Loebsack looks into highway funds

By MATT MILNER Courier staff writer

March 20, 2008 12:28 am

— FAIRFIELD — Wednesday’s meeting between U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack and Iowa Department of Transportation District Engineer Brian Morrissey was one of newcomers.
Loebsack is coming to the end of his first term as a U.S. congressman, while Morrissey is in his first few months as IDOT’s district engineer. What is not new is the money crunch from rising energy costs. Higher prices hit consumers, but they also impact government projects.
“I feel that we’ve lost a project a year just the last couple of years because of the high energy costs,” Morrissey said.
“What’s the answer?” Loebsack asked.
“I’m not convinced that funding is the only answer. [We need] better ways of building, better ways of efficiencies,” responded Morrissey.
Morrissey’s district runs from Clarke, Decatur and Warren counties in the west, east to the Mississippi River at Lee County, and then north to Muscatine County. It’s a range that overlaps much of Loebsack’s Second Congressional District.
Bypasses are one of the major sets of projects in the district, especially on Highway 34. The bypasses are new construction, but they take time. Federal earmarks may help ensure a project takes place, but they do not change the basic environmental challenges and requirements involved in new construction. The Ottumwa bypass opened last fall, while the bypass at Fairfield should open this year.
Loebsack regularly travels through the district. He said those experiences have taught him which roads are in good condition and which are not. Pothole repairs and complete resurfacing are needed on a number of roadways. That is true any year, but the recent harsh winter has exacerbated the problems.
Morrissey said the state gives each district funding for those efforts. He estimated each district gets $10-$15 million “in round numbers.” That could be a tough stretch with the amount of damage this winter.
New projects vary depending on the funding available and the need for each project. That includes expansion of Highway 63 to four lanes, a longtime desire of Ottumwa residents. The state dropped expansion from the plans years ago amidst tight budgets. There are no plans to revive the project, but the district remains well aware of it.
“I know there’s been some discussion, that’s somewhat new to me, of four-laning. I know there’s some history there,” Morrissey said.
Drivers between Ottumwa and Bloomfield should be aware that there are plans for more resurfacing of Highway 63. This summer’s plans are an extension of the work done last year.
“North of Bloomfield we will be resurfacing that. It will hook up with what we completed last year south of Ottumwa,” Morrissey said.
The Fairfield DOT office has gotten some calls from people about the condition of county roads in the area. Winter melting savaged gravel roads throughout southeast Iowa. County roads aren’t the state’s responsibility, but Morrissey said he shares concerns of people who had to drive through severely damaged roads.
“We haven’t found that magic wand that we could wave yet and make those more passable, or found more funding that could help with that, but I sympathize with them,” he said.
The DOT said this week is the first of the 2008 construction season.
Matt Milner can be reached at (641) 683-5359 or via e-mail at mwmilner@mchsi.com