News Release

 

Freight demands in Iowa exceed all projections

AMES, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) report that freight movement in the state has exceeded the imagination and all projections of early road planners.

Who could have envisioned in the early 20th Century, when the emphasis was on getting Iowa “out of the mud,” that more than 350 million tons of freight valued at nearly $390 billion would be traveling on Iowa 's public roads system?

Even in the 1950s when the interstate was conceived and designed, no one projected the volume of freight that would eventually move on Iowa 's public roads system. Nor did they truly understand the vital role that roads would contribute to Iowa 's and the nation's economy.

This past June marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the federal act that established the Interstate Highway System. Following its passage, the Iowa State Highway Commission (predecessor to the Iowa DOT) estimated the amount of traffic that would use the interstate. Today, those numbers seem unbelievable.

It was predicted that by 1975 less than 1,000 trucks would travel Interstate 80 daily between Iowa City and Davenport . In reality, by 1975 almost 5,000 trucks traveled that stretch of highway each day. Today, the daily traffic count has risen to over 11,000 trucks or 11 times the original estimate, causing congestion never anticipated.

Continued growth in the volume of freight traffic is expected. By 2020, it is projected that large-truck travel in Iowa will increase by 50 percent. Currently, 88 percent of all large truck travel is on the interstate and other primary highways. It is expected that most of the future large-truck traffic will also occur on these routes.

City and county roads also play a critical role in the movement of freight by connecting farmers and ranchers, retailers, manufacturers, and other businesses with local, regional, national, and international markets.

While vital to our economy, the large volume of freight traffic on Iowa 's public roadways comes at a cost. Roads and bridges subject to these increased demands are deteriorating at an accelerated pace. And, it's becoming increasingly difficult to address the maintenance and improvement needs due to rising construction costs and flattening revenues.

The Iowa DOT recently released a report --- “Study of Iowa's Current Road Use Tax Funds (RUTF) and Future Road Maintenance and Construction Needs” --- that documents the future needs of Iowa 's public roads system and makes recommendations to assure the most critical needs are addressed. To view a copy of the report, go to www.iowadot.gov and click on the TIME-21 logo.

To further explore freight movement issues and opportunities, the Iowa DOT and Iowa Department of Economic Development are co-hosting a one-day “Moving Iowa Forward Conference,” Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007, at the Embassy Suites in Des Moines. The purpose of the conference is to bring together economic development officials with users and providers of the trucking and rail systems. The goal of the conference is to identify how these transportation systems interact, and how users can maximize the services of these systems to grow their businesses and strengthen Iowa 's economy. For more information about the conference, go to www.iowalifechanging.com/transportation/transportation.pdf.

 

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