Iowa has no toll roads. Every interstate, U.S. highway, and state-maintained road in Iowa is free to drive, with no toll plazas, toll booths, or electronic gantries anywhere in the state. That includes I-80, I-35, I-380, and every other route a traveler is likely to use. Iowa is one of roughly a dozen states that operate a completely toll-free highway system.
How Iowa Pays for Roads Without Tolls
Iowa funds its roads through fuel taxes, vehicle registration fees, and federal highway dollars rather than user-paid tolls. The Iowa Constitution restricts revenue from vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes to road construction, maintenance, and supervision, and Iowa Code Chapter 312 channels that money into the Road Use Tax Fund, which is earmarked exclusively for roads.1Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code Chapter 312 – Road Use Tax Fund Federal money flows in through the U.S. Highway Trust Fund under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.2Iowa Legislature. Iowa Road Funding Counties and cities add property tax levies, local option sales taxes, and bonds on top.
The practical result for drivers is simple: you pay for Iowa roads at the gas pump and at vehicle registration, not at a toll gate.
The One Toll Bridge Connected to Iowa
There is a single exception worth knowing about if you drive near the state’s southern border. The St. Francisville Bridge, a privately owned crossing completed in 1937, is the only toll bridge connected to Iowa. It is also Iowa’s only bridge crossing still in non-governmental hands.3Iowa Department of Transportation. St. Francisville Bridge Because it is private, it is not part of the state highway system and is not operated by the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Iowa Law Allows Toll Bridges, but None Are Active
Iowa Code Chapter 313A gives the Iowa Department of Transportation authority to build, acquire, operate, and maintain interstate toll bridges on navigable rivers at the state’s borders. The department has “full charge of the construction and acquisition of all toll bridges” under the chapter, including setting toll rates.4Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 313A.2 – Bridge to Be Controlled by Department Any proposed bridge requires a feasibility study and a public hearing in the Iowa county where the bridge would be located.5Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code Chapter 313A – Interstate Bridges
No state-operated toll bridge is currently active under this authority. The law is on the books; the infrastructure is not.
One other point from the statute matters if that ever changes: tolling under Chapter 313A is not permanent. Once the revenue bonds that financed a bridge are paid off and any advances from the Primary Road Fund are repaid, the bridge must become toll-free.6Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 313A.7 – Resolution of Public Interest and Necessity, Revenue Bonds
Tolls You Will Hit in Neighboring States
Iowa is toll-free, but your route may not stay that way. Illinois operates an extensive tollway system that uses electronic collection through I-PASS and accepts the multistate E-ZPass network. Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin are toll-free, so your exposure depends on which direction you drive.
If you regularly drive into Illinois or further east, buying an I-PASS or E-ZPass transponder from a state that issues them is the easiest way to avoid stopping at toll plazas or getting toll-by-mail invoices at higher rates. E-ZPass is accepted in roughly 19 states, concentrated in the Midwest and along the East Coast.
There Is No “Iowa Toll Pass”
Iowa does not issue a toll transponder, because there are no tolls to collect within the state. Some online sources reference an “Iowa Toll Pass” or describe electronic toll collection on Iowa highways. No such system exists. If you receive a message or invoice claiming you owe a toll for driving in Iowa, treat it as suspicious; the state has no mechanism to charge you one.