AMES, Iowa – May 12, 2026 – The Iowa Department of Transportation presented the Iowa Transportation Commission with the draft Fiscal Year 2027 - 2031 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program at its meeting today. The draft Program documents investments in Iowa’s multimodal transportation system covering aviation, public transit, railroads, trails, and highways.
The Program is developed and approved annually by the Commission and includes specific highway and bridge projects anticipated to be constructed over the next five years on the state highway system made up of all Interstate, U.S., and Iowa signed routes. All other roads in the state are under the jurisdiction of individual cities and counties and each local jurisdiction develops their own program of highway, road, street, and bridge construction projects.
Program overview
The highway and bridge projects included in this draft Program are funded with approximately $4.2 billion of state and federal funding forecast to be available over the next five years. Projects included in the Program are consistent with the goals and objectives of the State Long-Range Transportation Plan and identified following a detailed evaluation of safety, traffic, congestion, condition, and other data. This assures the projects are those necessary to provide modern, safe, and efficient transportation of goods and the traveling public.
The Commission prioritizes investments that improve the safety and condition of existing state highways and bridges, and this draft Program includes approximately $3.9 billion of investments in that area. Significant investments in bridges have been made over the last 19 years dropping the number of poor condition bridges on the state highway system from 256 in 2006 to 28 in 2025. This draft Program includes nearly $1.8 billion of additional bridge investments.
The interstate system connects all transportation systems in Iowa and facilitates the efficient movement of freight within, to/from, and through Iowa. This draft Program invests in projects that add capacity where necessary, replace major river crossings, and modernize interchanges to improve safety and to handle future traffic demands such as:
- Interstate 35 six-lane improvements in Polk and Story counties
- I-80 border bridge replacement over the Mississippi River in Scott County
- I-35/I-80/I-235 Southwest Mixmaster modernization in Polk County
- I-380 improvement from Swan Lake Road to 120th Street in Johnson and Linn counties
- I-35 bridge replacement and widening at the U.S. 30 interchange in Story County
- Addition of 49 truck parking spots at interstate rest areas
Additional projects in this Program that address capacity, safety, and operational needs include:
- Transportation system resiliency improvement projects on Iowa 21 near Belle Plaine, I-29 in Pottawattamie County, and U.S. 6 in Jasper County
- U.S. 67 border bridge replacement over the Mississippi River in Scott County
- Iowa 175 border bridge replacement over the Missouri River in Monona County
- Super-2 improvements on U.S. 18 in Kossuth and Hancock counties
- Super-2 improvements on U.S. 34 in Monroe County
- U.S. 75 north of Sioux Center to the south junction with U.S. 18
- U.S. 34 west of Iowa 149 to west of West Junction of U.S. 63 in Ottumwa
- Iowa 7 west of 70th Avenue to east of 80th Avenue in Buena Vista County
- U.S. 20 and Northwest Arterial intersection in Dubuque
- Iowa 1 bridge over the Iowa River in Iowa City
- U.S. 75 intersections at County Roads C-80 and C-70 in Plymouth County
- Iowa 122 reconstruction in Mason City
- Iowa 12 Gordon Drive Bridge replacement in Sioux City
- Iowa 58 Greenhill Road interchange construction in Waterloo
- U.S. 151 interchange construction with County Road X-20 at Springville
- U.S. 30 interchange construction at 610th Avenue at Nevada
- U.S. 30 intersection improvements in Boone County
- U.S. 30 Missouri Valley bypass construction in Harrison County
- U.S. 61 widening in Des Moines and Louisa Counties from Burlington to Iowa 92
- U.S. 63 Oskaloosa bypass construction in Mahaska County
The draft Program is posted and available for public comment on the Iowa DOT's website https://iowadot.gov/program_management/Five-Year-Program. The Commission is scheduled to consider approval of the Program at its meeting to be held on June 9.
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For questions or comments about the draft Fiscal Year 2027-2031 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program contact Matt Chambers, Iowa DOT’s Program Management Bureau, at 515-239-1409 or matthew.chambers@iowadot.us.