The Iowa Department of Transportation will raise some sections of Interstate 29 north of Council Bluffs to keep traffic moving even when the Missouri River floods.
Since I-29 is in the floodplain, Austin Yates with the Iowa D-O-T says there are some critical gaps in protection.
Yates says raising parts near Honey Creek, Crescent and Blackbird Marsh mean the river would have to rise even higher to force a shutdown.
OC………..what’s open. :08
Missouri River flooding shut down parts of I-29 in southwest Iowa four times this year.
Some sections are being raised as much as 28 inches, which Yates says won’t make it flood-proof, but water won’t spill onto the road at such a low river level like it did just last month.
OC………..”for example” :11.
The D-O-T has awarded a contract to add 14-inches of asphalt to northbound I-29 from Honey Creek to Loveland.
More than two-feet will be added in both directions near Blackbird Marsh.
Work on the $3.3 million-dollar contract is expected to be done by December 1st.
Katie Peikes
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Part of southbound Interstate 29 near Council Bluffs will be closed all of next week for repairs beginning on Monday.
The Iowa D-O-T says I-29 south from exit 56 to exit 55 will be closed October 28th at 10 a.m. through Monday, November 5th, weather permitting.
The closure is necessary to allow contractors to raise portions of the interstate recently impacted by flooding.
This will be accomplished by adding layers of asphalt in some areas.
A detour for traffic bound for Council Bluffs will be posted using the following route:
South on 16th Street to Nash Boulevard, west on Nash Boulevard to N. 25th Street, north on 25th Street back to I-29 at Exit 55 (N. 25th Street).
Traffic moving past Council Bluffs will be detoured at Exit 71 near Loveland onto eastbound Interstate I-880 (formerly I-680) to westbound Interstate 80 near Neola at Exit 29, to southbound I-29 at Exit 4.
Also at 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, one lane of northbound I-29 will open Exit 55: (N. 25th Street).
Because traffic can become congested in this area during peak travel times, traffic moving past Council Bluffs will be encouraged to continue using the detour route of eastbound I-80, then westbound I-880 (formerly I-680) until both northbound lanes are open.
