Flooding cause of extensive road closures in western Iowa

Two portions of I-29 in western Iowa shut down due to the flooding Missouri River.

June 17, 2011

Brenda Neville, president of the Iowa Motor Truck Assn., has stated that the closure of two stretches of Interstate 29 in western Iowa due to flooding is having a "dramatic impact" on truckers, according to a news report posted today on DesMoinesRegister.com. "The I-29 shutdown has had a dramatic impact on trucking in general because it is a major corridor for trucks," Neville told DesMoinesRegsiter.com.

The website has reported that the detours-- caused by flooding along the Missouri River-- could last for months and are hitting trucking companies with costly delays.

I-29 extends from Kansas City, MO through Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota to the Canadian border south of Winnipeg, MB, the report noted, and the flooding has shut down a 20-mile stretch between Council Bluffs IA and the Missouri Valley area and a 22-mile section from Iowa Highway 2 south to U.S. Highway 136.

Also closed by flooding are two sections of Interstate 680 in Pottawattamie Count, including the Mormon Bridge spanning the river there.