Project: Interstate 29

1.0 Synopsis

2.0 Background

2.1 Location & Transportation Connections

Interstate 29 is an important north/south route extending through the Midwestern United States beginning in Kansas City, Missouri at a junction with Interstates 35 and 70 and terminating at the Canadian border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba Provincial Highway 75 via the short Manitoba Provincial Highway 29.

Construction of I-29 in Iowa was initiated in 1957, with segments in Council Bluffs and Sioux City completed by 1958, and the last segment completed in 1973. The highway generally follows ?Military Road?, a historical route from the 1800's, which followed a former buffalo trail. The corridor is also part of the Lewis and Clark Trail.

Interstate 29 intersects with north-south Interstate 35 in Kansas City. It runs concurrent with east-west Interstate 80 in Council Bluffs, Iowa and with east-west Interstate 680 for ten miles between Council Bluffs and Sioux City. I-29 also intersects with US 20 and Highway 60 in Sioux City.

The Union Pacific Rail Road is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska and many containers entering the country through Pacific Coast ports are offloaded in Omaha onto trucks to reach markets along I-29 and I-80. The Union Pacific also provides extensive rail service in Iowa, with one of its 21 service units located in Council Bluffs within a few miles of I-29, and connections to Sioux City. The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway run parallel to I-29 from the Missouri border to Council Bluffs

Both Sioux City and Council Bluffs have commercial air service. The Omaha, Nebraska airport, located across the Missouri River from Council Bluffs, also provides air service to the corridor.

The Missouri River is used for water transportation by businesses throughout the I-29 corridor and east into Iowa. Barges are used to ship many agricultural products produced in the region. Both highway and rail are used to ship goods to water ports along the Missouri.

2.2 Community Character & Project Context

I-29 passes through two metropolitan areas ? Omaha-Council Bluffs, which includes Mills, Pottawattamie, and Harrison Counties, and Sioux City, which includes Woodbury County. Sioux City is the commercial center of the upper Missouri River region. Despite these metropolitan areas, the corridor is primarily rural in nature, with vast fields of corn and soybeans. In addition to corn and soybeans, livestock and food processing are important to the local economy, even though stockyards in Sioux City closed during the 1970's and 1980's as just-in-time delivery systems replaced them. In the 1980's and 1990's, changes in the US economy, primarily agricultural mechanization and a decline in manufacturing, slowed population growth and shifted employment composition to include a stronger retail and service presence. Between 1969 and 2002, farm employment declined from 12% of total employment to approximately 5% while services increased from 19% of employment to nearly a third.

Corridor population was stagnant between 1969 and 2002 while the state grew by 4.5% over the same period. Despite the lack of population growth, employment in the both the region and the state grew much more quickly over the 33-year period, 33% and 48%, respectively. Woodbury and Pottawattamie Counties have led this growth, while employment in the more rural counties has been slower. Farm employment decreased by almost 50% between 1969 and 2000, primarily as a result of mechanization. Retail and services have grown rapidly, while employment in manufacturing has seen modest growth.

3.0 Project Description & Motives

I-29, a four-lane lane, limited access freeway, was designed to provide north-south interstate access through the upper Great Plains to Canada, with the Iowa portion serving as a key route conveying corn, soybeans and other grains and agricultural products to markets around the world. The total cost of the Iowa section of highway was $434,984,004 (2008 $). I-29 replaced the old US 75 in Iowa. The highway is now touted as a ?NAFTA Superhighway.?

4.0 Project Impacts

4.1 Transportation Impacts

4.2 Demographic, Economic & Land Use Impacts

In the Sioux City area, the highway is credited with attracting retail development in southeast Sioux City. Over fifty new businesses opened near the southern most I-29 interchange in the city, compared with just one commercial business opening north of the city. At least two large shopping centers employing approximately 2,900 people are located near I-29 interchanges. Five industrial parks have opened along the I-29 corridor, housing several trucking and warehousing firms that rely on the interstate access as well as access to Highway 60 and US 20. According to the Siouxland Interstate Regional Planning Council, an estimated 5,600 industrial, trucking and warehousing jobs in the corridor likely chose their location in part because of access to I-29.

Council Bluffs is in the Omaha metropolitan area and benefits from its close proximity to that city. Council Bluffs has successfully attracted three casinos employing more than 2,000 people, which draw customers from across the United States. While the interstate is a contributing factor to the decision of casino operators to locate in the city, the state's casino legislation is the primary reason. The original casino legislation only allowed riverboat casinos, and locations on the Missouri River were ideal locations. In more recent years, casino legislation has been changed to allow land-based casinos (after Illinois decided to allow such businesses). Two of Council Bluffs' casinos are land-based and located at I-29 interchanges. The casino operators depend on the interstate to provide access to their sites.

Council Bluffs has also seen an increase in retail as a result of the access provided by I-29, allowing the region to capture shoppers from more rural areas. Two major retail facilities that have opened include the Mall on the Bluff (approximately 1,300 employees) and the Lake Manawa Power Center (big box), with a total of 2,700 jobs. The Metro Crossing Shopping Center will open soon, adding an additional 1,300 retail jobs. In addition to access provided by I-29, spinoff from the casino business and access to Omaha provided by I-80 are major contributing factors to the success of retail centers in Council Bluffs. In addition to retail, there are a number of intermodal industries located in Council Bluffs because of the combination of highway, rail and water transportation options in the city.

Mill County has successfully attracted some businesses because of its access to I-29. A & M Green Power, a major John Deere sales and service chain business, is breaking ground on a new facility at exit 35, which will employ 56 people. The company was looking for a location in Iowa or Nebraska, and chose the Iowa location in part due to its highway access. Bunge North America, the largest soybean processor in North America, located a facility at exit 34 approximately 12 years ago, and now employs 130 people at the facility. Biovance, a feed manufacturer, recently relocated to the county from eastern Iowa. The company, which has 16 employees, relocated to the Omaha metropolitan area because the owner of the business is from Omaha, but chose the Mill County location due to proximity to I-29. Lone Mountain Trucking, a truck leasing operation with 10 employees also chose its location based in part on interstate access, and a Harley Davidson dealership (approximately 15 employees) relocated from Red Oak, 30 miles to the east, to have better highway access.

Monona County has attracted Westendorf, a manufacturer of agriculture-related equipment with 125 employees, to an I-29 interchange. Woodbury County's planning department is currently planning an industrial park south of the airport, but needs permission from the county for a new interchange with I-29 to make the park accessible. Two businesses attracted to Harrison County due to interstate access include Carry-On Trailer, a manufacturer of utility trailers and accessories with 150 employees, and Quality Liquid Feeds (25 employees), a manufacturer of liquid feed for livestock. QLF also chose the location for its good rail access.

In addition to the retail, industrial and transportation businesses discussed above, many businesses serving tourist and truckers using I-29 have developed around interchanges. These include service stations, lodging facilities, convenience stores, and restaurants. These businesses employ approximately 1,500 people.

Based on interviews and data analysis, a conservative estimate of the number of jobs created in the corridor because of the access to I-29 is 8,500 to 9,000. This figure is considered conservative because the road was completed more than 35 years ago, and many of those interviewed do not have knowledge of the earlier impacts of the roadway.

5.0 Non-Transportation Factors

The nation-wide farm crisis in the 1970's and 1980's, and the decline of the railroad industry had significant impacts on the corridor economy. There is speculation that as NAFTA achieves tariff liberalization for agricultural products such as corn, I-29 will facilitate opportunities for local economic growth as corn is shipped to Mexico where it is a dietary staple, helping to bolster the economy of this corn-growing region.

Several jurisdictions offer Tax Increment Financing and other financial incentives that have played a role in attracting new development to the area. Further, new highway improvements, such as the Highway 60 bypass which connects the Sioux City region north to Minnesota, and the US 75 bypass that connects I-29 to US 20 have both been cited as important factors for opening up retail markets in the city. In the Council Bluffs area, the new I-80 bridge across the Missouri River to Omaha has supported economic growth.

Much of the land in close proximity to the corridor is within the Missouri River flood plain, inhibiting development. Also, land outside the urbanized areas does not have sewer and water services, making development more expensive and difficult.

6.0 Resources

6.1 Citations

Economic Development History of Interstate 29 in Iowa, US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration,

6.2 Interviews

Organization

Footnotes