Greene County engineer Wade Weiss at the June 23 county supervisors’ meeting reported what he and supervisor Joe Gannon learned at a meeting with Iowa Department of Transportation director Scott Marler last week.
The 90-minute meeting was about the future of Highway 30, particularly the section between Ogden and Carroll, and wondering if the resurfacing underway now between Ogden and Grand Junction is the last project planned. “We’ve waited our turn for something to be improved for over 30 years,” Weiss said, referring to efforts to widen the road to four lanes or a “super two” with frequent passing lanes.
“It all comes down to revenue. We all understand that. I deal with that every day,” Weiss said, adding that it would cost $1.5 billion to make Highway 30 four lanes across the state.
He said his understanding was that the road would never be four lanes across the state, but following the meeting he is reassured that leadership at the IDOT understands capacity and safety. “That’s what I’m more concerned about, is safety,” Weiss said. “Between Carroll and Ogden it’s very difficult to find a safe place to pass.”
He said the Highway 30 Coalition is staunch supporters of a 4-lane Highway 30 rather than a super two. He personally would be agreeable to a super two, or finding a way to have slower drivers pull off the road to allow vehicles to pass.
