Governor Culver and Lt. Governor Judge believe a modern, safe, and reliable transportation system is key to moving Iowa forward.  Throughout their administration, they have worked hard to not only improve Iowa’s roads and make our bridges safer, but also invest in other modes of transportation, such as rail, bicycle/pedestrian, aviation, and public transit.  Iowa is investing in all forms of transportation, and the Culver/Judge Administration will keep on working to make sure Iowans have the best transportation system in the nation.

• The Culver/Judge I-JOBS initiative resulted in $115 million of additional funding for all modes of transportation, including highway, rail, bicycle/pedestrian, aviation and public transit.  This included the first modern day appropriation for passenger rail.
• Governor Culver is committed to the expansion of passenger rail service in Iowa. In addition to securing the first modern day appropriation for passenger rail funding, Governor Culver has signed two Memorandums of Understanding with other Midwestern governors to work together as a region to expand passenger rail service in a coordinated manner.  This cooperation will maximize and enhance Iowa’s opportunity for federal passenger rail funding. 
• Governor Culver has aggressively pursued Recovery Act funding for transportation and the timely use of those funds.  This has resulted in over $400 million coming to Iowa and with more yet to be announced. 
• Under Culver/Judge leadership, Iowa was the third state in the country to meet the initial congressionally mandated requirement for obligating highway Recovery Act funding and Iowa was ranked second by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in how fast the highway Recovery Act funding was put to work.
• Governor Culver signed Senate File 2420 April 22, 2008, which resulted in additional funding for roads and bridges for the TIME-21 Fund.  This bill will result in an estimated $400 million of additional highway funding for the Department of Transportation and all cities and counties from FY 2009 through FY 2013.
• To rebuild Iowa’s flood-damaged transportation infrastructure, $4 million of Rail Revolving Loan and Grant Program funding was awarded in 2008 to Iowa shortline railroads in the form of long-term, no-interest loans.  In addition, Iowa sought and received in 2009 $9.6 million of federal funding to repair/replace flood damaged rail infrastructure.
• Approximately $5 million of highway and rail economic development funding has been targeted in 2007-2009 to infrastructure improvements that support Iowa’s renewable fuels industry (i.e. wind energy, ethanol, and biodiesel).  In addition to supporting Iowa’s energy independence goals, this investment has supported the creation of approximately 600 jobs and almost $2 billion of capital investment.