Tami Bailiff

This document, the State Transportation Plan, serves as a comprehensive guide for the Iowa Department of Transportation's investment decisions and policies across all transportation modes through the year 2020. Developed through the 'Iowa in Motion' public input process, the plan outlines specific investment directions and improvements for aviation, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, highways, intermodal connections, pipelines, rail, transit, and waterways. The strategic direction is guided by five core themes: safety, preservation, efficiency, economic development, and balance, aiming to provide adequate, safe, and efficient transportation services that address Iowa's changing needs.

The Iowa in Motion 2050 State Transportation Plan outlines the financial reality of transportation funding, projecting costs and revenues across various modes including aviation, bicycle and pedestrian, highway, public transit, and rail. It identifies potential funding shortfalls and their implications for the transportation system, emphasizing the need for adequate funding to achieve the system's vision. The plan explores possible ways to generate additional revenue and proposes principles for sustainable and equitable funding mechanisms to address these financial challenges through 2050.

This document outlines the Iowa Department of Transportation's Rightsizing Policy, a key component of the Iowa In Motion 2050 State Transportation Plan. The policy defines rightsizing as optimizing investment levels to avoid over- or under-provisioning of transportation assets and services, thereby maximizing returns for multimodal system users. It formalizes and institutionalizes practices across ten critical areas: project needs, comprehensive system needs, stewardship priority, system stratification, equity, resiliency, congestion management, emerging technologies, speculative development, and interchange access. The plan aims to balance individual project needs with overall system benefit to achieve a financially sustainable and responsive transportation network.

This document outlines the Iowa Department of Transportation's 'Transportation 4.0' strategy, a new statewide initiative developed in conjunction with the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The strategy focuses on supporting economic development by enhancing the safety and efficiency of moving goods, particularly within manufacturing, agriculture, and bioscience industries, with an emphasis on freight corridors. Key strategic areas include leveraging artificial intelligence and advanced analytics, advancing highway planning, promoting transportation system resiliency and sustainability, improving energy and alternative fuel infrastructure, developing roadway digital infrastructure, optimizing right-of-way use, enhancing freight design and superload route compatibility, and fostering emerging freight technologies. The plan aims to integrate technologies and policies to achieve these objectives.

The Commission meeting addressed numerous administrative rules items, primarily focusing on the rescission and adoption of new chapters related to various transportation funds and assistance programs. Key actions included the approval of rescission for Chapters 924 (Public Transit Infrastructure Grant Program), 923 (Capital Match Revolving Loan Fund), 922 (Federal Transit Assistance), 921 (Advanced Allocations of State Transit Assistance Funding), 822 (Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Fund Program), and 821 (Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Surface Repair Fund). For several chapters, the Department recommended rescission because the content was deemed redundant or better handled via guidelines posted on the Department's website, despite receiving some public comment regarding the continuation of certain programs. The meeting also included the approval of the minutes from the January 13, 2026, Commission Meeting.