Representatives with the Iowa Department of Transportation recently met with the public works committees in Jefferson.

It was mentioned at last week’s meeting that the DOT is seeking input about converting Iowa Highway 4 in the city limits from four lanes to three lanes. There would be a north and south bound lane that is 12.5 feet wide and a left turn lane throughout that would be 16 feet wide. Gary Kretlow with the DOT talked about the details of the kind of work that would be done, including resurfacing the current asphalt from Lincoln Way north to Highway 30.

“The safety people agreed that it’s just better to get a clean surface and restripe it that way. We’d mill off two inches and put two inches back. And then from Lincoln Way down to the south city limits, where it goes back to the two lane, that we would probably just water blast the markings off the concrete, because the concrete is still in pretty good shape for the most part through there. And then just restripe that on the concrete.”   

Crash data was also presented. Donna Matulac with the DOT said there were 75 crashes from 2018-2023 on Highway 4, with 60 of those being property damage. The highest number of crashes in that time frame was in 2022 with 22 and in 2021 there were 21 crashes. Matulac pointed out this would be considered a safety project that would reduce the number of conflict points, regulating speed and calming traffic, as well as easier access to homes, businesses and schools, and improving emergency response times, among other benefits.

Jefferson City Administrator Scott Peterson said the DOT is not requiring this project to happen, but rather the funds are available to do the project through the DOT and so they want feedback and comments.

“There’ll be lots of opportunity for public input. Whether that’s public information meeting with the DOT or I know that the city itself would be really, really interested in feedback from the community about your thoughts about this proposed four to three lane project.”   

Concerns that were raised included farm equipment taking up part of the turning lane, following behind garbage trucks, where the merger would start on either end of the city limits, among others. Peterson adds additional information will be coming to the city from the DOT in the coming months. Contact Jefferson City Hall with any comments and feedback.