Indianola council directs staff to pursue federal Safe Streets for All funding to add center turn lane on Highway 65

Indianola Mayor Richardson and council members on May 15 directed city staff to pursue a U.S. Department of Transportation Safe Streets for All (SS4A) implementation grant that would fund adding a center turn lane on Highway 65 between Highway 92 and Girard Avenue.

The direction came after AP, a city staff presenter, summarized a CERPA study called the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan that identified the city’s Highway 92 and Highway 65 corridors as part of the region’s high-injury network and listed eight priority intersections, including the Clinton and Howard intersection within the city. “There’s a very small timeline that we have to react upon and apply for this grant,” AP said. “The deadline here is on June 26, but SERPA has given us a deadline that we have to submit our list of projects by tomorrow.”

The study catalogued 36 projects across those corridors and placed them into short-, mid- and long-term categories with a total planning estimate of roughly $33,000,000: about $1,700,000 for short-term work, $4,500,000 for mid-term and $27,000,000 for long-term projects, AP said. The city staff ranked the 36 projects and presented four grant-package options for council direction. Option 4 — adding a center turn lane on Highway 65 between Highway 92 and Girard Avenue (near Burger King) — was presented as the strongest candidate for federal funding and the council’s preferred option.

AP said the SS4A implementation grants typically fund construction and that federal participation is commonly 80 percent of construction costs with a 20 percent local match; the construction cost estimates shown to the council did not include engineering fees. AP also identified an estimated construction package in the $3.3 million range for the turn-lane option and said the option would likely require additional right-of-way or easement acquisitions and coordination with property owners. “Whether it’s 5 feet equally or whether it’s 1 side of the project, there’s substantial impact on one side or something,” AP said, calling the numbers “planning numbers.”

Council members and attendees raised concerns about traffic flow, business impacts and timing. One councilmember said they were “not a fan of taking 92 down to 3 lanes,” noting effects observed in other towns; AP replied the east side of Highway 92 carries an estimated 8,000 vehicles per day compared with higher volumes on Highway 65. Councilmember Josh (identified in the meeting as a business owner) and several others argued the project should be pursued while outside funding is available. “The more we can do with outside funding is good. It would be, for me, a missed opportunity not to at least try for option 4,” Josh said.

Council discussion also reviewed local funding sources and tradeoffs. AP said the city generally sets aside roughly $500,000 per year from its Road Use Tax Fund for small capital projects and that the region’s Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) account administered through SERPA (sometimes referenced in the meeting as SDBG/STBG) typically provides about $400,000 per year into the city’s regional account. AP warned that using SERPA/STBG funds in advance to cover this project could deplete the account used for other projects (for example, Hillcrest Avenue) and could delay future STBG projects for multiple years; he said the city has the option to “borrow ahead” from that account but that would slow the account’s rebuilding. Council questions elicited a staff estimate that a full design and public engagement process plus right-of-way work could add six to nine months before construction, and the overall schedule could extend two to three years.

Council members gave consensus direction to pursue the SS4A grant with the turn-lane package. Jackie, the clerk, confirmed the council reached consensus. AP said staff will prepare the grant package and the required memorandum of understanding and will bring the grant agreement back to council for formal action if and when it is offered. AP said coordination with Iowa DOT and SERPA will be required to determine whether local match sources are eligible for the federal award.

The council’s direction was implementation guidance to staff rather than a formal ordinance or budget appropriation; if the grant is awarded, staff said the council will be asked to consider the MOU and any required match or bonding at a later meeting.

Ending AP said staff will move forward with packaging Option 4 for the SS4A application and return to council with the MOU and formal agreement when available.