Department of Public Safety announces third arrest in ongoing DOT theft case
A third person has been arrested in an investigation into a plot that allegedly allowed a former Iowa Department of Transportation employee to pocket money from sales of the department’s land. State...
View ArticleIowa DOT boss Trombino will head 10-state transportation group
Iowa Department of Transportation Director Paul Trombino III was named president of the Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials at the organization’s recent annual meeting in...
View ArticleIowa DOT plans text-blocking app for teen drivers
Teen drivers will be prevented from texting behind the wheel with a new smartphone app planned by the Iowa Department of Transportation. The state agency is in the process of choosing a high-tech firm...
View ArticleSaturday marked one of deadliest traffic days since 2003
A series of fatal crashes Saturday marked one of the deadliest days on Iowa highways in a decade, transportation officials said Tuesday. In all, eight people died in four unrelated crashes. The last...
View ArticleWhy are so many cars with Iowa plates parked in Brooklyn, N.Y.?
Why are all those rental cars with Iowa license plates hogging so many parking spaces along the streets in nice neighborhood of Victorian homes in Brooklyn, New York? That’s a question Joel Siegel,...
View ArticleBlue means stop; New lights go up in one Altoona intersection
Police in Altoona have a new tool to catch drivers who run red lights. Blue lights that turn on when the signal turns red have been installed on traffic arms at one intersection. The lights, visible...
View ArticleIowa DOT seeks commerical sponsors for interstate highway rest areas
Commercial sponsors could soon be coming to Iowa’s 37 interstate highway rest areas. The Iowa Department of Transportation has posted a request for proposal for private firms to pay money to sponsor...
View ArticleUpdate: I-235 open, traffic still slow
Three lanes of Interstate Highway 235 closed due to an accident this morning and now back open but eastbound traffic remains slow, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The three right...
View ArticleConstruction to affect stretch of I-35
A construction project will cause overnight alternating lane closures on a stretch of Interstate Highway 35 beginning Sunday, officials said. The project will be in the northbound lanes between Exit...
View ArticleWestbound I-235 entrance ramp at 63rd Street to close for construction
Road construction work on westbound Interstate 235 at the 63rd Street interchange (exit 4) in Windsor Heights is requiring the closing of the westbound entrance ramp, according to the Iowa Department...
View ArticleNew recruits to State Patrol, DOT begin training today
Fifteen recruits to the Iowa State Patrol and Iowa Department of Transportation motor vehicle enforcement division began their training today. They’ll hit the roads in 20 weeks. Iowa State Patrol Sgt....
View ArticleWill you hit a deer this year? Odds are 1 in 73 in Iowa
Let’s say you’re driving Iowa Hwy. 5 near Knoxville. You see a shudder in the weeds and out pops a deer, bounding across the shoulder and merging into your lane, failing to signal and heedless of your...
View ArticleDOT proposes rules for traffic cameras
Cities and counties wanting to install traffic enforcement cameras on Iowa highways and jurisdictions with existing systems will have to justify their use to the Iowa Department of Transportation under...
View ArticleIowa DOT will disable computer laptops when officers are driving patrol cars
Iowa Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday they are installing devices that will disable laptop computers when state motor vehicle enforcement officers are driving their patrol cars....
View ArticleState auditor finds another $195,000 in allegedly improper disbursements in...
State Auditor Mary Mosiman on Monday reported her staff has identified an additional $195,350 of allegedly improper disbursements, improper disability benefits and uncollected lease payments in a...
View ArticleIowa DOT establishes online museum to mark century of state transportation...
The Iowa Department of Transportation, which is observing the state agency’s 100th anniversary, has established an online museum to showcases artifacts, architecture, arts, and awards from its history....
View ArticleI-235 entrance ramp set to reopen
The westbound entrance ramp to Interstate 235 at 63rd Street in Windsor Heights is scheduled to reopen at 7 p.m. today. The interchanged had been closed for construction. Road work on the westbound...
View ArticleIowa DOT suggests taxing tractor fuel, raising car/truck sales taxes, instead...
Iowa farmers could no longer buy tax-free diesel fuel to operate their tractors and other farm equipment under a list of alternatives offered by the Iowa Department of Transportation to raising the...
View ArticleIowa DOT, police chiefs, at odds over speed cameras, red light enforcement...
Police chiefs from some of Iowa’s biggest cities are adamantly against proposed state regulation of automated traffic enforcement cameras, but the state’s top transportation official believes law...
View ArticleBranstad dodges question on paying for $360 million U.S. Highway 20 project...
A decades-long push to complete U.S. Highway 20 as a four-lane corridor across northern Iowa has the support of Gov. Terry Branstad, but the state’s chief executive on Monday dodged a question on...
View Article1 dead, 1 critically injured in Warren County crash
Iowa State Patrol investigators are uncertain when a fatal crash that killed one and critically injured another in Warren County happened. Iowa Department of Transportation workers discovered an...
View ArticleMan hit by car while crossing Fleur Drive Wednesday morning
A man was struck by a car while crossing Fleur Dr. Wednesday morning, according to a report from the Iowa Department of Transportation. The driver, a 29-year-old woman, told police she was driving...
View ArticleNo plans at Iowa Statehouse for Transportation Summit to address road funding...
Don’t expect Gov. Terry Branstad to call a “Transportation Summit” to address the state’s road funding troubles, although the Republican chief executive plans keep the issue alive for the 2014...
View ArticleChuck Offenburger, Fairfield Loop Trail, honored at Midwest trails conference
Former Des Moines Register columnist Chuck Offenburger has been honored at the 2013 Mid America Trails and Greenways Conference in Matteson, Ill. for his work on behalf of the Raccoon River Valley...
View ArticleState drops charges against Sioux City businessman in DOT theft case
The Iowa Attorney General’s office has dropped all criminal charges against Grady Marx, 60, a Sioux City businessman who had been accused of involvement in the alleged theft of more than $500,000 from...
View ArticleInterstate 35 Southbound reopened after damage to bridge
Interstate 35 southbound near Cummings has reopened after being closed off when a piece of construction equipment caused damage to a bridge, according to state patrol officials. A skid loader, a type...
View ArticleIowa DOT to start issuing 8-year driver’s licenses Jan. 1
The Iowa Department of Transportation will begin issuing eight-year driver’s licenses starting next year, officials said Monday. New legislation allows the DOT to transition from five-year licenses to...
View ArticleSnow to fall across Iowa on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
Mother Nature will ring in the new year by dumping some snow across Iowa, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologists predict two to three inches of snow to fall on central Iowa on New...
View ArticleIowa DOT plans to replace bridge on Beaver Drive over I-35/80 in Des...
The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting on Jan. 14, to discuss the proposed bridge replacement on Beaver Drive over Interstate 35/80 and Beaver Creek in Polk...
View ArticleCash-strapped Iowa DOT unveils new logo; says cost will be “below $100,000″
The cash-strapped Iowa Department of Transportation, which says it doesn’t have enough money to fix the state’s crumbling roads and bridges, is unveiling a new logo which will have implementation costs...
View ArticleKey Democratic lawmaker criticizes Iowa DOT’s spending on “fancy” new logo
Sen. Tod Bowman, D-Maquoketa, who chairs the Iowa Senate Transportation Committee, said Monday that plans by the Iowa Department of Transportation to spend money implementing a new state agency logo...
View ArticleIowa lawmakers appear unlikely to raise gas tax in 2014 session
It appears unlikely that the Iowa Legislature will approve an increase in the state’s gasoline tax during the 2014 session that convenes Monday, say Gov. Terry Branstad and key lawmakers. Iowa’s road...
View ArticleLane of I-80 open again near Waukee
A lane of Interstate Highway 80 near Waukee has reopened to traffic, officials said. The eastbound right lane was closed from Exit 113 to Exit 117 due to an accident, according to the Iowa Department...
View ArticleIowa Bicycle Summit set for Jan. 24-25 in Des Moines; RAGBRAI route...
The 10th annual Iowa Bicycle Summit will be held Jan. 24 and 25 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, officials announced Friday. A key focus will be on bicycle facility designs on a small-scale...
View ArticleBranstad OK with spending up to $100,000 on new DOT logo
Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he has no objections to plans by the Iowa Department of Transportation to spend up to $100,000 over five years to introduce a new state agency logo. Critics have...
View ArticleIowa Department of Transportation officials to discuss Beaver Drive bridge...
Iowa Department of Transportation officials will be available to meet with Johnston residents tonight to discuss a project that would close the Beaver Drive bridge over Interstate 80 for around eight...
View ArticleWind chill advisory in effect for most of Iowa until noon Tuesday
UPDATE 10:45 p.m.: The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory for most of Iowa until noon Tuesday. The wind chill advisory includes all of the state except for eight southeastern...
View ArticlePleasant Hill looking into negotiations with DOT on property near U.S....
Pleasant Hill City Council members met Tuesday in closed session to discuss the purchase of property just east of the U.S. Highway 65 bypass. After returning from the closed session, Councilman Len...
View ArticleFormer Congressman Boswell appointed to Iowa DOT Commission
Gov. Terry Branstad said Wednesday he has appointed former U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell to the Iowa Transportation Commission, which is the policy-making arm of the Iowa Department of Transporation. The...
View ArticleDOT adds traffic cameras
The Iowa Department of Transportation has added cameras to two commuter corridors, officials said. Interstate Highway 35 from Ankeny to Ames and US Highway 30 from Ames to Nevada now feature the...
View ArticleIowa GOP Chair Spiker: Gas tax hike is “the creature that just won’t die!”
A.J. Spiker, chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, is adopting a strong stance against the revival of a proposed 10-cent-per gallon increase in the state’s gasoline and diesel fuel taxes. “Forget...
View ArticleOfficials respond to more than 100 accidents since storm began
Des Moines police responded to 16 accidents this morning and 87 since the winter storm began, officials said. West Des Moines, Clive, Urbandale and Norwalk police responded to a combined 25 accidents...
View Article18 Iowa communities getting billboards deploring crumbling roads, bridges
The Iowa Good Roads Association, a coalition that represents businesses, farm groups and local governments, is spending $100,000 on a public relations campaign aimed at urging state lawmakers to...
View ArticleState panel refuses to block new Iowa DOT rules governing speed cameras, red...
New regulations from the Iowa Department of Transportation governing the installation of automated traffic enforcement cameras will take effect next week, despite strong opposition from police...
View ArticleMeeting set on Highway 316 bridge project in Runnells
State transportation officials will hold another public meeting on March 25 to discuss a bridge deck replacement project on Iowa Highway 316 in eastern Polk County. The meeting will be held from 5 –...
View ArticleIowa House panel OKs bill raising speed limit for mopeds
A bill increasing the speed limit for mopeds won initial approval in the Iowa House on Monday, moving it closer to clearing a procedural deadline looming later this week. The measure, Senate File 2192,...
View ArticleSioux City files lawsuit against DOT over new speed, red light camera rules
New regulations enacted by the Iowa Department of Transportation in February make it “impossible” for Sioux City to use speed cameras along Interstate Highway 29, according to a lawsuit filed in...
View ArticleWindsor Heights drops lawsuit against DOT over speed cameras
The city of Windsor Heights has dropped its lawsuit against the Iowa Department of Transportation over automated traffic cameras due to new rules governing their use, according to the city’s attorney....
View ArticleMile Long Bridge to close for months-long repair project beginning Monday
The Mile Long Bridge over Saylorville Lake will close Monday and reopen before Memorial Day weekend, according to an Iowa Department of Transportation news release. Due to repair work, the bridge will...
View ArticleConstruction to cause U.S. 65 lane restrictions through November
Construction of two bridges near the Des Moines River in Polk County will require lane restrictions on U.S. Highway 65 for months beginning Monday, according to an Iowa Department of Transportation...
View Article
