The Des Moines Metro seems to be getting a lot of new bridges.
Well, the des moines metro keeps getting larger and larger, not just in area but in total population. While iowa's population has been basically flat since 1980, the Des Moines metro is up 70%. I know every time a project is proposed in the des moines area, people from the sticks are complaining on facebook comments about how the money is all going to des moines, but over 20% of the people of Iowa and over 25% of the GDP of the state are in the des moines metro alone. It makes sense that a large chunk of the state's population would see a large chunk of its projects, especially when growth necessitates new infrastructure.
Whatever happened to all our extra gas tax dollars going to fix bridges? Seems like all the big projects are widening projects.
Maintaining level of service is part of maintaining the infrastructure. With more population in des moines every year, and more people travelling the I-35 corridor between ames and des moines and vice versa, it takes projects like these to maintain service.
well....some went to finish a four lane highway in northwest Iowa....where population is stagnate...it not slowing declining..
And can i say it bugs me that that stretch got going almost instantly when the gas taxes passed, but this widening could take 20 years when it is already needed today?