Requiring the construction and maintenance of rumble strips on certain highways

Description

House File 2004 requires any governmental entity which exercises jurisdiction over a highway to construct and maintain rumble strips on certain highways. Under the Bill, rumble strips are required in advance of all stop signs and traffic-control signals located on a highway where the highway enters or crosses a primary highway. However, rumble strips are not required on unpaved highways, on highways inside the limits of any incorporated city, or on highways with a speed limit of less than 55 miles per hour.

The Bill may include a State mandate as defined in Iowa Code section 25B.3. Provisions that relieve political subdivisions from complying with an unfunded State mandate (Iowa Code section 25B.2) do not apply to the requirements in HF 2004. Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with any State mandate included in the Bill.

Background

The Road Use Tax Fund (RUTF) allocates funding for road construction to the Primary Road Fund, secondary and farm-to-market roads (counties), and city streets. Current law allocates 47.5% of the RUTF to the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), 32.5% to counties, and 20.0% to cities. The DOT administers projects funded through the Primary Road Fund. In FY 2019, the RUTF collected and distributed revenues of $1.760 billion. Of the total, $847.4 million went to the Primary Road Fund; $490.1 million went to counties. Additional details regarding the distribution of RUTF revenues are available in the LSA’s Factbook document. Political subdivisions also provide funding for road construction from local sources such as property taxes, local option sales taxes, and other funding sources.

Assumptions

• The DOT estimates that 90 intersections under the control of the DOT that do not currently have rumble strips will require rumble strips.
• The DOT estimates that each intersection will require two rumble strips at a cost of $5,000 per intersection.
• It is assumed that Iowa counties will be required to install 693 rumble strips. The Iowa County Engineers Association (ICEA) has collected information from 73 counties. On average, each of the counties that has responded identified seven legs that will require the installation of rumble strips. It is assumed that the 26 counties that have not responded will also average seven legs requiring rumble strips.
• The ICEA estimates that installation of rumble strips will cost roughly $1,500 per roadway leg. The ICEA states that costs will fluctuate based on the type of pavement and panels being installed and with the mobilization required for disparate locations.

Fiscal Impact

House File 2004 is estimated to cost the Primary Road Fund an additional $450,000 for the installation of rumble strips on primary highways. In addition, the Bill is estimated to cost Iowa counties $1.0 million for rumble strip installation on county roads throughout the State.

Sources

• Legislative Services Agency
• Iowa Department of Transportation
• Iowa County Engineers Association