From I-JOBS to fewer roadway fatalities, the Iowa Department of Transportation considered 2009 a year of positives.
The Culver/Judge Administration's $830 million, three-year economic and flood recovery program known as I-JOBS, authorized $105 million for several investments concerning job creation and road repair.
During the 2009 legislative session, $3 million was allowed for capital improvements and related studies toward expanding passenger rail service in Iowa, the first modern-day passenger rail appropriation.
Five applications totaling $441 million to the Federal Railroad Administration were submitted.
Considered a record year for road construction, the Recovery Act helped Iowa place $1.03 billion toward state and local maintenance projects.
IDOT rehabilitated 841 miles of the state's primary highways, completing 30 miles of grading for expanded roadways and the rehabilitation of various bridges.
The state also received more than $400 million in transportation funding for airport improvements, other roads and bridges, multi-use trails, bus replacements and freight rails.
As of Dec. 30, 371 individuals died on Iowa roadways during the past year.
Approximately 20 percent of those fatalities resulted in crashes where the driver was impaired with drugs or alcohol. The 10-year average for deaths caused by impairment is almost 25 percent, with last year being the second consecutive at around 20 percent.
Fewer large commercial vehicles were involved in fatal crashes last year as well. Preliminary stats show numbers could be down as much as 20 percent compared to the 10-year average.
Roadway safety features such as high-tension cable barriers (that keep errant vehicles from crossing medians), paved shoulders, and rumble strips all played a part in fatality reduction.
source of shipt: yahoo.com
Joe Simpson. January 1, 2009. “She won’t be doing interviews, promoting fragrance, selling a line of clothing or adopting children,” a source tight with the bubbly blond has said. The source also says the revitalisation plan will be subtle, and very planned out, and no plans to leak these strategies are set. “We live in the instant culture era, and this whole rehabilitation will be ruined with the wrong exposure and interpretation.” There are no plans for her to record a new album, get married, star in a television show or a feature film. "She is also not resorting to porn. You will just have to wait," says the same source.
