In accordance with 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 450, and in response to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the Freight Roundtable again formed the Goods Movement Study Working Group (GMS Working Group) and initiated an update of the 2002 Goods Movement in the Des Moines Metropolitan Area Study (2002 GM Study) in Summer of Fiscal Year 2006.  Former Waukee Mayor Tony Oberman chaired the GMS Work Group that included participants from several companies that rely on freight movement and freight transportation companies.  The Des Moines Area MPO received and accepted the 2006 Goods Movement in Central Iowa and the Des Moines Metropolitan Area Update Report (2006 GM Update Report) at its August 17, 2006, meeting.

The purpose of the 2006 GM Update Report is to provide updated information and analysis that complements the 2002 GM Study.  However, the 2006 GM Update Report does not replace the 2002 GM Study, but specifically focuses on intermodal and international freight movement.  Having gained an understanding of the goods movement industry in central Iowa in 2002, the Des Moines Area MPO recognized the need to address the changes, the need for improvements, and the needs of the goods movement industry within central Iowa .

The 2006 GM Update Report’s study area includes the eight central Iowa counties composing the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance (CIRTPA): Boone, Dallas , Jasper, Madison , Marion , Polk, Story, and Warren Counties .  The Des Moines Area MPO Planning Area is located in the center of these counties and overlaps portions of Dallas , Madison , Polk, and Warren Counties .

A couple of key snapshots of freight movements for all modes of transportation in central Iowa are: over 84 million tons of freight, valued over $65 billion, used central Iowa’s transportation system in 2001; about 94% of the freight tonnages were moved on the highway system, 6% on the rail network, and less than 1% on the aviation system, a ten-year forecast for freight flows indicates that there will be a 21% increase in tonnage, which correlates consistently with the national trend which is expected to almost double in the next twenty years. Undoubtedly, freight movement is making a significant impact on the transportation system and the economy in central Iowa .

The 2006 GM Update Report suggests that in response to increasing freight traffic, the Des Moines Area MPO’s new vision be more aggressive, both on pursuing an efficient freight transportation system and in promoting economic development and trade using that freight system.  The Des Moines Area MPO also should promote:

§ A greater recognition of freight and its transportation needs;
§  Economic diversity to support freight movement;
§  The Port Authority;
§  Coordination across jurisdictional boundaries;
§  Finding solutions to freight transportation inadequacies;
§  Collaboration between the Des Moines Area MPO and the Greater Des Moines Partnership; and,
§  Funding stream coordination.

Freight issues are going to be a contributing factor in the updating the Des Moines Area MPO’s long-range transportation plan.  Given the great need for infrastructure improvements, the Des Moines Area MPO must step out and take the lead to implement strategies in its planning process for freight transportation investments, in cooperation with Iowa Department of Transportation. 

For a color copy or a CD containing the report(s), please contact Dylan Mullenix at (515)334-0075 or by email at dmullenix@dmampo.org. 

Click here to view the 2006 Goods Movement in Central Iowa and in the Des Moines Metropolitan Area Update Report (PDF)


Click here to view the 2002 Goods Movement in the Des Moines Metropolitan Area Study (PDF)

As a response to the Upper Midwest Freight Corridor Study in Fiscal Year 2006, the DMAMPO worked on the Trans-Iowa/Illinois Freight Corridor Study (U.S. 34, U.S. 63,and Iowa 163) as a joint planning effort with the Area 15 Regional Planning Commission (Ottumwa, IA), the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance (CIRTPA), and the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission (SEIRPC) (Burlington, IA),and the Iowa Department of Transportation.
The study area included any county that intersects the 210 mile stretch of the Trans- Iowa/Illinois Freight Corridor from Galesburg, Illinois, to Des Moines, Iowa. The purpose of the study was to better understand the freight carrying potential of the Trans- Iowa/Illinois Freight Corridor in order to benefit local governments and private businesses moving goods in west central llinois and southeastern and central Iowa.

Following the adoption of the Trans- Iowa/Illinois Freight Corridor Study by the DMAMPO, the CIRTPA, the Area 15 Regional Planning Commission, and the SEIRPC, a Freight Corridor Consortium was created to foster communication and coordinated decision making that will aid in the preservation and development of the corridor. The Freight Corridor Consortium consists of three representatives from each of the four sub-areas identified in the Trans- Iowa/Illinois Freight Corridor Study. Areas within the DMAMPO, specifically Pleasant Hill and Polk County, and areas within the CIRTPA, specifically Jasper County and Marion County, comprise Sub-Area 1 of the Trans- Iowa/Illinois Freight Corridor. The DMAMPO is represented on the Freight Corridor Consortium by Rita Conner, City of Pleasant Hill Community Services Director.

If you are interested in more information about the Trans- Iowa/Illinois Freight Corridor Study or the Freight Corridor Consortium, please contact Dylan Mullenix at (515)334-0075 or by email at dmullenix@dmampo.org. 

Click here to view the Trans-Iowa/Illinois Freight Corridor Study (U.S. 34, U.S. 63,and Iowa 163) (PDF)

Click here to view the Trans-Iowa/Illinois Freight Corridor Study (U.S. 34, U.S. 63,and Iowa 163) Technical Reports (PDF)