Public interested in solving transportation challenge

A recent nine-city “road show” by two key legislators showed there is great public interest in improving the state’s transportation system, including how it can better support local efforts to expand job creation.

Senator Tom Rielly, the Democratic chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, and the top Republican on the committee, Senator Larry Noble, traveled across Iowa to listen to Iowans’ concerns about our state’s transportation issues.

Iowa has nearly 114,000 miles of highways, roads and streets under the jurisdiction of the Iowa Department of Transportation and the state’s 99 counties and 947 cities.

Nationally, our state ranks 12th in number of miles of roadway and fifth in number of bridges. These are parts of Iowa’s transportation infrastructure that past generations built to help our state grow and prosper.

The transportation investments we’ve made in recent years, however, have not kept up with demand. In fact, at the rate we are going, we will have a $27.7 billion problem over the next 20 years, including a $4 billion shortfall affecting our most critical road infrastructure needs.

The reason that Senators Rielly and Noble visited nine communities and held meetings with more than 500 Iowans was to help find the answer to that problem.

This is not a simple issue. As our state’s economy grows and changes, our transportation needs change.

For example, truck traffic has grown by 51 percent since 1990, in part because of the increased truck traffic required to ship corn to existing ethanol plants. This means more wear on the roads, safety concerns, and congestion as trucks queue to enter the plants.

At the public meetings, there were few people willing to let Iowa’s transportation system stagnate and decline. Suggestions on how to pay for our transportation needs included raising the gas tax, increasing pickup fees, building toll roads, approving a statewide penny sales tax, and increasing license fees. Attendees also had ideas for improving our transportation infrastructure, such as expanding rail traffic, developing new recreation trails, building regional airports, and improving locks and dams.

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that the “Transportation Road Show” did not uncover a magic answer that will solve our transportation budget problem and win universal agreement.

Legislators intend to keep listening and working on this issue, though. It is a big challenge that can only be solved by a bipartisan approach.

I will keep you updated on our progress, and I would appreciate your ideas as we make our generation’s contribution to Iowa’s transportation system.

Photo Credit: Jason Hancock