A breakdown of 2026-30 Iowa highway plan
One of Iowa's most notorious intersections is getting upgraded...eventually
The 2026-30 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program draft was released at the Iowa Transportation Commission’s May meeting for approval June 10 in West Des Moines. Nearly half of the $4.3 billion highway program, 47%, will go to paving projects, according to the draft. Bridge projects are the other major component.
This article will break down big or notable projects (in fiscal years, dollar figures rounded). The full extent of projects including pavement rehabilitation on existing roads, general bridge projects, and the like can be found in the full PDF file. But first…
Map time!
An odd-numbered year means a new state highway map. The big reveal came just before Memorial Day weekend. The Lincoln Highway, but not the Jefferson Highway, now has a special marker. This will be the only state map with Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer on it. The village of Randalia, which disincorporated last year, is now in the map key as the example for an unincorporated place. Portions of U.S. highways 65, 136, and 169 in Missouri have been added to the National Highway System network (all the roads in red).
In a second consecutive example of color inconsistency, the complete PDF of the state map and sectional pages of the map have different treatment of some colors. This time, in the full map, the latitude/longitude lines and names of state parks/wildlife areas are in bright cyan and hard to read. In the sectional maps, though, they’re in the same blue used for bodies of water. This is an online-only issue. The paper maps have correct colors.
Playing to type
The last three years of transportation plans switched from all-caps lettering to being in mixed case. They were written in Calibri, which was the Microsoft default typeface until last winter, when it was replaced by Aptos.
The 2026-30 plan, however, is not presented in Calibri or Aptos. Shawn Majors with the Iowa DOT said in an e-mail that the file uses PT Sans, “the recommended font based on new branding guidelines.”
Springville interchange
Improving the intersection cannot come quickly enough for Patrick Kos of Springville. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes, as long as it gets done,” said Kos, whose car was struck broadside in 2011.
— Cedar Rapids Gazette, Feb. 21, 2013
On Sept. 6, 2005, Security State Bank opened a branch in Springville at the intersection of four-lane U.S. Highway 151 and County Road X20. It was a highly visible location at a site that was becoming known for accidents. The Iowa Department of Transportation tried for three years (2008-10) to get residents interested in a J-turn intersection, which restricts turns but does not separate traffic, and it was soundly rejected. In early 2013, not too long after installing large flashing warning lights on US 151 about turning traffic, the DOT made its first public proposals for an interchange. At the end of 2018 — nearly six years later — the Environmental Assessment was released, with the preferred interchange design receiving a public hearing in March 2019. A slightly updated version came out in spring 2024.
During all that time, collisions kept happening. There were 61 crashes between 2003 and 2016, according to the handout for the March 2019 hearing. Two happened in less than a 24-hour span on Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2022.
The five-year plan has construction of the interchange happening in fiscal year 2028, meaning that Security State Bank will have to move by mid-2027, a little more than 20 years after it opened. Construction is projected to cost more than $27 million.
Large projects
As the US 61 Mediapolis bypass finishes this year, work will begin on four-laning the highway from there to IA 78 in 2026 (combined $36 million). Then the final link in four-lane US 61, between IA 78 and IA 92, is programmed for 2027 and 2029-30 for $176.4 million.
Interstate 80 outside of Polk County:
The six-lane project in West Des Moines will end in 2026 ($22 million)
The Middle Road interchange in Bettendorf will be rebuilt in 2026 ($59.7 million)
The IA 21 interchange will be rebuilt in stages in 2026-28 ($39.72 million)
The US 169 interchange will be rebuilt in 2027-28 ($29.5 million)
The IA 149 interchange will be rebuilt in stages in 2027-29 ($30 million)
All the exit-specific rebuilds include expanding the median and bridges to accommodate six lanes of travel on I-80.
The truck parking site on I-80 near the Wilton exit will be repaved in 2030 with more spaces ($5.5 million)
Starting in 2028, $70 million per year is being allocated toward replacement of the I-80 Mississippi River bridge. The Illinois DOT is the lead agency on this project, which includes replacing the US 67 interchange on the Iowa side and the IL 84 and I-88 interchanges on the Illinois side.
Polk County:
Expansion of I-35/80 between University and Douglas avenues, including the Hickman Road exit, continues in 2026 and 2027 ($32.5 million)
The southbound I-35 to eastbound I-235 flyover bridge project at the west mixmaster, first brought up in 2023, is mostly programmed for 2027-28 ($115.825 million; more than $74 million of that is for the bridge alone)
Expansion of I-80 between the northeast mixmaster and US 65 continues through 2028 ($77.17 million)
US 69 between the Des Moines River and Court Street has three separate projects:
Widening between the bridges in the area of Maury Street (not Avenue as listed in the plan), including a new connector from Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, in 2027 ($3.3 million)
Replacement of the bridge over the Des Moines River in 2029 ($22.6 million)
Replacement of the viaduct over MLK Parkway and the railroad tracks in 2030 ($52 million)
Also, US 69 in central Ankeny, from Southeast Peterson Drive to East 1st Street, will be expanded in 2026 ($8.34 million)
The middle portion of six-laning I-380 between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids has made its first appearance on the plan, in 2030. It’s just the start of that part, though. What’s in the plan right now, across various stages and years, and not counting what’s already going on between I-80 and US 30, runs at $33 million.
The northernmost section of a plan to six-lane I-35 to and through the US 30 interchange will start in 2029, 12 years after a prediction that it would be a decade out ($41.9 million). The six-lane section to IA 210 will be completed in 2026 ($52.6 million).
I-35 in the northern half of Warren County has three sections of grade-and-pave work ($68.226 million): North River to Badger Creek in 2026, Badger Creek to near the Polk County line in 2027, and near IA 92 to North River in 2028
Interchange on IA 27/58 at Greenhill Road is marked for 2028 with $34.3 million funded, but another $25 million is needed
The multi-year replacement of the Gordon Drive Viaduct in Sioux City will start in 2027, but its $212.1 million overall cost is underfunded by $67.2 million
The bulk of the US 30 Missouri Valley bypass is scheduled for 2027 and 2029 ($106 million)
The US 63 Oskaloosa bypass is programmed for 2027, with the bridge over IA 163 being built in 2026 ($23.57 million)
Other notable projects
US 30:
Six-laning the highway between US 69 and the Dayton Avenue exit in Ames, including replacement of the Skunk River bridges, is already underway, and the final two years will cost $23.1 million
An interchange on the west side of Nevada, by the Van Wall Equipment dealership, will be built in 2029-30 ($31.4 million). When that is completed, all side roads between Ames and Nevada will be blocked off, creating a fully controlled-access freeway.
The two-lane road between Stanwood and the end of the four-lane near Lisbon will be rebuilt into a Super-2 road in 2026-27 ($21 million). This will add extended turn and passing lanes, making the road three undivided lanes past most of Mechanicsville. The Old Lincoln Highway junction southeast of Mechanicsville will be altered.
The bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad at Wheatland will be replaced in 2027 ($20.5 million)
The US 30/US 59/IA 141 double bridges over the railroad in Denison will be replaced in 2029 ($17.2 million)
US 63 between Toledo and IA 96 will be rebuilt in 2026, with the addition of two northbound and two southbound passing lanes on the 13-mile segment ($15.7 million)
The I-29 interchange at IA 175 will be rebuilt in 2026 ($30.57 million) and the northbound rest area near Onawa will be replaced in 2026-27 ($12.5 million). Further north, the Southbridge exit in Sergeant Bluff is scheduled for 2026 ($2.36 million state share).
US 52 from the Mississippi River bridge to Sabula will have a grade-and-pave project in 2026 ($30.7 million)
A multi-phase project on IA 14 between the north side of Knoxville and Lake Red Rock includes bridge replacement over Brush Creek (going on now), a deck overlay on the Mile-Long Bridge (going on now), deck overlays on Teter Creek and White Breast Creek bridges in 2026, and grade-and-pave (rebuild road) in 2027-28. For all but Phase 2, traffic is/will be detoured. ($20.47 million in future work)
The IA 3/IA 143 intersection on the edge of Marcus will be turned into a roundabout in 2026 ($4.55 million)
IA 9 in Decorah will be rebuilt in 2026, including an overlay on the Division Street bridge and, according to the Decorah Leader, lowering the roadbed under the Pleasant Avenue bridge ($8.6 million)
Bridges for US 59 over IA 92 and US 34 will be replaced in 2026 and 2028, respectively ($4.1 million, $4.28 million)
Shoulders on US 18 west of Floyd will be paved in 2026 ($3.2 million)
Two bridges on IA 2 east of Sidney, which currently have no shoulders to speak of, will be replaced in 2028 ($20 million)
In 2027-28, grade-and-pave projects are planned for the north half of Avoca and the 1½-mile-long four-lane segment that crosses I-80 ($17.35 million)
The US 6 bridge over the Iowa River in Iowa City will be replaced in 2028 ($9.27 million)
The IA 175 bridge over the Des Moines River between Dayton and Stratford will be replaced in 2028 ($13.77 million)
A multi-year project to rebuild US 75 through Sioux Center is wrapping up this year, and it will be followed by rebuilding US 75 from the north end of Sioux Center to US 18 in 2028 ($26.5 million)
IA 14 in northwest Newton has grade-and-pave projects in 2028-29 ($15.3 million)
The IA 149 (Business US 63) viaduct in Ottumwa will undergo rehabilitation in 2029 ($33.8 million), a year after the road to the north past Woodland Avenue is rebuilt with changes to the intersecting roads ($7.663 million). The latter part is scheduled for slightly later than a DOT official told KTVO in late January. Also in 2028, the bridges on the north side of Ottumwa over the railroad will be replaced ($7.454 million).
US 75 through Hinton will be rebuilt in 2029 after right-of-way acquisition in 2026 ($16.9 million)
The US 61 Keokuk bypass has a grade-and-pave project in 2029 ($12.9 million)
The IA 175 bridge over High Street/County Road M68 in Lake View will be replaced in 2029 ($3.9 million)
IA 9 through Estherville will be rebuilt in 2028 ($8 million), with the Des Moines River bridge there getting an overlay in 2030 ($2.87 million)
Three counties — Butler, Guthrie, and Jefferson — have zero projects in the five-year plan, and 11 more have one apiece.
A final funding note
At the end of last year, a Traffic Safety Improvement Program grant was awarded to Jefferson County for paving-related treatments on 110th Street, a road that is not paved. U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks included money for paving the road as an earmark in the Transportation/Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. However, because Congress did not pass any appropriations bills and instead passed a continuing resolution for the remainder of federal fiscal year 2025, that earmark was not funded.
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