Iowa’s rail system has dropped from 10,000 miles in 1980 to 3,800 miles today. Rail’s share of freight movement has declined to about 37%, yet railroad traffic is up 217% since the 80s. Major private railroads own about 82% of the track, and the condition of the system is well maintained. However, some main lines have become so heavily used that service levels are hard to maintain and double or triple tracking may be needed. Increasing congestion on main lines, escalating costs, and continued growth may test the rail’s ability to deliver reliable service in the future. Existing and potential passenger services often languish without consensus on how to finance them. While safety trends are better overall, new concerns regarding tank car trains emerged. While farmers save about 10 cents/bushel due to the availability of the rail system, agriculture and rail need to work together to economically deliver an ever increasing grain harvest to world markets at competitive prices.
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Aviation
Bridges
Dams
Drinking Water
Energy
Inland Waterways
Levees
Rail
Roads
Solid Waste
WastewaterA: Exceptional, B: Good, C: Mediocre, D: Poor, F: Failing, ?: Incomplete
Each category was evaluated on the basis of capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation
Aviation
78 public-use airports
Bridges
5,043 of the 24,398 bridges are structurally deficient
Bridges
$56 million in bridge funds came from the Federal Highway Bridge Fund in 2011
Dams
91 high hazard dams
Dams
23% of the state regulated dams have an Emergency Action Plan
Drinking Water
$5.9 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs over the next 20 years
Energy
10.309 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy every year, ranking it 10th
Hazardous Waste
11 sites on the National Priorities List
Inland Waterways
490 miles of inland waterways, ranking it 19th nationally
Levees
889 miles of levees
Ports
10.3 million short tons of cargo in 2012, ranking it 35th nationally
Public Parks
$3.0 million of unmet needs for its parks system
Rail
15 freight railroads covering 3,897 miles across the state, ranking 11th nationally by mileage
Roads
$935 million a year in costs to motorists from driving on roads in need of repair, which is $422 /yr per motorist
Roads
10,560 of the state’s 114,438 public roads are major roads, and 12% are in poor condition
Schools
$4.7 billion in estimated school infrastructure funding needs
Transit
21.3 million annual unlinked passenger trips via transit systems including bus, transit, and commuter trains
Wastewater
$3.4 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs over the next 20 years
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