5500 Westown Parkway, Suite 190
West Des Moines, Iowa 50266

515-244-0779

SECONDARY ROAD PROJECTS

ANNUAL ROAD PROGRAMS

All physical assets, such as bridges, culverts, embankments, paving and traffic controls, continually deteriorate, requiring that a certain percentage thereof be renewed every year. In addition, the opening of a new plant or relocation of a state highway can create the need to upgrade roads to accommodate new traffic. Thus, county road departments, along with all other road agencies, have a constant need to identify upcoming needs, initiate projects, conduct surveys, perform design work, let contracts, and inspect new work as it is built.

To accomplish this, each county maintains engineering staff and tasks them with the job of selecting, preparing and administrating construction projects. This work flows in the following sequence:

  • Inventory key assets and assess their present condition and deterioration rates and determine which ones will soon fall below serviceability standards.
  • Identify road and bridge projects to replace or renew the aging assets when they come due.
  • Combine these projects into "road programs" declarations of how the public's money is proposed to be invested.
  • Conduct field surveys and begin the design work.
  • Develop plans and specifications for each project.
  • Obtain clearances for cultural, environmental, and historical impacts; obtain permits for flood plain construction, water impacts, obtain erosion control; secure authorization for plans to deal with endangered species, and complete any archaeology that may be needed
  • Acquire right-of-way, negotiate work permits from utilities, the DOT, and railroads
  • Prepare bidding documents and let a contract
  • Inspect the work in the field as it is performed and issue progress payment vouchers as work is accomplished.
  • Take possession of the new / replacement asset from the contractor and put it in service.

Iowa county road departments always have a sequence of future projects "in the hopper". By law, they are listed in both a "County Five Year Program"; and a Federal aid "Transportation Improvement Program". These project lists are updated and reapproved annually by the County's Board of Supervisors, the Iowa DOT and the FHWA.

The following summary gives an overview of the number, extent and projected costs of projects planned in the latest road programming.

Contact your local county engineer to find out more about the projects planned for your county.

Iowa Secondary Road and Bridge Projects Planned for 2024-2028

Dollars in millions

Work Code Number of projects Local funds Farm to Market Special funds Federal Aid funds SWAP funds Category total
 
Structures
Bridges 1,208 $144.91 $29.90 $130.32 $268.19 $20.88 $594.20
Pipe Culverts 157 $13.74 $2.85 $0.88 $0.00 $0.50 $17.97
Box Culverts 344 $40.74 $8.20 $3.90 $25.75 $2.07 $80.66
 
Grading
Clear and Grub 2 $0.01 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.34 $0.35
Excavation 95 $20.01 $16.63 $26.16 $3.00 $0.00 $65.79
Miscellaneous 4 $0.00 $0.55 $3.70 $0.00 $0.00 $4.25
 
Roadway surfacing
Granular 46 $3.21 $9.99 $3.97 $0.00 $0.00 $17.17
Bituminous Seal Coat 32 $2.00 $9.59 $1.60 $0.00 $0.00 $13.19
HMA Paving 566 $126.86 $412.20 $108.00 $109.32 $1.91 $758.29
PCC Paving 204 $79.41 $159.59 $61.22 $41.66 $0.20 $342.08
Stabilized Base 3 $0.06 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.06
Patching 3 $1.20 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1.20
 
Roadside
Shoulders 14 $4.12 $0.87 $0.80 $0.00 $1.13 $6.92
Erosion Control 2 $2.30 $0.35 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $2.65
Tile Lines 4 $0.10 $0.25 $0.00 $0.35 $0.00 $0.70
Right of Way 45 $2.17 $0.00 $2.13 $0.00 $0.00 $4.30
Miscellaneous 7 $1.38 $0.44 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1.82
 
Safety
Signs 1 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.09 $0.09
Pavement Markings 20 $0.00 $2.63 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $2.63
Lighting 2 $0.07 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.07
 
Statewide totals 2,759 $442.29 $654.04 $342.68 $448.27 $27.12 $1,914.39