Benjamin Adey from the Iowa Department of Transportation attended the May 23 Toledo city council meeting to discuss adjusting a stretch of Highway 63 from four lanes to three between the north side of the Iowa River Bridge and the north city limits of Toledo.

The reason for the proposed adjustment, Adey said, is safety, as 95 accidents have occurred on the stretch of road over the last six years, including 20 that occurred in front of the high school over the last four years. Eleven of the 20 crashes in front of the school were rear end collisions.

The idea is to reduce the amount of conflict points on the road, which would in turn decrease the amount of lanes a vehicle would have to cross when turning left.

The project would include brand new asphalt resurfacing and updating pedestrian ramps. The next steps would include securing agreements with the cities of Toledo and Tama, and the DOT would then begin designing the project with construction hopefully beginning in 2024.

Marty Wymore from Region 6 Resource Partners discussed a derecho block grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) with the council, and there are $11.5 million in potential funds for Benton, Tama and Marshall counties. Applications and rules for the grant would become available in August, and the city could make an application around December 2022.

If the city is approved for the grant, no strict timeline would be set on when the funds must be used.