(Radio Iowa) – Many newer cars have a display on the dashboard that estimates how many miles you can drive before you run out of gas, but a new study finds those gadgets aren’t always accurate. Meredith Mitts, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says the motor club’s researchers tested the in-vehicle fuel systems that measure fuel economy and fuel range. “For the most part, they work, it’s a good average,” Mitts says. “Overall, they are fairly accurate, but as you’re getting towards those lower amounts of gas in your gas tank, if you’re relying on it for the exact mileage to that next exit and to that gas pump, you could be in some trouble if you’re taking it that literally.” The report finds some vehicles underestimate the miles-to-empty, but others overestimate, which can leave you stranded if you rely too heavily on it. The best bet, Mitts says, is to keep an eye on the trusty red needle that swings from F for Full down to E for Empty.

“Really, the most accurate one is where your fuel gauge, the lever, is and you should be watching that,” Mitts says. “As you get closer to the quarter tank of gas during the summer, that’s about the time you should think about filling up.” During the wintertime, she suggests filling up even sooner, whenever you reach a half-tank. “You never know what’s going to happen ahead of you,” Mitts says. “There could be an accident on the road, there could be a detour, maybe the gas station’s out of gas, all sorts of things can be happening here and when you reach that point, that’s when you should fill up.”

The study found the reliability of in-vehicle fuel systems varied significantly based on changes in speed, acceleration and distance. Read the full report here:
https://media.acg.aaa.com/content/1205/files/E_1_%20Accuracy%20of%20In-Dash%20Fuel%20Economy%20Displays%20Research%20Report_FINAL.pdf

(Radio Iowa) – Several dogs and cats displaced by Hurricane Ida have been brought to the Siouxland Humane Society in Sioux City. Spokesperson Kelly Erie says there are nine dogs and six cats. She says the animals were at a Louisiana shelter and were waiting for new homes when the loss of power and water forced their evacuation. The pets came to Iowa through “Operation Sunflower” after flying into Sioux Falls and being brought to Sioux City in a van. It’s not the first time the organization has helped. “We’ve helped out Louisiana I want to say three times. The most devastating one was Hurricane Katrina. We helped out with the last one (hurricane) and also the Texas flooding,” she says.

The cats and dogs will be ready for adoption after a few days. “They’ve had their first set of vaccinations, deworming, they are all ready to go. We’re just giving them a couple of days so we can place them under observation and make sure everything is doing well,” Erie says. You can adopt one of the animals from the Siouxland Humane Society — or make a donation to go toward their care.

(Radio Iowa) – Long-term plans are for portions of Interstate-80 in Iowa to expand to six lanes. Stu Anderson is the director of the Transportation Development Division at the Iowa D-O-T. He says in some areas, freight — hauled by semis — accounts for 40 percent of the traffic on I-80. “There some areas that will require six lane improvements, primarily in eastern Iowa initially,” he says.

“The Commission has programmed some funding to do some of that work east of Iowa City, continuing all the way to Davenport and the Illinois River we’ll be looking at making those improvements eventually and probably working its way to Des Moines. Western Iowa the traffic is a little lower, so that will take some time, but definitely I-80 and even I-35 in some stretches will need some major improvement.”

I-80 rest stop near Grinnell. (DOT photo)

You may notice some new bridge decks in eastern Iowa have been widened. Anderson says bridges have a very long life span, so bridge work on I-80 is being done with the future in mind. Anderson says transportation planners are also tracking how automated vehicles that drive themselves may impact the interstates that run through Iowa.  “That could alleviate some of those capacity needs as you have vehicles that can drive closer together, maybe have narrower lanes,” he says, “so that might really have some influence in the next 20 years as well.”

But to deal with current capacity issues, drivers in eastern Iowa are noticing the ongoing project to rehabilitate and widen the interstate that feeds into I-80 near Coralville. “The Interstate-380 corridor between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City has been a real priority corridor because of the huge demand from the commuting traffic and safety issues,” Anderson says. Anderson says that interchange is being built to handle future projects that would add lanes to I-80 in that area. “The I-80/380 interchange is a really good example of an important project because of the freight movement on that corridor,” Anderson says.

“The existing interchange just had challenges with weaving movements that caused problems for semi trucks.” About 45-hundred bridges in Iowa are rated in poor condition — in need of repairs and upgrades. Anderson says state officials have been using part of the money from the state gas tax increase that took effect in early 2015 to fix bridges. “We now just have 32 poor condition bridges on the state system,” Anderson says. Anderson says bridges rated in poor condition are still safe for traffic, but have issues that need to be addressed.

The D-O-T does an in-depth review of the state’s transportation system every five years and will submit that report to the governor and legislators later this year. Anderson made his comments during a recent appearance on Iowa P-B-S.

(Mondamin, Iowa) – Three people were injured during a collision on Interstate 29 just south of the Mondamin exit in Harrison County, Saturday evening. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2013 Chrysler driven by 35-year-old Junior Belleh Solo, of Des Moines, was southbound on I-29 at around 7:50-p.m. near mile marker 89, when the car drove onto the west shoulder and struck the rear of a 2019 Toyota Camry, that was parked on the shoulder with a flat tire.

Following the impact, the Chrysler went across both lanes of traffic and came to rest on the east shoulder of the road against the cable guard rail. Solo suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to the Missouri Valley Hospital by Mondamin EMS. The driver of the Toyota, 35-year-old Abhijit Bahl, of Omaha, also suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to the hospital in Mondamin by Missouri Valley EMS.

A front seat passenger in the Toyota, 28-year-old Kanika Dhawan, of Omaha, was flown from the scene by Life Flight to the UNMC in Omaha. All three of the injured were wearing their seat belts. The accident remains under investigation. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department.