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SECTION O. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
Transportation facilities are a part of the infrastructure needed to
support and maintain the existing economic development efforts including the
importing and exporting of goods, commuter traffic and recreation. To
accurately plan for the future transportation needs of Lee County, an
inventory of existing facilities has been prepared and analyzed.
Transportation facilities
connecting all the residents of Lee County to the entire county and its
incorporated communities is important, but just as these areas are important
to the residents of Lee County, the connection of Lee County to other
regional service centers is important to business and industry. For this reason, the transportation inventories
will examine the transportation facilities for vehicular, freight, air, rail,
public, and recreation.
In developing this section it was necessary to study the relationship
between service centers and their users.
Following is a brief discussion of specific elements, their users, and
their importance.
COMPOSITION
County Roads
As in Table 30 shows, in Lee
County, 76.6 percent of Lee County roads are gravel roads with 532.5 miles,
while the 1.8 percent of the roads are paved and only have 127.1 miles of
roads.
Table:
30: Roads in Lee County, Miles
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Roads
in Lee County in Miles
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Dirt
roads
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14.5
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Gravel
roads
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532.5
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Bituminous (seal coat)
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21.5
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Paved
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127.1
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Total
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695.6
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Source: Iowa DOT
Highways
Two major highways serve Lee
County: Highway 61 and 218, both of which travel north and south through the
county.
Railroads
Three fright railroad
companies, which include the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company
(BNSF), Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS), and Keokuk Junction Railway
Company (KJRY) serve Lee County.
Amtrak provides passenger rail service to Lee County with the
Southwest Chief route running between Chicago and Los Angeles, which stops in
Fort Madison.
Burlington
Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF)
Following
the merger of Burlington Northern and Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe
railroads in September of 1995, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
Company began operations in Iowa. The
company is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.
BNSF tracks total 33,353 miles (710 of which are in Iowa) and covers
28 states, making it one of the largest railroads in the United States. The railroad employs 42,887 people. The railway handles mostly coal, grain,
intermodal containers and trailers, chemicals, metals and minerals, forest
products, automobile, and consumer goods.
Norfolk Southern Railway
Company (NS)
When the Norfolk and Western
Railway and the Southern Railway company merged in June of 1982, the Norfolk
Southern Railway Company was formed.
NS is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia.
Miles operated by the railroad
equal 14,423 in the Southeast and Midwest of the United States as will as in
Ontario, Canada. Forty-four miles of
track operate in Iowa, mostly by trackage rights on the BNSF. The railroad employs 24,668 people. NS handles mostly coal, chemicals,
paper/forest, inter-modal, agricultural, metal/construction, and automotive
products.
Miles operated by the railroad
equal 14,423 in the Southeast and Midwest of the United States as will as in
Ontario, Canada. Forty-four miles of
track operate in Iowa, mostly by trackage rights on the BNSF. The railroad employs 24,668 people. NS handles mostly coal, chemicals,
paper/forest, inter-modal, agricultural, metal/construction, and automotive
products.
Keokuk Junction Railway Company
(KJRY)
The Keokuk Junction Railway
Company was created in 1980 when 4.5 miles of Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific Railroad yard track in Keokuk was purchased. Six years later, the railroad expanded by
purchasing the line between Keokuk and La Harpe, Illinois from the Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Then in
1996 KJRY was purchased by a short-line railroad holding company called
Pioneer Railcorp. The headquarters
for Pioneer Railcorp is in Peoria, Illinois and Keokuk Junction Railway
Company has a main office in Keokuk.
The railroad operates 30 miles of track, only one
of which is in Iowa. It employs 19
people, with 17 working in Iowa. It
serves as a switching carrier in Keokuk, interchanging with the BNSF and
handles mostly food products, grain, and coal.
Rail Passenger Service
The Southwest Chief Amtrak runs
between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California making a stop in Ft.
Madison. Both of these routes operate
over the BNSF tracks. Depot in Ft.
Madison is located at 1601 20th Street. Passengers cannot obtain schedule information or make
reservations by calling or going to their depots.
Transit Services
There is currently no county
wide bust service for the general public in Lee County; however, there are
limited public transit services within Fort Madison and Keokuk as well as
transportation services for persons with specified disabilities. Lee County is also served daily by Amtrak
rail service and Trailways intercity bus service.
Designated
Regional Transit System
The Ten-Fifteen Transit system
based in Ottumwa, Iowa is the officially designated transit service provider
for Lee County as well as ten counties to the northwest. 10-15 Transit offers modified fixed routes
and limited 24-hour advance registration demand-response service. Their toll free number is
1-800-227-6390. Charter service is
available in accordance with charter guidelines outlined by the Urban and
Mass Transit Association (UMTA) and the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Modified fixed-route service is
usually scheduled to meet the needs of the elderly and disabled. Service is to be available to the general
public on an equal basis. Wheelchair
lift equipped buses are used on all routes.
Programs receiving services
provided by Ten-Fifteen Transit include:
Ø
Lee County Works - Transportation is provided for
this program located at the Great River Regional Waste Authority in Fort
Madison that employs persons with disabilities.
Ø
Bridgeway Services - This service provides
transportation for persons living in both
Fort Madison and Keokuk to attend the Bridgeway employment services
program in Keokuk five days per week.
Ø
Medical Transportation - Transportation is provided to
hospitals and clinics on a fee per ride basis. Persons requiring out of town medical services who are on the
Medicaid program may have their costs paid by Medicaid.
Ø
Hope Haven - Hope Haven in Burlington is
a private organization that provides job training and employment services to
handicapped persons. 10-15 Transit provides client transportation to the
program and some other work sites daily from Lee County.
Residents of Fort Madison and
Keokuk may purchase local rides or trips to Iowa City on a limited schedule
from the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission of Burlington. Their toll free number is
1-866-753-5107. Private taxi
companies also operate in these two towns.
River Access
Barge
Terminal Locations
Lee County has one barge
fleeting service: Hall Towing Co. out
of Fort Madison.
Hall Towing (River Mile 382.0)
This terminal is located at
1618 20th Street in Fort Madison.
They can be reached by telephone at 319-372-3078, by fax at
319-372-1719, or e-mailed at halls383@interl.net. The contact person is Denise or Jay Boyer. Don F. Hall is the owner of the
facility.
Gateway
Terminal (River Mile 362.4)
This terminal is located at Commercial at “K”
Street in Keokuk. They can be reached
by telephone at 800-524-5426, by fax at 319-524-2348, or by e-mail at gatewayt@interl.net. The contact person is Travis Rudd, VP
Terminal Operations. The owner of the
facility is W. E. Caldwell.
Roquette
America, Inc. (River Mile 363.0)
This terminal is located at 1 Progress Street in
Keokuk. They can be reached by
telephone at 319-524-5757, by fax at 319-526-2403, or by e-mail at
grain@roquetteamerica.com. The
contact person is Tom Seibert. Their
office address is 1417 Exchange Street, Keokuk, IA 52632. The owner of the facility is Roquette
American, Inc.
ORBA-Johnson
Transshipment Co. (River Mile 371.0)
This terminal is located at
3257 Mississippi River Road in Montrose.
They can be reached by telephone at 319-524-6841, by fax at
319-524-6843, or e-mail at coaldock@interl.net. The contact person is Breen Turley. The owner of the facility is ORBA-Johnson Transshipment Co.
Colusa
Elevator Co. (River Mile 390.3)
This terminal is located at
2136 Green Bay Road in Wever. They
can be reached by telephone at 319-372-7852, by fax at 319-372-7855, or by
e-mail at njhuston@interl.net. The
contact person is Nick Huston, Branch Manager. The owner of the facility is Colusa Elevator Co.
Air Services
There are two municipal
airports in Lee County; The Keokuk Municipal Airport, located at 2504 340th
Street north of Keokuk; and the Fort Madison Municipal Airport, located at 50
Airport Road in Fort Madison. Both
airports are classified as level 2, primary general aviation. Currently, there are no commercial
airlines operating out of either airport.
The closest commercial airport is the Southeast Iowa Regional Airport
in Burlington.
Fort Madison Municipal
Airport
The Fort Madison Municipal Airport is located on the north edge of
town just west of 303rd Avenue, at 50 Airport Road and is owned by the
city. Its classification is Level 2,
primary general aviation. Commercial
airlines do not operate out of this airport.
There are two runways. One is
4,000 feet in length with a cement surface.
The other is 2,000 feet long with a turf surface. Nine aircrafts are based at the Fort Madison
Municipal Airport. These planes are
single and multi-piston. There are
five hangers with four stalls in each, none of which are privately owned. Besides the hangers, there are no other
buildings on airport property.
Services available at the airport include fuel, storage, charter, and
flight instruction. This airport does
not play a military role, however, it could be taken over by the military due
to the amount of tax dollars that have been put into it.
Keokuk Municipal Airport
The Keokuk Municipal Airport is
located at 2504 340th Street in Keokuk and is owned by the
city. Its classification is Level 2,
primary general aviation. Commercial
airlines do not operate out of this airport.
There are two runways, a primary and a crosswind runway. The primary runway is 5,500 feet in length
and 100 feet wide, with a PCC surface.
The crosswind runway has a length of 3,801 feet and a width of 100
feet, also with a PCC surface.
Twenty-one single-engine aircrafts are based at Keokuk Municipal
Airport, along with 5 multi-engine aircrafts and 1 jet. There are 10 hangers at the airport, of
which two are privately owned. Three
of the hangers are used for maintenance.
Services available at the Keokuk Municipal Airport include fuel,
airframe repairs, power plant repairs, itinerant storage such as hangers and
tie-downs, and other services such as charters, flight instruction, airplane
rental, and sales. This airport does
not play a military role.
ENHANCEMENTS
In the future, the area will rely much more on tourism,
especially on eco-tourism. The county offers a wide variety of activities for
the people in all ages that cannot be found in the growing urban areas. People will come to the area to get away
from city life and enjoy the “rural lifestyle." People also come to enjoy the unique
recreational opportunities the Mississippi River can offer. Many of them will also visit the
historical sites in the region.
Trails
The Iowa Department of
Transportation (IDOT) is planning to construct a recreational trail in the
right-of-way along a portion of the Fort Madison Highway 61 Bypass.
The county is fortunate in
having a stretch of road with average daily traffic of 1,000 or more with a 6
foot paved shoulder or bicycle lane, which is the Great River Road spanning
between Keokuk and Montrose.
Numerous trail projects are
being planned and should be completed within the next five years. One of the projects include a trail
running adjacent to the Fort Madison bypass of Highway 61, with two or three
trails branching from it into the community and possibly northward towards
West Point. Also effecting Fort
Madison is current planning towards the extension of Great River Road bicycle
accommodations between Montrose and Fort Madison. In addition, Keokuk recently began preliminary planning towards
a trail system in that community.
It is a future goal shared by
the region to eventually have a region-wide trail system that connects Mount
Pleasant, Burlington, and Fort Madison into Geode State Park.
IMPROVEMENTS
County
Roads
Lee County currently has a 5-Year Improvement Plan for transportation
improvement projects throughout county.
The county can refer to this document for more detailed look into the
proposed improvements for the next five years.
Highways
Currently, the Iowa Department of
Transportation (IDOT) is improving Highway 61 from two lanes to four
lanes. The only portion of the
improvement left to do is the bypass around the City of Fort Madison and is
projected to be completed in the next three years.
The county is also fortunate to have the
Avenue of the Saints (Highway 218) coming through the county, which will
connect the cities of St. Paul, MN with St. Louis, MO. This improvement from a two-lane highway
into a four-lane, multi-state interstate will benefit the Lee County area
with increased transportation and travel.
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SERVICES & INFORMATION