Iowa’s 5-year transportation improvement program includes billions for infrastructure projects and repairs

DES MOINES — The state’s five-year plan for transportation infrastructure features billions of dollars in planned investments in Iowa road, bridge, aviation and railway infrastructure, construction and repair projects.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is in the process of completing the annual update to its 2026-2030 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program. A draft of the program was presented at a recent Iowa Transportation Commission meeting; it is now available for public comment and is scheduled to be considered for approval at the commission’s meeting on June 10.

The five-year plan, which also includes public transit and trail projects, covers transportation infrastructure on the state highway system, including all interstate, U.S. and Iowa roads. Other roads fall under the jurisdiction of cities and counties, each of which has their own program.

“The Transportation Improvement Program, basically it documents the investments in Iowa's multi modal transportation system. So that includes not only highways, but includes aviation, public transit, railroads and trails also,” said Shawn Majors, director of the Iowa DOT’s Program Management Bureau. “We develop it annually, and it includes highway and bridge projects over a five-year period. This is our way of documenting our investments in the system.”

The program is updated annually to reflect planned investment and expected revenue from the state and federal government.

  Buy Photo

“This is, like I said, an annual process that we go through and there’s challenges every year with balancing a program and taking the amount of needs that you have and balancing that with limited revenue,” Majors said. “So it’s an ongoing process.”

Majors said the state is entering the final stages of the transportation funding boost that resulted from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. He said 2026 is the final year for the extra federal funding from that bill, which boosted federal infrastructure funding to Iowa by roughly 20 to 30 percent annually.

Majors said the extra funding allowed the state to add projects to its program. However, inflation absorbed some of that extra funding’s impact, especially in 2023 and 2024.

“It was great to get all the money, but then it got soaked up by inflation. Then you come back and you’re basically trying to keep on balancing that program with increased costs,” Majors said. “That was the challenge last year, and this year now inflation is kind of settled down.”

5 notable highway projects

Among the major highway projects on the state’s five-year plan that many Iowa drivers will recognize:

  Buy Photo

Here are some by-the-numbers highlights from the draft version of Iowa’s 2026-2030 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program. All figures are according to the Iowa DOT and, unless otherwise noted, cover the program’s full five-year span. The full report can be viewed at the Iowa DOT’s website, iowadot.gov.

$4.3 billion

The amount of state and federal funding forecast to be invested in Iowa highway and bridge projects.

$3.8 billion

The amount planned for investment in safety upgrades to state highways and bridges.

$71 million

Total state and federal aviation funding in the 2025 budget year in the program.

$3.5 million

State funding awarded to nine state recreation trail projects in the 2025 budget year.

26

The number of bridges on the state system in poor condition in 2025, down from 256 in 2006. For years, Iowa rated among the worst states in the nation for structurally deficient bridges. This number is for bridges on the state system only and does not include bridges on city and county systems that may be in poor condition.

47.1 percent

The share of highway project work over the next five years that is classified as “pavement,” the largest share. “Structures” account for the next-highest share of work, at 34.7 percent.

  Buy Photo

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com