Eastern Iowa counties seek solutions to crumbling roads

Black Hawk County was facing a dilemma in the mid-2000s: the county needed to repair at least 12 miles of road a year, but only had funding for five.

The majority of roads supporting the rural economy were in fair or poor condition and some high-dollar bridges needed replacing, Black Hawk County Engineer Catherine Nicholas said.

So the county got creative and set its sights on loans, in the form of bonds, which at the time were outlawed for road work.

'It just made a lot of sense to borrow while the rates were so cheap,” Nicholas said.

Counties have had to find creative solutions to keep roads and bridges safe as traditional revenue sources increasingly fall short and conditions worsen.

For Black Hawk County, it required changing the law, which leaders accomplished with the help of lobbyists.

Black Hawk County appears to be the most prolific in its use of bonding, according to an Iowa State Association of Counties survey. The county has issued $35 million worth of bonds in the last six years, and Nicholas anticipates recommending another $3 million to $5 million bond in the coming years to repair a bridge over the Cedar River.

'We have resurfaced 80 miles of roadway and built two large structures,” Nicholas said. 'No other county in Iowa is bonding to this extent. No one is even close.”

According to a survey from the Iowa State Association of Counties, 29 counties have passed $203 million worth of bonds and tax increment financing to pay for secondary road needs. Tax increment financing uses a defined locations' future tax revenue for a current cost.

Residents in some areas, such as Cedar Rapids, have voted in a sales tax increase in the form of a local-option sales tax to help pay for road and bridge costs. The local-option sales taxes have brought in $17.2 million for secondary roads in 27 counties, according to the survey.

Solutions such as bonding and tax increment financing are creative and necessary but not ideal, said Lucas Beenken, a public policy specialist for the Iowa State Association of Counties.

'I think our counties are backed into a corner, so they are getting creative,” Beenken said.

Loans pay for critical needs when state, federal and local funding fall short, he said.

Comments from county auditors included in the survey indicate at least six other counties are considering or planning to take out loans for bridge or road needs.

'The board will consider bonding for a bridge replacement project in about three years,” one county auditor said in the report. 'They don't think there is any other way to pay for it.”

While borrowing may be necessary, it also carries a downside, particularly for road or bridge work, which begins to depreciate immediately, Beenken said.

'The major risk would be with bonding you are paying it back over a number of years,” Beenken said. 'You are paying for something that is depreciating, and you may have to fix it again before you are finished paying it off.”

The loan also could add 25 percent to 50 percent to costs through interest, he said.

Nicholas said Black Hawk County residents have treated the tax increasesfavorably or indifferently, perhaps because they recognize the need.

The condition of rural bridges in Iowa ranks third-worst in the nation, behind Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, according to federal bridge data.

A report from the National Transportation Research Group found that 13 percent of rural Iowa roads were rated in poor condition, and Iowa's rate of traffic deaths on rural roads, 1.82 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, is three times the rate on other roads in Iowa.

Rural roads are critical to support Iowa's agricultural industry, such as getting crops to market, as well as for tourism.

Traditionally, road and bridge upkeep and new road networks constructed to meet increased usage or for economic development have been pay-as-you-go systems covered by annual revenue, appropriations or grants.

But as people drive less, use more fuel-efficient vehicles and roads take more wear and tear from heavier vehicles, counties can't keep up with the demand.

Iowa also caps how much property tax revenue counties can transfer into the secondary road fund, Beenken said.

Iowa's gas tax, which is a primary source for road work, hasn't been increased since 1989, yet costs for roads and bridges are 2.5 times more, Beenken said. A 10-cent increase, which has been proposed, would cover only the most critical needs, he said.

The county association wants to see a gas tax increase, which admittedly will just be a Band-Aid, he said. There needs to be a discussion about a long-term vision for infusing more money into county road systems, Beenken said.