Opening of Tower Terrace Road interchange represents key project milestone

The opening last month of the newest Interstate 380 interchange at Tower Terrace Road, on the north edge of the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area, represents a key milestone in a transportation development plan decades in the making. And, according to local leaders, it will also pave the way for dramatic economic development as the overall […]

The opening last month of the newest Interstate 380 interchange at Tower Terrace Road, on the north edge of the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area, represents a key milestone in a transportation development plan decades in the making. And, according to local leaders, it will also pave the way for dramatic economic development as the overall 8.3 mile Tower Terrace extension project continues to move forward, albeit by fits and starts.

Interchange design and development

The new Tower Terrace Road interchange opened June 22, culminating 20 years of the project's development. Officials from the Iowa Department of Transportation and local government leaders gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the new $22 million interchange, which has been under construction for more than a year. “We’ve come a long way, baby,” said Marion Assistant City Manager Kim Downs, who was among the key leaders in bringing the Tower Terrace Road interchange to fruition during her time as Hiawatha city administrator and city manager from 2005 to 2022. Ms. Downs noted that several government agencies have been working on the Tower Terrace Road project over the past several years, including the Iowa DOT (IDOT), the cities of Hiawatha, Robins, Marion and Cedar Rapids, and Linn County. Few local officials have been engaged with the Tower Terrace interchange project longer than Ms. Downs. She highlighted several traffic studies in the past two decades, including a 2013 IDOT report that concluded a Tower Terrace interchange was justified by growing traffic numbers in the area. That report reversed findings from a similar IDOT report in 2006. The development of the Tower Terrace interchange has been closely tied to the Boyson Road I-380 interchange, which is itself set for a major upgrade beginning in the summer of 2024. Ms. Downs noted that she had been involved for several years in conversations with the IDOT because of the rapid growth in Hiawatha since the mid-2000s.

“At one point, we had 22,000 to 24,000 cars a day that were entering and exiting from that (Boyson) interchange, which it was never designed to handle,” Ms. Downs said. The situation became so severe, Ms. Downs said, that traffic would often stack up on the northbound Boyson Road exit ramp, and cars would line up on the interstate waiting to exit. “They were forming their own lanes,” she said. “That off ramp was initially meant for one lane. We had actually taken video and pictures of people hanging out on the interstate waiting to get to the off ramp, and that’s really what started getting people engaged at the DOT. But we had already done at least two interchange justification reports prior to that.” A project completed in 2017 to widen the exit ramp to two lanes alleviated the issue, but only to a certain extent, she said. Technically speaking, a Tower Terrace Road I-380 interchange was in the cards since I-380 was born. Cathy Cutler, transportation planner in the Iowa DOT’s District 6 Office in Cedar Rapids, said that when the interstate was built through Hiawatha in the mid-1970s – over some objections from city residents at the time – basic work was done at Tower Terrace Road for a future interstate interchange. “Folks could probably see those ramps, although they were never fully graded and certainly not paved,” Ms. Cutler said. “At the time, it was determined there just wasn't enough growth in the area to warrant adding an interchange.” As growth continued through the northern portion of the metro area, the case for a Tower Terrace interchange became increasingly stronger, leading to formal approval of the project in 2013. The Tower Terrace interchange uses a new diverging diamond design, which offers several safety and traffic movement advantages over other types of interchanges. In diverging diamond interchanges, left turn movements are unopposed, and the configuration results in greater ramp storage. Traffic signal timing is greatly simplified, and the cycles of the signals are shorter, according to IDOT reports. “Essentially, traffic crosses in an X pattern on either side of the overpass bridge, and that basically leads to a free-flow left turn,” Ms. Cutler said. “That enables us to not have to have multiple turning lanes, but still push a lot of traffic through the area that wants to turn left.” The design also uses less land than a traditional cloverleaf intersection due to its more compact design. The project includes $5 million from local municipalities, Ms. Cutler said. Cedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha, Robins and Linn County contributed about $200,000 in local funds, and Hiawatha and Cedar Rapids used about $2 million each from federal allocations to make road improvements on each side of the interchange – Cedar Rapids’ project from Miller Road east to I-380, Hiawatha’s from North Center Point Road west to the interstate. The projects weren’t lengthy, but they were important, Ms. Cutler said, Since the projects were intertwined, the interchange, Cedar Rapids’ project to the west and Hiawatha’s project to the east were all built under one contract, she noted.

Spirit of cooperation key to Tower Terrace development

Several local officials highlighted the exemplary, albeit somewhat unusual, spirit of cooperation among several governmental agencies that has driven the Tower Terrace Road development project, since future development will involve numerous jurisdictions. “One of the things that we knew we needed to do from the beginning was to get all of our partners at the table,” Ms. Downs said. “And that has included (the IDOT’s) District 6, the state, Cedar Rapids, Robins, Hiawatha, Marion and Linn County. “The thing that I'm definitely most proud of is the work we’ve done as a team,” she added. “Bringing in (then-DOT director Paul) Trombino at the time, bringing in District 6 … I think about our persistence, continuing to not let the conversation die, and keeping everybody at the table.  "We continue to stay engaged," she added. "Even when there’s nothing new, we’ve continued to have those conversations. We can all get really busy with other projects and responsibilities. But all the communities have had their leadership at the table.” “The beauty of this project is it's all been driven by the DOT,” Hiawatha City Engineer Jon Fitch said. “While it may seem like it’s been Hiawatha, It's not. The interchange is all DOT. We had a leg from the interchange over to North Center Point Road, and Cedar Rapids had a leg from the interchange over to Miller Road. But the DOT’s been the real driver, both in design and construction. It’s been a great collaborative project. It took all five parties to agree, and they all ponied up money to really kick start it and make sure the interchange happened.” “When you can say that five different communities came together for one thing, it's a miracle,” Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said. “We have such terrific momentum. We were just actually with (DOT officials) in Washington, D.C. over the last few days, and it is always so helpful for us to say ‘oh, by the way, we just did this really successful project in our region and we want more of that,’ and they see how smoothly it goes and say ‘how can we help?’ We really are at a great point in history.”

Economic development opportunities set to expand

Completion of the Tower Terrace Road project would bring a myriad of opportunities to every community along the route, local officials agree. “Certainly over the last year, we're starting to get more phone calls as that interchange has been getting ready to open (regarding) what opportunities are there from land that's going to be available,” Mr. Fitch said. “Over the last year and a half, residential development on the north side and the west side of the interchange has been moving very quickly, because people see (Tower Terrace) as a quick way to get on and off. And from the commercial side, we've had some inquiries as to what land is available for commercial development. You don’t know what type of businesses those are until it happens. Cedar Rapids on the west side has lots of development. They've had inquiries for new development, mostly residential. Robins has a new development going on the north side of Tower Terrace Road near Robins Road. And it's really starting to gain momentum now from an economic standpoint of what's available for commercial development, because as with any interchange, it’s a matter of who’s going to jump first.” Ms. O’Donnell agreed with Mr. Fitch’s assessment. “Anything we can do to make our region more attractive, not only to new businesses that want to come here, but the people want to be inside these businesses and this type of momentum and progress, is a really strong signal to people looking for a place that's on the move,” Ms. O’Donnell said at the Tower Terrace Road interchange ribbon-cutting. “I was really interested in hearing about the other cities that have this very same interchange design, and the new innovation and the sustainability that comes with all of this in our current day. And when you look at the other regions that have this exact interchange, it's Waukee, it’s Ankeny. It’s not an accident that those are among our fastest growing communities. So, it sends a strong signal.” One key development along the proposed Tower Terrace Road extension route remains in limbo. Hy-Vee had announced plans more than a decade ago for a new store near the intersection of C Avenue NE and the extended Tower Terrace Road. As approved by the Cedar Rapids Planning Commission in 2012, plans called for an 80,000-square-foot store, which could be expanded as needed, along with a Hy-Vee convenience store and gas station and a car wash.  Hy-Vee still owns the land, Hy-Vee spokesperson Tina Potthoff said, but “we do not have any definitive timeline or project start date to announce at this time.”

Status of RAISE grant

For the fourth time, the Tower Terrace Road extension project was denied a grant June 28 through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, a federal program to fund investments in surface transportation infrastructure that will have a significant local or regional impact. The project had been rejected for a federal grant on three previous occasions, most recently in 2022, when the application ended up fourth on a priority list that saw the top three finishers receive funding. As in past years, the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization had applied for a $25 million grant to propel the overall Tower Terrace project, with a projected overall cost of $97 million, toward completion. About $56 million is still needed to fund the project’s remaining portions. Ms. Downs said every federal grant application, including this year’s version, has incorporated more than 120 letters of support from area businesses and organizations, a volume not generally seen by federal agencies. Ms. O’Donnell said she believes the Tower Terrace Road project is a prime candidate for federal funding. “When you look at the role of government, this is it,” she said. “We don't expect the federal government to do it all. We want the federal government to support our efforts in growth, and that's exactly what this is doing. When you look at why people pay taxes, it’s roads, it's law enforcement. At the end of the day, when the rubber hits the road, this is the payoff for paying your taxes. And again, we don't ask the federal government to do all the heavy lifting, but it sure is nice to have their endorsement and their support, and truly it is what puts us over the edge when we're looking at funding projects like this.”

Other road developments in the works

The Tower Terrace Road interchange is one of several key transportation projects in the works in the Corridor. Mr. Fitch noted that the Tower Terrace Road interchange project was “expedited” because “the Boyson Road interchange has to be upgraded and replaced, so we can take traffic to Tower Terrace Road and it can come back.” Now that the Tower Terrace interchange is completed, other projects are set to fall into place. Ms. Cutler said work will begin in the summer of 2024 on two other diverging diamond interchanges along I-380 – one at Boyson Road, the other at Wright Brothers Boulevard on the south edge of the Cedar Rapids metro area. Both interchanges are expected to be completed in 2026, she said, and are expected to be constructed alongside existing bridges and overpasses to reduce traffic disruption. “Literally one of the biggest sellers was that we needed to look down at the next interchange to the south at Boyson Road, knowing that will have to be rebuilt, so we could advance Tower Terrace as a reliever for that project,” Ms. Cutler said. “One of the things we're looking at (with Boyson Road) is how we can build a new bridge for the diverging diamond and keep the existing (interchange) open,” she added. “Mercy has an emergency hospital facility at that interchange, so they were very keenly interested in having as little disruption as possible. So we've worked with them to keep the ramps open, especially the ramps to the emergency facility, as much as possible.” Mr. Fitch also noted that a bridge overlay project is planned at Blairs Ferry Road, along with some interchange improvements. A $102 million project to widen Interstate 380 from two to three lanes in each direction, from the Highway 30 interchange to the Swisher interchange, is set to begin in 2025 or 2026 and take about two years to complete. Another project underway on I-80 and First Avenue in Coralville, a $41 million project started in the fall of 2022, includes another diverging diamond interchange that should be completed in the fall of 2024. And that’s not to mention the $389.5 million project to reconstruct the interchange at Interstates 80 and 380. That project, which began in 2018, is set to be largely completed by this fall. “We certainly appreciate all that extra funding that's coming into Iowa,” Ms. Cutler said. “We’re certainly battling inflation, just like everybody sees with their home budgets. So we've been pretty successful at using that extra money to keep our projects going, and not having to delay a project, which is great.”

Future plans

While there’s been significant progress on Tower Terrace Road, much remains to be done. From North Center Point Road east to Highway 13, just one segment of Tower Terrace Road has been funded – a stretch from C Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids to Alburnett Road in Marion, with an estimated cost of $15.6 million being split between Cedar Rapids and Marion. Construction on that segment is already under way. But without a significant funding boost, other segments of the plan – particularly in Robins, a smaller community unable to fully bond for a project that would include two bridges – will prove fiscally challenging. Still, the long-term vision for Tower Terrace Road hasn’t wavered, as a statement on the project’s website stresses. “Tower Terrace Road stands to become an important commercial corridor that will promote sustainable development and help the surrounding communities become stronger,” the site says. “Planners for Linn County and four surrounding communities – including Cedar Rapids and Marion – laid the groundwork for the project decades ago. “Tower Terrace Road is designed to serve as a crosstown route that provides access to an area with a projected population growth of 40,000 by the year 2040. The corridor plans to accommodate the projected 19,000 to 20,000 vehicles per day that may come to rely on it through the use of roundabouts. The road will also incorporate two-lane sections, many of which have been designed to allow for expansion into four lanes without disturbing the properties that border them." The consortium of local communities that have driven the project so far remains strong as well, leaders say. “We firmly believe that a rising tide lifts all boats,” Ms. O’Donnell said. “You used to have to imagine business and commerce out this far, and now it is absolutely already happening. Frankly, this was needed a long time ago. You can really visualize the economic growth in terms of commerce, what this means to cities like Cedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha and Robins. We're all working to get more people to our region. They all need places to live, work and play. And having this interchange here is going to make our case even stronger from a cost perspective. “There is a renewed focus on our country's infrastructure, which we're certainly happy about,” she added. “We just want to make sure that our projects continue to rise to the top. The DOT, not only at the state but at the federal level, really sees us today. And they know that we're on the move.”