BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced Iowa City will receive a $300,000 grant for highway and bridge improvements. The grant comes from the Bridge Investment Program (BIP) created by the bipartisan infrastructure law, which Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) supported last year. The critical infrastructure funding from this legislation is now benefiting and improving communities across Iowa, with this latest announcement providing a funding boost for a Burlington Street/Highway 1 bridge improvement project in Iowa City.
“Unfortunately, Iowa leads the nation in the overall number of structurally deficient bridges, and that’s one of the many reasons I supported the bipartisan infrastructure law. I’m glad to see our roads and bridges are getting the updates and improvements needed to improve travel for Iowans, and I’ll continue doing my part to ensure more of Iowans’ hard-earned tax dollars come back to our state,” Grassley said.
The bipartisan infrastructure law guaranteed Iowa an overall total of $431 million for bridge repair. Specifically, this project will help fund the reconstruction of the Burlington Street/State Hwy 1 Bridge over the Iowa River, which is currently in poor condition. It provides a critical connection between east and west Iowa City, providing access for more than 26,000 vehicles and upwards of 1,500 pedestrians per day.
Funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law has already been approved for many other projects across the state. In August, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced nearly $25 million in overall grant funding for the cities of Dubuque, Muscatine and Waterloo to help complete roadway, bridge and other related projects. In July, USDOT announced five airports in Iowa will receive $27 million in overall grant funding under the fiscal year 2022 Airport Terminal Program, which was created by the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Earlier this year, the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System – which is responsible for providing rural water to northwest Iowa communities like Rock Rapids, Hull and Sioux Center – received $75.5 million from the infrastructure bill. Project leaders plan to use this investment to finish 17 miles of pipeline, construct two meter buildings and build a new pump station. On the other side of the state, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced an $829.1 million investment in lock and dam modernization projects along the upper Mississippi River – one of Iowa’s top five infrastructure improvement priorities.
Additionally, with funding from the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) has updated its five-year plan to include many other road and bridge improvement projects. These are only a few examples of many similar projects across Iowa that now have much-needed funding to finish the job due to the bipartisan infrastructure law.
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