State roads officials say Interstate 29 from the Hamburg, Iowa, area southward will be the first highway to reopen when floodwaters subside.
Highway officials with Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri have been coordinating plans to repair and reopen roadways.
They're already lining up contractors and preparing to-do lists, even though they have yet to see the full scope of damage from historic, monthslong flooding along the Missouri River.
Bob Younie, maintenance director for the Iowa Department of Transportation, said the Interstate near Hamburg is low enough that water will drain from there first.
Once the Interstate opens there, it will open south of the Missouri border to Rock Port, according to Missouri roads officials.
The Interstate in northwest Missouri is not under water but has been closed to prevent travelers from driving into a dead end in Iowa.
More problematic will be Interstates 29 and 680 in the Omaha area and several other river crossings.
"I'm pretty positive we'll get I-29 in southern Iowa open this year — I won't say easily," Younie said Tuesday.
Ideally, all roads will be open by winter, he said, but he's making no promises.
Other stretches of the Interstate will take longer to reopen because they've been more heavily damaged or are under higher water, Younie said. Scouring has damaged I-680 near the Mormon Bridge, so it will take longer to repair, he said.
Other highways with damage at the bridge crossings that connect Iowa or Missouri are near the following Nebraska communities: Decatur, Nebraska City, Brownville and Falls City.
Starting Saturday, the Army Corps of Engineers is beginning a gradual step-down in the amount of water being released from Gavins Point Dam.
The corps has said not to expect the river to be back within its banks until sometime in September at the earliest. How soon that will happen should be known Friday, when the corps publishes a release schedule.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1102, nancy.gaarder@owh.com
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