2008 Woodie Awards
Ethanol may be harming roads
Dean Treftz - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: Metro
More weight on rural roads is a long-term trend, Hart said, but ethanol has vastly accelerated it.
Most of the evidence is largely anecdotal right now. The trend is so new, the Iowa Department of Transportation, in conjunction with Iowa State University's Center for Transportation Research and Education, is still in the process of commissioning a report to assess ethanol's impact on roads, with results expected in around 12 to 15 months.
"A lot of the decisions [on biofuels] have been made before a lot of the impacts" could be estimated, said Duane Smith, who oversees transportation research projects for the center.
Iowa has 42 ethanol and biodiesel plants in operation right now, with another 18 on the way, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. Ethanol plants demand 775 million bushels of corn, and the biodiesel plants add another 175 bushels of soybeans.
The ethanol-affected road problem is statewide, but it's more concentrated in northwestern Iowa, with its abundance of ethanol plants, than anywhere else. But this year's bad weather has been particularly harsh in the southern and southeastern areas. Counties without a major city to provide tax revenue, such as Washington County, could have a rough warm-up this year.
Washington County engineer David Patterson is concerned that heavy winter precipitation on top of the long-run, ethanol-related problem of increased wear could make this a hazardous season.
The county has two biodiesel plants, which have recently switched fuels from soybeans to grease. Patterson said while it isn't corn traffic, the two plants create more heavy traffic for the county. Johnson County has no biodiesel or ethanol plants.
The increased load on gravel roads, along with rising rock prices, has caused the county go from spending $350,000 on repairing gravel roads in 1994 to more than $970,000 in 2007 and an estimated $1.34 million in 2008.
Washington County recently passed a $300,000 levy to pay for the repairs.
Most of the evidence is largely anecdotal right now. The trend is so new, the Iowa Department of Transportation, in conjunction with Iowa State University's Center for Transportation Research and Education, is still in the process of commissioning a report to assess ethanol's impact on roads, with results expected in around 12 to 15 months.
"A lot of the decisions [on biofuels] have been made before a lot of the impacts" could be estimated, said Duane Smith, who oversees transportation research projects for the center.
Iowa has 42 ethanol and biodiesel plants in operation right now, with another 18 on the way, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. Ethanol plants demand 775 million bushels of corn, and the biodiesel plants add another 175 bushels of soybeans.
The ethanol-affected road problem is statewide, but it's more concentrated in northwestern Iowa, with its abundance of ethanol plants, than anywhere else. But this year's bad weather has been particularly harsh in the southern and southeastern areas. Counties without a major city to provide tax revenue, such as Washington County, could have a rough warm-up this year.
Washington County engineer David Patterson is concerned that heavy winter precipitation on top of the long-run, ethanol-related problem of increased wear could make this a hazardous season.
The county has two biodiesel plants, which have recently switched fuels from soybeans to grease. Patterson said while it isn't corn traffic, the two plants create more heavy traffic for the county. Johnson County has no biodiesel or ethanol plants.
The increased load on gravel roads, along with rising rock prices, has caused the county go from spending $350,000 on repairing gravel roads in 1994 to more than $970,000 in 2007 and an estimated $1.34 million in 2008.
Washington County recently passed a $300,000 levy to pay for the repairs.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
cseeley
ceseeley
posted 3/17/08 @ 7:31 AM CST
Would more railroad transportation of these products help?
Lars Dunn
posted 3/19/08 @ 3:56 PM CST
What a bunch of ridiculous, false statements made by people who, if jumping to conclusions weren't allowed, would never arrive at one. Of course roads and infrastructure are considered when building any kind of manufacturing facility. (Continued…)
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