DOT officials tell Senate Transportation committee about roughly $148 million FY27 paving program; members express concern for state‑system share

Matt, the Iowa safety design program manager for the Agency of Transportation, told the Senate Transportation committee that the fiscal 2027 paving program carries an appropriation of approximately $148 million, an increase of about $45 million from the prior year. He said the program’s rough distribution for FY27 is about $70 million for the interstate, roughly $45 million for the state system (including NHS and non‑NHS routes), and about $8.5 million for class 1 town highways.

Committee members questioned why the FY28 column in the department’s materials appeared to drop (one slide showed a $72 million decrease). Staff said that apparent dip resulted from pulling projects that had been slated for later years into FY27 construction cycles. "The $72,000,000 was artificially low just because we didn't have enough time for logistically backfill," a department official said, explaining the timing, not a permanent reduction. The department and the chief engineer said a working assumption for planning in FY28–29 is a roughly $100 million annual floor once timing and federal support are accounted for.

Members pressed staff on longer‑term implications for the non‑interstate state system. One lawmaker asked, "So does the 1% at the bottom mean we're paving once every hundred years?" Staff clarified that a single‑year 1% figure on the slide represented the share of the network expected to be touched in 2028 and stressed that a $100 million program sustained in perpetuity would yield deteriorating network conditions. The department said the program aims to keep 'very poor' interstate condition under 5% and maintain an internal target for the state system (described in presentation slides) to limit very poor condition to a higher threshold for non‑interstate roads.

Staff described how pavement miles are measured differently by system: interstate work is counted in 'barrel miles' (each direction counted separately), while state and town highways are counted by centerline miles. That measurement difference affects reported miles paved and percent‑of‑network calculations.

Officials also underscored that federal funding uncertainty is the largest wild card: federal highway authorizations and appropriations drive roughly 80% of program resources, and staff said they could not reliably forecast out‑year federal levels until authorization outcomes are clearer. The department directed members to an online condition map (referred to in the briefing) that shows tenth‑mile condition segments and to follow‑up materials the agency will provide on the project pipeline and which projects were moved between years.

The committee said it will return to the pavement pipeline and distribution questions at a later meeting before finalizing related budget decisions.