Dive Brief:

• If Congress and the president can push into law a reauthorization of the MAP-21 transportation legislation and a plan to refuel the coffers of the Highway Trust Fund, Iowa knows what it wants to do for 2015-2019.
• The state's transportation commission approved a $2.7 billion plan on Tuesday that covers roads, rails, trails and transit.
• More than $1.2 billion of the plan is for maintenance, modernization and safety improvements on the state's highways.

Dive Insight:

Because much of Iowa's road and highway construction projects are funded by the federal government, there is a significant amount of uncertainty surrounding the plan. In particular, federal authorization for transportation construction funding expires at the end of September and the federal highway trust fund is close to running on empty. If neither issue is remedied, Iowa officials say they will need to make dramatic changes to its current transportation spending plan.