Paving for Progress

Like many Midwest communities, Cedar Rapids has been battling aging and weather-beaten roadways. In 2014, a new funding source through the one percent Local Option Sales Tax created a shift in how aggressively the City can tackle the backlog of much-needed repairs. The Paving for Progress program utilizes this funding stream, which provides approximately $20 million annually.

City leadership continues to prioritize road repairs as one of the most critical needs in our community. The City of Cedar Rapids has worked aggressively to leverage these dedicated dollars, primarily in our residential neighborhoods. Many of these projects would not have been possible without funding from the Local Option Sales Tax. Residential streets in the past rarely qualified for federal funding, making it next to impossible to move up the priority list when competing with the needs of high-volume streets that carry significantly more traffic every day.

Today, streets are getting the critical repairs they deserve. Between 2003 and 2014, approximately $11 million was invested annually in street repairs — which went primarily to repairing roads with higher traffic volumes, and which serve the greater number of motorists. Today, the investment is three times that much — approximately $34 million annually was invested into roads between 2015 and 2020, with a significant portion of that funding going to neighborhood streets, as well as key commercial corridors.

The Local Option Sales Tax enables the City to get more done, on more roads, in more neighborhoods. More than 200 projects have already been completed as part of the Paving for Progress program, with 70 percent of those projects in residential neighborhoods. The City will continue leveraging these critical dollars for the life of the program, investing in as many roads as possible.