The Iowa Department of Transportation and State Patrol tell us Interstate 29 in our area is still not safe for travel.
6 News got an escort inside the barriers Thursday for a closer look at what will take a massive effort to clean up what the flood has left behind.
The Missouri River gets aggressive when it spills out of its banks and on I-29 outside of Pacific Junction there is all sorts of debris floating on top of floodwater near and over the interstate.
The damage is extensive. A semi tanker floats in debris-covered floodwater. Businesses in the area, almost completely covered.
Trooper Scott Miller said, “It’s nothing but water and to me the amount of debris that’s on the roadway -- and it’s not just cornstalks but propane tanks and outhouses, lumber and all kinds of stuff -- the amount of debris on the roadway is incredible.”
Outside of Bellevue crews are cleaning up cornstalks and other debris from a ramp. It’s slow but cleanup is coming along. Miller said, “Considering the other ramps except for this one are all underwater, I’m looking at, at least a couple of days. We are losing access to Highway 34 which is a main thoroughfare through the center of Iowa.”
There are sections of I-29 that are not underwater but if they were open, sooner or later you would have to take a detour.
“It’s still a problem because we don’t have anywhere to route traffic if we needed a detour.”
There are a lot of problems out on I-29 and it will take some time to figure everything out. Iowa Department of Transportation officials say I-29 from Council Bluffs to Loveland is still closed to traffic.