Link To Interstate 29 Open (But Just Barely)

Iowa has reopened a flooded stretch of  Iowa Highway 2 east of the Missouri River bridge at Nebraska City.  It’s the final stretch of flooded highway that links Lincoln area drivers to Interstate 29, the preferred route to Kansas City.  Problem is, that stretch of highway still has minor flooding passing over it.

The Iowa Transportation Department says concrete barriers have been placed along the edges and permeable aggregate has been atop the roadway, followed by a fabric barrier and then covered with road rock. The department’s Scott Suhr says the idea is that water will percolate through the aggregate and allow traffic to pass over.

Suhr said Friday that pilot cars will be used on the single lane available to light (cars, not trucks) traffic. Motorists should expect delays and slow speeds.

The highly traveled link has been closed since the March flooding, forcing Southeast Nebraska motorists to take Highway 75, or one of several clogged 2 lane highways, adding as much as one hour to a routine drive to Kansas City.  No timetable has been set for full re-opening of the road.  Over the past two days, Iowa and Missouri have re-opened their portions of Interstate 29 after temporary repairs.  Both warn that lane work is still going on, and traffic may be slow going at numerous places.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Flood Sand Removal Begins