Interstate 680 has closed between 30th Street in Omaha and the Interstate 29 interchange near Crescent, Iowa, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.
The Department is recommending the following detour for westbound travelers: Take I-680 east from the I-29/I-680 interchange near Loveland, Iowa, to Interstate 80 near Neola, Iowa, and then take I-80 southwest to Council Bluffs. Eastbound motorists on I-680 in Omaha who want to travel to Iowa should exit at 30th Street, go south on 30th to Interstate 480, and continue south to eastbound I-80.
The closure is forced by floodwaters on the Missouri River.
--Andrew J. Nelson
Traveling Interstate 29 from South Dakota to Missouri is about to get a lot more difficult.
So is driving from Nebraska to Iowa or Missouri.
Sections of more than 200 miles of the Interstate are at risk from rising Missouri River floodwaters. So is access to the bridges that link states along the river. Areas most at risk are between Sioux City, Iowa, and St. Joseph, Mo.
No one has a firm grasp on what will happen or the implications for the region. It's clear, though, that tens of thousands of travelers will be affected, as will businesses that rely on Interstate traffic.
“We're in a different world today,” said Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan, one of the metro area's longest-serving officials.
“This is totally different than anything I've ever done. We're waiting for information to be sent out on a daily basis. We're doing things never done before. It's hard.''
The first shoe dropped Thursday night.
Due to the rapidly rising floodwaters, a section of Interstate 29 near Council Bluffs was closed — earlier than scheduled, the Iowa Department of Transportation said.
Roads officials shut the highway from Crescent, just north of Council Bluffs, north to Loveland.
By Friday afternoon, I-29 was closed from Crescent south to 25th Street in Council Bluffs. Interstate 680 between I-29 and the Missouri River also was closed Friday afternoon, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency said.
The State of Iowa identified other areas of I-29 where there are varying levels of concern: at Sioux City; near Blencoe; near Missouri Valley; and from the Bellevue, Neb., exit south to the Missouri border.
In Missouri, concern extends from the state line to north of St. Joseph.
South of St. Joseph, there may be concerns in the Platte City area, which was threatened by 1993 flooding.
In all these areas, highway crews are surveying to compare roadway elevations to the Army Corps of Engineers' projections for flooding.
“To be the most efficient and not waste sandbags and energy, it's imperative that we have a much firmer idea of where water is going,” said Margaret Justus, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Transportation's northwest district.
Even with the survey readings and the corps' flood inundation maps, highway officials can't be certain of what will flood, she said. Rain and levee failures will change the flooding in ways that can't be predicted.
People who depend on highways that could flood are not waiting for answers from the government.
Workers, employers and communities along the river are planning for the worst case — months of disrupted transportation corridors.
Nebraska City has opened its doors to those Iowans who will not be able to commute there to work if Highway 2 floods.
Rebecca Turner, executive director of Nebraska City Tourism & Commerce Inc., said about 200 Iowans work for Nebraska City's two largest employers, Elster American Meter and Cargill Meat Solutions.
The companies are working with city officials to allow long-term camping on their properties.
Local campgrounds also have opened to semi-permanent living. Turner's office is posting an ever-changing list of rental properties, and, to the south, Peru State College has opened its dormitory for temporary living.
People also are opening their homes, Turner said.
“It's truly touching,” she said. “It's been a generous response. The folks on the Iowa side are as much a part of Nebraska City as we are.”
Paul Mullen, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency in Omaha, said the Interstate closings, even if they are in sections and intermittent, could cause a regional change in cross-country driving.
That could bring a dropoff in business to those who benefit from travelers, such as hotels and restaurants.
Tens of thousands of drivers will be affected by the closings:
» Nearly 20,000 vehicles per day drive the portion of I-29 north of Council Bluffs that is scheduled to close. Farther north, those numbers drop off.
» 16,000 vehicles use the I-680 bridge, and they'll need to find an alternate route.
» 85,000 vehicles travel Interstate 80 between Nebraska and Iowa, and congestion could increase as the I-680 bridge traffic shifts south.
Highway officials have begun urging people who drive between Nebraska and Iowa to use I-80.
Hanafan said he has been assured that the I-680 bridge is the only metro-area bridge at risk. And I-80, he said, is considered especially secure.
World-Herald staff writer Bob Glissmann contributed to this report.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1102, nancy.gaarder@owh.com
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