.
Picture this. You’re driving down a rural two-lane road in the dark. It’s snowing. You can make out headlights coming at you in a snow cloud. As the oncoming vehicle gets closer, you see that it’s a snowplow. You can also now make out lights that seem to hover over the front of the snowplow blade near the centerline. This light lets you know just where the plow blade is and alerts you to move over as you safely move by the plow.
Safety is at the core of all we do. But we can’t do it all. At the Iowa DOT, we are part of a larger community of first responders. For all of us to be safer when responding to a crash or other incident on the road, we all need to work from the same playbook. The Federal Highway Administration designed a standardized training program for all roadway first responders including firefighters, emergency medical personnel, law enforcement, and towing companies. All Iowa DOT field forces go through this training and our Traffic Operations Bureau has a hand in training other responders statewide.
When you think of a work zone, an image of pavement work or bridge construction behind a line of orange cones with workers and construction equipment might come to mind. These stationary work zones are often in place for a period of time and are easily found on the 511 system (www.511ia.org and the Iowa 511 app). But many work zones like those for simple maintenance or line painting move slowly down the road. This makes the work zones difficult for you to track on 511 and the workers in those work zones are more vulnerable to being hit by drivers who may not expect to see them on the road.
Did you know that stopping to use the restroom at Iowa’s newest rest area gives you the chance to learn about Native American culture that preceded us by nearly 800 years?
If you have visited one of Iowa’s next-generation rest areas, you’ll notice that each one has a theme and information to help you learn more about what makes Iowa unique.
The planners, engineers, and designers tasked with creating these rest areas not only provide a place to safely stop and rest but also tap into a wealth of historical information to help you understand the very deep roots of our great state.
Getting behind the wheel of a huge orange truck for the first time can be pretty intimidating. These complicated machines take a great deal of skill to operate effectively. Throw in skid loaders, mini excavators, and other pieces of equipment, and our highway staff of all levels need to be highly skilled and receive excellent training to get everything done to keep you safer on Iowa’s highways.
One fun and effective way to get the training our field forces need is through competition. This year our Maintenance Bureau brought back a traditional training tool, the Truck Roadeo.
The weather is getting chilly, and you know what that means: winter is on the way. Salt is the main chemical we use to treat roads in the winter. There are many ways to use salt including mixing it with water and spraying that salt brine on the road to help keep snow and ice from sticking. In the right weather conditions, solid rock salt can be used to help melt the slick stuff. However, getting the solid rock salt to stay where we put it can be a challenge. One that our snowfighters meet head-on, starting with testing the effectiveness of our salt spreaders.
Road and bridge construction projects, like most aspects of life, are a balancing act. On one hand, repairing, replacing, and building roads and bridges are essential to keeping life moving. On the other, we want to minimize impacts to our natural resources.
That balancing act can sometimes result in a revitalized wetland area for wildlife viewing, hunting, and other outdoor activities.