The Eighty Mile Struggle

For those of you not from Iowa or most specifically from the Northwestern part of Iowa this post may fall on deaf ears. This is more of a regional story and one that cause my rant level to hit warp factor ten. It involves the completion, or lack thereof, of the four-lane expansion of Highway 20. It is infuriating to know that while the politicians down at the state house argue over meaningless pork projects that the last eighty miles of road remains unfinished. This is not a new story. This battle to complete the expansion of the highway to four-lanes has been languishing for many years and the end is not in sight. That last point is particularly disheartening to someone who makes the journey from Sioux City to Fort Dodge regularly. Not only would the expansion dramatically reduce the travel time from city to city but business expansion is being held back by the hold up. Many a time have I been stuck behind a convoy of big rigs sucking diesel exhaust with little recourse as passing points are as infrequent as a Republican in San Francisco. And the delay in completion is bringing with it more problems as with every passing year the price of the project projects to go up. Right now the figure to complete the undertaking is about five million dollars a mile. I was more than a little amazed at those figures until I saw that the costs will increase if the project is not finished soon. And soon is rapidly becoming a fixture in the rear view mirror as only a fraction of the money needed for the project has been appropriated. I know that in the grand scheme of things this is not a hugely important issue. But if you find yourselves living in the Northwest part of Iowa you will find yourselves drawn to this issue. When you find yourselves behind an endless stream of semis and blue-hairs maybe you will appreciate our plight here in the heartland.