In mid-March, the Iowa DOT reversed itself on plans to change the US 30 intersection on the south side of State Center into a specialized type that limits turning. It’s about the “J-turn”, rebranded a “reduced-conflict intersection,” which involves traffic wanting to turn left from the intersecting road to the main highway being forced to turn right and then make a U-turn.
The KCCI story about it puts it down to one simple reason: Everyone in State Center hated the idea. At the end of 2024, when I wrote about plans to change this intersection as part of a Transportation Security Improvement Program grant, I relied on other reporting to say State Center had buy-in. However, it appears that something changed. I just know that during the planning, that was the only time there wasn’t immediate, universal public opposition to this type of intersection.
For now, instead, the DOT will build “offset right-turn lanes,” which involve right-turning traffic from US 30 having a mini-median between it and the mainline. These offset right-turn lanes have popped up in a couple places recently, including eastbound IA 8 to southbound IA 21 in Dysart and northbound IA 14 to eastbound IA 96 south of Conrad. The offset lanes also appear on the new US 30 four-lane in Benton County, most notably at the Van Horne/Blairstown corner.