AASHTO Journal - Iowa DOT Honored for Adult Changing Spaces Initiative

The Iowa Department of Transportation recently received an award for an initiative aimed building accommodations for families and caregivers traveling with individuals with significant disabilities into its highway rest areas; facilities that the agency has been replacing and upgrading since 2021.

[Above photo by Arc of Iowa]

In mid-December 2025, Arc of Iowa named the Iowa DOT as the recipient of the Julie and Katie Beckett Advocacy Award in recognition of its groundbreaking Adult Changing Spaces initiative.

[Editor’s note: This Iowa DOT rest area project also won an America’s Transportation Award from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in 2024.]

Arc of Iowa is part of a national organization, The Arc, which is the largest community-based organization in the country that is advocating for and with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

That award is named after Iowa’s most influential disability rights advocates – Julie Beckett and her daughter Katie – who helped transform national policy through their mission to create awareness for people with disabilities, who deserve to live with dignity, access, and support.

While most rest area restrooms meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards for wheelchair access, Arc of Iowa said they often fall short of meeting the needs of individuals who require assistance and adult-sized, height-adjustable changing tables.

To correct that, Iowa DOT engineers and planners heard from families and other advocates who shared their challenges and needs in this area.

After that meeting, the agency helped launch a statewide initiative to install height-adjustable, adult-size changing tables in all new rest areas currently under construction – and several more that are undergoing renovations.

[Editor’s note: Other state departments of transportation across the country are also involved in similar rest area upgrade efforts, including the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the Ohio Department of Transportation, and the Indiana Department of Transportation.]

Those upgraded restrooms provide private, sanitary, and dignified spaces for individuals who need assistance, the agency said.

In a blog post, Doug Cunningham – executive director of The Arc of Iowa – expressed deep appreciation for Iowa DOT’s efforts.

“Your work to expand changing spaces – installing adult-sized changing stations in rest areas and public facilities – is transforming what freedom, dignity, and community inclusion looks like for Iowans with disabilities and their families,” he said.

“These are not just accommodations; they are life-changing acts of respect,” Cunningham added. “Thank you for leading by example, for putting people first, and for helping make Iowa a place where everyone can travel with dignity.”

“This initiative is more than a construction project – it’s a statement,” noted Kent Nicholson, design bureau director for the Iowa DOT. “It says that we value every Iowan and visitor to our state with disabilities, and we’re working to provide the freedom to travel, to explore, and to participate in public life without barriers to the most basic needs.”