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DOT Crews Work To Clean Up And Repair Southwest Iowa Highways

Iowa Public Radio | By Lindsey Moon,
Katie Peikes
Published April 15, 2019 at 6:23 PM CDT
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A sign sits on Interstate 29 warning of possible pavement collapse. The Iowa DOT has a lot of road repairs to complete in Southwestern Iowa as flood waters receed.
Photo Courtesy of the Iowa DOT
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The road had completely collapsed on I-29 near mile marker 65, taken on April 3.
Photo Courtesy of the Iowa DOT
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I-29 between Highway 34 and Hamburg
Photo Courtesy of the Iowa DOT
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A grain silo off I-29 between Highway 34 and Hamburg is badly damanged after the flooding. This photo was taken on April 4.
Photo Courtesy of the Iowa DOT
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Flood waters were still covering part of Iowa Highway 2 between I-29 and the Nebraska border on April 8.
Photo Courtesy of the Iowa DOT
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A worker repairs part of the road on I-680 to Omaha.
Photo Courtesy of the Iowa DOT
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I-29 between Highway 34 and Hamburg, near the Missouri/Iowa border
Photo Courtesy of the Iowa DOT
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Workers repair a section of road on I-680 toward Omaha.
Photo Courtesy of the Iowa DOT
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DOT workers clear debris left by the floods from I-29 north of Bartlett.
Photo Courtesy of the Iowa DOT
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Interstate I-680 from stateline to I-29, taken on April 2.
Photo Courtesy of the Iowa DOT

The Iowa Department of Transportation is working to assess damages to highways as water recedes in southwest Iowa. The damages look daunting in photos.

There are around 6 miles of roadway still underwater, and there are 12 miles of shoulder still under water that have not yet been assessed.  

County roads have been decimated, and some have collapsed bridges or lost shoulders. Fremont County's Secondary Roads Department says all repairs collectively could take months to two years and could cost at least $6 million.

As of Monday, the Iowa DOT does not have information about when all state roads will be reopened. A spokeswoman for the DOT said in an email that it is too early to get a real picture of the estimated cost of damages because they have to wait for the water to recede to fully assess all of the roads.
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Lindsey Moon
Lindsey Moon served as IPR's Senior Digital Producer - Music and the Executive Producer of IPR Studio One's All Access program. Moon started as a talk show producer with Iowa Public Radio in May of 2014. She came to IPR by way of Illinois Public Media, an NPR/PBS dual licensee in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and Wisconsin Public Radio, where she worked as a producer and a general assignment reporter.
Katie Peikes
Katie Peikes was a reporter for Iowa Public Radio from 2018 to 2023. She joined IPR as its first-ever Western Iowa reporter, and then served as the agricultural reporter.
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