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Interstates 680 and 29 near Council Bluffs re-opened Wednesday after second round of flooding

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June 12th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Dept. of Transportation reports mobility between Omaha and Council Bluffs should be easier, now that when Interstate 29 between I-680 near Crescent and N. 25th Street in Council Bluffs and I-680 from I-29 to the Nebraska border has re-opened to traffic. The roads officially re-opened at around 3-p.m., Wednesday.

All lanes of I-29 are open, but traffic will not be allowed to continue north of I-680 on I-29.  For I-680, both westbound lanes are open, and one eastbound lane is available for traffic.

Those areas had been closed since late May due to flooding in the area for a second time this spring. Part of the repairs from earlier flooding included adding stabilizing elements to the ditches on I-680 to minimize future flood damage. Those elements have proven their worth in that there is minimal damage from this second round of flooding to the roadway/shoulder and slope areas where the repairs were completed.

Other segments of I-29, as well as U.S. 34, Iowa 2, Iowa 275 and Iowa 333 remain closed. Travelers should check 511ia.org, the Iowa 511 mobile apps or call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide) for up-to-date closure information on state-owned roadways across Iowa. Closures due to flooding can be viewed by turning on the incident layer on the online map and mobile app.