Planners call for Forevergreen Road interchange in 2018

The Iowa Department of Transportation's $3.5 billion 2017-21 five-year plan includes money for a new Interstate 380 interchange at Forevergreen Road in North Liberty in 2018, according to a proposal released Tuesday.

It's the first transportation blueprint that reflects a full year's worth of funding from the Legislature's a 10-cent per gallon gas tax increase approved in February 2015.

The Iowa DOT had discussed fast-tracking the Forevergreen project. After gaining approval from the Federal Highway Administration, the Iowa DOT accelerated the interchange plans in the Transportation Improvement Program. The agency proposes $18.3 million for the interchange in 2018.

This would allow Forevergreen to be constructed ahead of the massive Interstate 380/Interstate 80 interchange replacement - a multiyear project slated for construction in 2019 - and provide a safety valve in case of an emergency.

The proposed five-year plan to improve roads and bridges on the state's highways is 9 percent larger than the $3.2 billion 2016-20 five year plan. People can review and provide feedback by visiting iowadot.gov and searching for five year plan.

The Iowa Transportation Commission will vote on the plan at its June meeting.

A combination of gas tax proceeds, vehicle registration fees and disbursements from the federal transportation budget, which is primarily funded through the federal fuel tax, pays for the plan.

Another new addition to the five-year plan is a suite of $16 million in projects on Highway 151 in Fairfax.

A $7.6 million, 4.3 mile project will repave from south of Church Street in Fairfax to north of Dean Road in 2019. And Union Pacific Railroad Bridge, Prairie Creek Bridge and spans over two ditches near Highway 30 are set for replacements.

Major projects such as the Highway 100 extension, the I-80/I-380 interchange, and a new Mount Vernon/Lisbon bypass on Highway 30 remain funded in the plan.

Key components of the five-year plan include $1.6 billion for modernization of Iowa's existing highway system and enhanced highway safety features, and $1.2 billion of investments in Iowa's state-owned bridges.

The plan is bolstered by the 10-cent gas tax increase. Over a five-year period, the Iowa DOT forecasts $513.7 million in gas tax increase proceeds.

That money is statutorily required to be spent on road and bridge projects 'critical to maintaining Iowa's transportation infrastructure and create opportunities for expanded economic activity,” according to the Iowa DOT.

The gas tax is being used to accelerate the construction of the highways 30 and 21 intersection in Benton County, as part of the four-lane transformation of 30. The Highway 30 stretch from 21 to 218 is slated for $80 million from 2017 to 2020.

Expansion of key corridors to four lanes is the primary outlet for the gas tax proceeds. Highways 20 in Sac County, 30 in Tama, Benton and Linn Counties, and 61 in Des Moines County are all slated for reconstruction to four lanes.