Iowa's deteriorating transportation system costing motorists $2 billion per year

DES MOINES — More than a fourth of Iowa's major urban roads and highways and 13 percent of the state's rural roads are in poor condition, and driving on those roads costs Iowa motorists $2 billion annually, according to a report released Wednesday by a national non-profit research group.

The state of those roads will only decline without a 'significant' boost in transportation funding, according to the report from TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based national transportation organization.

The report comes as Iowa lawmakers are debating whether to increase the state's gas tax by 10 cents to help cover the estimated $215 million annual shortfall in its road repair and construction budget.

A similar report from the American Society of Civil Engineers will be published next week.

'The reality is there's simply not enough transportation funding to meet all the needs of (Iowa's) transportation system,' said Carolyn Bonifas Kelly, TRIP's associate director of research and communications and one of the study's authors. 'Addressing Iowa's need for a safe, efficient, well-maintained transportation system will require a significant boost in transportation funding and investment levels.

'In order to improve road and bridge conditions, enhance safety and promote economic growth here in Iowa, this state's residents and elected officials must make transportation funding a top priority.'

Kelly said although the organization recommends an increase in transportation funding, it does not endorse a specific mechanism, such as the gas tax increase under consideration in the Iowa Legislature.

The study was compiled using federal and state data road and bridge conditions, plus traffic data from a Texas-based national transportation research group.

Opponents of a 10-cent gas tax increase have accused reports like TRIP's of exaggerating the condition of the state's roads and bridges.

Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, said farmers see the deteriorating road conditions every day.

'We get anecdotal information all the time about the road closure or the bridge closure that requires me to drive six miles to get to my field,' Hill said. 'We feel it when we drive our vehicles. You don't have to drive through Iowa very long to notice the potholes and the problems we have. Engineers and inspections, the data is all there.'

Hill said drivers will recover any increase in fuel costs resulting from a gas tax increase by having to spend less on vehicle maintenance caused by rough roads. According to the TRIP study, Iowa's deficient roads cost drivers $935 million in increased gas use and tire wear, $380 million in extra gas and time lost because of traffic congestion and $654 million as a result of crashes.

Ken Gard, who farms east of Sioux City, was one of the more than 200 Iowa Farm Bureau members who visited the Capitol on Wednesday to press lawmakers to support the gas tax increase. Gard said many rural roads and bridges are in dire need of repair.

'I see a lot of bridges in the rural areas that cannot hold semi loads of grain anymore,' Gard said.