QTS to pay for improvements to rural roads near Cedar Rapids data center development

CEDAR RAPIDS — Data center developer QTS will fund rural Linn County road improvements near its Cedar Rapids development as part of a newly approved deal with the county.

The Linn County Board of Supervisors on Monday unanimously approved a road use agreement with the tech company in light of wear-and-tear sustained along rural roads in the area since the start of construction.

QTS’s data center project is taking place within Cedar Rapids city limits at the Big Cedar Industrial Center, although construction crews frequently use nearby county-managed roads to acquire and deliver materials.

“These roads see a typical amount of traffic per year, and then when these large construction projects come in, they significantly increase traffic (in general) and then the type of traffic from just passenger vehicles or farm equipment to heavy loading trucks,” said Curt Logan, assistant Linn County engineer.

“It’s important that the county and the engineering department get a road use agreement that says … if you want to use our roads, we need to come up with an agreement that satisfies everybody’s needs,”

QTS began construction earlier this year on its $750 million, seven building data center campus in southwest Cedar Rapids. The project will be done in two phases, with completion of the first phase in 2026 and a second phase being completed about a year later.

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The road use agreement outlines plans for QTS to provide just over $117,000 in backpayment for road damage already incurred in the area as well as plans for future improvements and road maintenance to keep up with increased traffic counts.

QTS has already paid to have a portion of Cherry Valley Road paved, and its attention will turn next to paving Maple Grove Road from Wright Brothers Boulevard to Linn-Johnson Road and Linn-Johnson Road between Maple Grove Road and the Four County Quarry entrance.

Board chair Brandy Meisheid noted the risk of increased speeding on paved roads versus unpaved, to which Logan said the county is conducting speed studies in the area to determine if and where speed limits and/or enforcement should be revised.

Additionally, QTS will be expected to post and maintain a payment and performance bond to ensure it can cover any future improvements necessitated by the increased traffic.

The county will draw upon that bond to make any additional repairs associated with road damage from the development and to account for wear and tear along Wright Brothers Boulevard and Lefebure Road from increased traffic.

QTS will not be responsible for funding routine upkeep on those roads such as grading, snow removal or scheduled maintenance that would otherwise be expected on similar county roads.

Supervisors unanimously approved the agreement, with Supervisor Kirsten Running-Marquardt noting that the terms allow for continued development without placing costs associated with that development on Linn County taxpayers.

“This is an important piece to show that we care more about the quality of life for our residents than we do … any other sort of business,” she said. “We can have development in the county, but (we want) it to be done responsibly,”

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