The federal government has awarded $533,520 to continue making U.S. Highway 20 a four-lane route through northwestern Iowa.

The money is to be invested in the highway between the border of Calhoun and Sac counties and Moville in Woodbury County, according to the Federal Highway Administration. That stretch is part of the last remaining section of the highway that has not been expanded to four lanes.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley announced the award of the money Thursday.

''We're always excited that our Iowa congressional delegation realizes how important this U.S. 20 corridor is to the state of Iowa and continues to provide us with appropriations to complete the project,'' said Shirley Phillips, the president of the U.S. 20 Corridor Association.

Phillips said the association asked Grassley and U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, for some additional money for the highway project last year. The $533,520 was included in a gigantic spending bill that President Barack Obama signed in February.

U.S. Highway 20 crosses Iowa between Dubuque and Sioux City. It is being widened to four lanes in a process that has dragged on for nearly 40 years. Now, about 90 miles between Moorland in Webster County and Moville are all that remain to be expanded. All of those 90 miles are currently the subject of construction, surveying or design work.

Earthmoving between Moorland and Iowa Highway 4 near Rockwell City is nearing completion. The bridge near Moorland Pond is to be finished this fall.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is expected to award a contract for paving the four lanes between Moorland and Iowa Highway 4 this summer. A contract for earthmoving between Iowa Highway 4 and Sac County Road N14 is also expected to be awarded this summer.

''I've been waiting for the day that I could drive across Iowa on a four-lane Highway 20,'' Grassley, a Republican, said in a statement issued by his office. ''This brings us one step closer to that.''

Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net