On July 1, 2003, the Iowa Department of Transportation transferred control of more than 700 miles (1,100 km) of highway to county and local governments in order to save money and to increase operational efficiency.

[3] Most of the time, the DOT was able to come to an agreement with the county board of supervisors as 600 miles (970 km) of Iowa roads changed hands in the early 1980s.

New four-lane highways were built all across the state, either by twinning an existing roadway or building new alignments in proximity to the old roads.

After opening the new roads, these short segments often stayed on the primary highway system despite not serving an arterial purpose.

The committee identified over 700 miles (1,100 km) of state highways which could be turned over to local jurisdictions.