US 63 Designated on Commercial Industrial Network
The Highway 63 Coalition continues to keep the project on the minds of policy makers both at the state and federal level. (photo by Ginger Allsup)
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Transportation Commission voted Tuesday to designate 97 miles of US 63 from Oskaloosa to Waterloo as part of the Iowa Commercial Industrial Network.
The Iowa Commercial Industrial Network exists to connect economic growth areas and carry a significant amount of the state’s commercial traffic.
Area businesses and government representatives from the four county area formed the East Central Iowa Transportation Coalition (ECITC) several years ago as awareness has grown that our existing roads were not meeting the demands of high traffic counts, Over the years, they have traveled to Des Moines and Washington DC to create awareness and worked with the DOT to demonstrate the 97-mile stretch between Oskaloosa and Waterloo meets the CIN criteria.
In addition to seeking CIN designation, the ECITC is studying US 63 to determine what improvements can be made to better support business retention and growth in the area between Oskaloosa and Malcolm.
A 97-mile stretch of US 63 between Oskaloosa and Waterloo was designated as part of the Iowa Commercial Network by the Iowa Department of Transportation this week. It was the only part of a 1,286-mile US 63 corridor from Wisconsin to Louisiana not on a commercial network.
“Highway redesign is needed to provide safer and more efficient travel for area businesses and residents,” said Mahaska County Engineer Jerry Nusbaum. “Improvements will likely include wider lanes and fewer hills and curves,” he said.
“The CIN designation will help US 63 qualify for additional funding streams to build improvements, if we meet traffic demand criteria,” said Nusbaum.
To qualify for the CIN the group demonstrated US 63 in east central Iowa:
a) has high levels of commercial traffic. Average truck traffic is 17 percent while average truck traffic is 12 percent.
b) connects businesses to regional, national and international markets and connects Iowa to major urban centers and surrounding states. Manufacturers in the area rely on US 63 to transport raw and finished goods.
c) connects area businesses to nine interstate highways in the US.
d) provides north/south access eliminating the need to use US 218 or I-35 for connectivity.
In order for the DOT to approve designation of US 63 as part of the CIN, the ECITC worked with Iowa legislators expand the CIN mileage cap of from 2500 to 2600. Senator Tom Rielly sponsored a bill in the Senate to increase the cap and Representative Guy Vander Linden provided leadership in the Iowa House to help get the bill passed.
“The CIN designation and highway improvements will benefit 300,000 Iowans who live within 25 miles of the 97-mile stretch of US 63 now designated,” said Beth Danowsky, Chair of the ECITC.
“The newly designated CIN highway we are studying for improvements will better serve area businesses and help attract new companies to the area,” said Danowsky.
Manufacturers in the study area (Mahaska, Marion, Poweshiek and Wapello counties) generate annual sales of $3.6 billion and support an annual payroll of nearly $607 million.
