Iowa receives $35 million for three infrastructure projects

DES MOINES — Iowa will receive $35 million in federal infrastructure money for bridge and road improvements across the state, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.

The funding will be split among three projects:

•$24.8 million to replace nine bridges across the state

•$10 million to rebuild Main Street in Cedar Falls between University Avenue and Sixth Street

•$300,000 to evaluate approaches to improving infrastructure connecting downtown Clear Lake to Interstate 35.

The money is part of the federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, grant program, which was expanded under the bipartisan federal infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed last year. Nationally, the department awarded $2.2 billion in RAISE grants.

“This round of RAISE grants is helping create a new generation of good-paying jobs in rural and urban communities alike, with projects whose benefits will include improving safety, fighting climate change, advancing equity, strengthening our supply chain and more,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement.

The bridge replacements will be in Clay, Crawford, Henry, Lee, Lucas, Mitchell, Page, Pottawattamie and Wright counties.

According to a description of the projects from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the changes will improve freight mobility in the counties that connect farms to the supply chain and create options for non-motorized travel.

In Cedar Falls, the grant will go toward a project to rebuild a stretch of Main Street in Cedar Falls, converting the street from a four-lane road to one lane in each direction with a center turn lane.

The street also will include bike lanes and Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible sidewalks and trails. Some intersections will be converted to roundabouts.

The $10 million adds to the $5.55 million in pandemic relief funds and Surface Transportation Block Grants the city will dedicate to the project. The whole project is expected to cost $30 million and be complete in summer 2025.

Cedar Fall City Administrator Ron Gaines called securing the grant a “tremendous achievement.”

“The entire process is very competitive and there are a lot of deserving projects across the country, so to be a recipient is a huge accomplishment,” he said in a statement. “It is truly a testament to the work of our city staff and their dedication to improving our community. We also appreciate the support of Iowa Sens (Chuck) Grassley and (Joni) Ernst as well as Rep. (Ashley) Hinson, which helped make this possible.”

In Clear Lake, $300,000 was awarded to a planning project to solicit community feedback and conduct a study to evaluate the Fourth Avenue South corridor, which connects the lake to Interstate 35.

The evaluation will examine ways to modernize the infrastructure, including developing trails, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and adding electric vehicle charging stations, according to the DOT.

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