Local News
IDOT hears support for four-lane highway
Residents looking to get project on a five-year plan
BLOOMFIELD — The people of Davis County had regional support this week when they plead their case before the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Transportation commissioners, who decide how IDOT money is spent, listened to supporters who asked for a four-lane highway from the Missouri border to Ottumwa during a meeting in Pella.
“I think it went well,” said Davis County Development Corp. Vice President Joy Evans. “They didn’t say they’d build us a highway right away, but we had around 35 [supporters] in orange ‘get ‘er done’ t-shirts.”
In April, IDOT official Stuart Anderson said the Missouri to Bloomfield to Ottumwa portion of Highway 63 is on the department’s long-range plans.
However, IDOT does not have sufficient funds to do the work at this time. The job remains on its list of goals. What Evans and her group wants is to have the project be put on the “five-year plan,” she said.
“It’s crucial for us, for safety and economically, to have that four-lane built between Ottumwa and Bloomfield as soon as possible,” Evans told the Courier.
The transportation committee had plenty of support, she said.
“We had [state Rep.] Kurt Swaim, who explained the regional perspective, Jonathan Krebs from Ottumwa Economic Development Corp., explained to them that to [support] the labor shed, we need to get workers up from the south,” Evans said. “Davis County Supervisor Max Proctor explained the local perspective of Highways 2 and 63; Rick Lynch, the Davis County attorney, explained the safety issues and also gave his perspective as someone who lives on Highway 63.”
At the hearing, Evans promoted the benefits of a “capital connection,” between Jefferson City, Mo., and Des Moines.
Among the regional supporters at the meeting were a representative from Chariton Valley Development and the mayor of Ottumwa.
“I think we got our message across,” Evans said.
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