For nearly three decades, the Highway 30 Coalition has been working to four-lane one of Iowa’s busiest roadways for the entire 331-mile stretch across the state. While there has been slow and steady progress over the last 30 years, including the highway between Marshalltown and Ames and implementing the state’s 10-cent gas tax to finance such efforts, Coalition President Adam Schweers says they’ve started to meet resistance at the state level.
Schweers says the shift in priorities at the DOT Commission level is frustrating but not surprising, considering none of the seven-person board’s commissioners live near the Highway 30 corridor. The last significant work on Highway 30 was completed in 2019, when a four-lane route from Ogden to Lisbon was completed, leaving the entire western half of the state and a notable gap near Iowa’s eastern border. Schweers says there are multiple reasons to go statewide, ranging from traffic safety to economic development.
Schweers adds he’s sat through countless seminars and meetings with site selectors for companies considering expansion who say the lack of nearby access to a four-lane highway is a disincentive for businesses to move to a particular town or region. He says the coalition is not guaranteeing that towns won’t get bypassed by a future four-lane highway, but they are advocating for a similar plan to Highway 20’s corridor, which passes through many of the communities on the route by necking down the road where necessary. The current trend from the DOT is to turn Highway 30 into a “Super 2,” which adds passing lanes and turning lanes but does not provide the same benefits as a divided highway. Schweers says there is a push at the statehouse to correct the DOT’s direction.
Schweers says the state’s focus has been on metro areas in recent years, and he’s concerned rural Iowa will be neglected in transportation issues if that trend continues. He encourages Iowans to contact their legislators and the governor’s office to show their support for a four-lane Highway 30. A study by Snyder & Associates found this effort would bring an estimated $770.5 million benefit to the state at a cost of $663.3 million. More information is available at the Highway 30 Coalition website, hwy30coalition.com.
