Local officials update Iowa Transportation Commission

LEE COUNTY – Iowa DOT officials were in town Tuesday morning to gather input about transportation issues facing southeast Iowa.
Members of the Iowa Transportation Commission met with community officials and local leaders at Quality Inn & Suites for just over an hour. Commission members didn’t make comments on any of the presentations, but heard from officials with Fort Madison, Lee County, Lee County Economic Development Group, the Highway 61 Coalition, Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, and several residents.
Two of the most common projects that were discussed were the Highway 61 Coalition’s proposal to restructure Highway 61 through Burlington, including roundabouts and enhanced pedestrian infrastructure.
Rep. Taylor Collins was on hand to present the coalition's plans for the project.
He said the project should be considered a top priority locally for the Iowa DOT considering the work that’s already been done to make Hwy. 61 north of Burlington 4-lanes and more seamless for motorists.
The project would be in three segments; one from Mason Road to Division Street with a roundabout at West Avenue and Division, including full pavement replacement with access improvements; another segment from Division to north of U.S. 34, focusing on improvements to high crash areas and a roundabout at Kirkwood and improved exit ramps with enhanced pedestrian access; and the final segment north of 34 to Sunnyside with a roundabout at Mt. Pleasant Street and 61, full pavement replacement, configuration changes of railroad bridge and street scape enhancements.
The work would be done in eight different phases.
“This phased approach allows for maintaining reasonable access and minimizing the business disruption,” Collins said.
The proposed cost is near $43 million and includes potential TIF funding, and other state and federal grants and set-aside funding.
“We request first, the inclusion of this project in the statewide transportation improvement program, and second, the DOT’s support for future federal funding applications,” he said.
The other top project on people’s lists was the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe bridge over the Mississippi River. Former Fort Madison resident Dick Hierstein and SEIRPC’s assistant director Zach James talked about the shortcomings of the bridge in Fort Madison.
“It’s a project that started about 10 years ago. We’ve had help from the commission here and the Illinois DOT, as well, to help on a study to evaluate options for the bridge long term,” James said.

“The primary focus is proposing a new road-only bridge adjacent to the existing bridge. We’re not sure what the direction is or what the future holds yet, but it’s still a big priority for us and we look forward to continuing to work with the DOT, BNSF, and Illinois DOT.”
James also referenced the $11 million one-way pair rehabilitation project in Fort Madison on 18th and 20th Streets where the city restructures the roadways to two-way traffic on all roadways. He said SEIRPC has helped apply for funding to help connect the project to the Hwy. 2 rehab all across Fort Madison.
Hierstein said the state divesting itself of Hwy. 2 was a “serious and significant mistake” and has hurt the economies of Fort Madison without state investment in that stretch of road. He said the bridge closures are also hurting the community long-term and that needs corrected.
“I’m originally from Fort Madison, but have been away for a long time. I’m in Burlington now after circulating around the upper Midwest for a couple years,” he said.
Regarding the bridge, Hierstein said the owner, BNSF, is only concerned about rail traffic. He said truck traffic is restricted and that hurts industrial activity where direct connection to Illinois is not accessible.
“Closures seem to be getting more frequent and seem to be getting longer. Those closures affect tourism, an important industry in this area, in addition to the other businesses in the area. I don’t think that’s appropriate and I don’t think we should have to live with that on a long-term basis.”
Hierstein said Fort Madison is the largest community in Iowa that does not have a state highway bridge crossing the Mississippi River.
Former State Rep. Jeff Kurtz also pleaded with the commission to address train blockages of roadways saying trains nowadays are too long and delays are substantially longer than they used to be.
Lee County Engineer Ben Hull talked about the condition of bridges in rural Iowa, specifically southeast Iowa.
He said 32 of Lee County’s bridges have weight impoundments and said 16 still carry the load they were designed to carry. The county has 136 bridges and said it would take 272 years to fix or replace all the county’s bridges.
He said funding dollar-for-dollar has increased, but compared to costs of goods and services paid for with those dollars, available funding has decreased about 10% compared to project costs.
“Those are some headwinds, but I definitely wanted to speak about some positives,” Hull said.
He said shared programs and cooperation in moving forward among regional counties has had a positive impact on getting projects accomplished. He said statewide structural standards is a good program and fairly unique to Iowa, and it allows in-house design and a more consistent approach from contractors.