Iowa may delay some road projects over the next five years because motorists are traveling less, reducing gas tax payments used for construction, a key transportation official said. 

Some projects had already been delayed a year by a sharp increase in construction costs last year, the state reported.

Stuart Anderson, director of the Iowa Department of Transportation’s planning division, on Tuesday told the Iowa Transportation Commission that the COVID-19 pandemic has kept many off the road. Many trips are shorter than usual, he added.

That has meant both less gas taxes paid and lower revenue from new vehicle sales fees, Anderson added.

Read the full article on the Iowa Capital Dispatch.