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Iowa Interstate Change

Started by US71, October 14, 2019, 06:49:18 PM

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hbelkins

Didn't the Missouri flood pretty badly back in the early 1990s? Maybe 1992 or 93 or so? I remember contemplating a trip to Omaha and being concerned about flooding. I think I was going to take I-74 and I-80 one way, and I-64, I-70, and I-29 the other way. Never did make that trip, though.

And if flooding detours are a concern, if you're coming north on I-29, you can take I-80 and I-680 either way, can't you? Wouldn't signs say I-80 east to I-680 west? You're still going to have to tell drivers to use I-80 east even if you don't specify a direction on I-880.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.


WhitePoleRD

I kinda would have preferred 429. Meh.
You take the high road, I'll take the low road and I'll be in Iowa before ye.

Beltway

Quote from: brad2971 on October 18, 2019, 07:34:30 AM
Quote from: Beltway on October 18, 2019, 12:03:16 AM
How many days per year does it flood?
Most years, not at all. Before this unusual year, the last flood was in 2011. Before that, sometime in the 1950's, prior to the 4 upstream dams in South Dakota being completed. The combination of the Spencer Dam on the Niobrara River failing in March, along with unusually wet weather that lasted into September, is the reason you're seeing I-29 and IA 2 (among others) being closed for lengthy periods of time on up to 4 separate occasions.
Still sounds like unusual events, if a few years are problematic and most years are zero.

Whatever routes are needed if a segment of I-29 is closed, they could use orange signs with "Detour I-29" temporary trailblazers.

They need to plan to build levees, or relocate that part of I-29, or elevate it, and make it as near floodproof as possible.  Flooding over an Interstate highway shouldn't happen except under the most extreme conditions.
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rarnold

Quote from: Beltway on October 18, 2019, 05:16:08 PM
Quote from: brad2971 on October 18, 2019, 07:34:30 AM
Quote from: Beltway on October 18, 2019, 12:03:16 AM
How many days per year does it flood?
Most years, not at all. Before this unusual year, the last flood was in 2011. Before that, sometime in the 1950's, prior to the 4 upstream dams in South Dakota being completed. The combination of the Spencer Dam on the Niobrara River failing in March, along with unusually wet weather that lasted into September, is the reason you're seeing I-29 and IA 2 (among others) being closed for lengthy periods of time on up to 4 separate occasions.
Still sounds like unusual events, if a few years are problematic and most years are zero.

Whatever routes are needed if a segment of I-29 is closed, they could use orange signs with "Detour I-29" temporary trailblazers.

They need to plan to build levees, or relocate that part of I-29, or elevate it, and make it as near floodproof as possible.  Flooding over an Interstate highway shouldn't happen except under the most extreme conditions.

Have you ever been to that part of the country? Seems like you are toting a lot of angst over something in the grand scheme doesn't affect you.

US71

Quote from: Beltway on October 18, 2019, 05:16:08 PM
Quote from: brad2971 on October 18, 2019, 07:34:30 AM
Quote from: Beltway on October 18, 2019, 12:03:16 AM
How many days per year does it flood?
Most years, not at all. Before this unusual year, the last flood was in 2011. Before that, sometime in the 1950's, prior to the 4 upstream dams in South Dakota being completed. The combination of the Spencer Dam on the Niobrara River failing in March, along with unusually wet weather that lasted into September, is the reason you're seeing I-29 and IA 2 (among others) being closed for lengthy periods of time on up to 4 separate occasions.
Still sounds like unusual events, if a few years are problematic and most years are zero.

Whatever routes are needed if a segment of I-29 is closed, they could use orange signs with "Detour I-29" temporary trailblazers.

They need to plan to build levees, or relocate that part of I-29, or elevate it, and make it as near floodproof as possible.  Flooding over an Interstate highway shouldn't happen except under the most extreme conditions.

How do you suggest we pay for it, considering we can't maintain what we currently have?
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

J N Winkler

#30
Quote from: Beltway on October 18, 2019, 05:16:08 PMStill sounds like unusual events, if a few years are problematic and most years are zero.

Whatever routes are needed if a segment of I-29 is closed, they could use orange signs with "Detour I-29" temporary trailblazers.

They need to plan to build levees, or relocate that part of I-29, or elevate it, and make it as near floodproof as possible.  Flooding over an Interstate highway shouldn't happen except under the most extreme conditions.

In regard to H.B.'s comment upthread about flooding in the mid-1990's, a casual Google search turns up mention of a Missouri River flood in Omaha in 1993 as part of the Great Flood in that year, but I don't recall hearing that I-29 was underwater.  I do remember the floods in 2011 (almost compromised the Calhoun nuclear power plant in Nebraska, which attracted national coverage since flooding was also the proximate cause of the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi disaster) and earlier this year.  My concern is that near-annual inundation of I-29 between Omaha and Kansas City may represent a new normal.

Part of the problem is that levees within this portion of the I-29 corridor are maintained largely by small and chronically underfunded local boards.  Technical solutions are available but money for implementation is basically nonexistent.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

Beltway

Quote from: US71 on October 20, 2019, 12:39:27 PM
Quote from: Beltway on October 18, 2019, 05:16:08 PM
Still sounds like unusual events, if a few years are problematic and most years are zero.
Whatever routes are needed if a segment of I-29 is closed, they could use orange signs with "Detour I-29" temporary trailblazers.
They need to plan to build levees, or relocate that part of I-29, or elevate it, and make it as near floodproof as possible.  Flooding over an Interstate highway shouldn't happen except under the most extreme conditions.
How do you suggest we pay for it, considering we can't maintain what we currently have?

Federal funding special allocations above and beyond normal annual allocations?

NOLA got something like $15 billion in such allocations for flood control projects since 2005.
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http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
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AZDude

I was wondering what was going on.  I saw google maps had changed it a few days ago.  I myself wish it would stay the way it was but it wont bother me (much) hehe.

iowahighways

Quote from: vdeane on October 18, 2019, 02:21:18 PM
Given this map, the numbers might not change at all.

I asked the Iowa DOT on Facebook about the exit numbering situation when they made the announcement, and they said the exit numbers were changing.

I'm finally getting around to making site updates today even though signs apparently haven't changed in the field yet.
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Bobby5280

Yeah, the change is present in Google Maps. But it hasn't found its way into Google Earth yet. It's still numbered as I-680 in Apple Maps as well.

The Ghostbuster

Wikipedia says the exits along old 680/present 880 has already had its exits renumbered to correspond with the highways new mileage. Has Wikipedia jumped the gun on listing the new exit numbers on Interstate 880, given it's been just under a month since the 680-to-880 conversion was approved?

MNHighwayMan

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on October 29, 2019, 05:01:25 PM
Wikipedia says the exits along old 680/present 880 has already had its exits renumbered to correspond with the highways new mileage. Has Wikipedia jumped the gun on listing the new exit numbers on Interstate 880, given it's been just under a month since the 680-to-880 conversion was approved?

I'm pretty sure no signage has changed yet. Perhaps later this week I'll drive out there to verify.

dvferyance

Quote from: Beltway on October 15, 2019, 07:13:44 AM
I'm still not sure why they did this.  A flooding event is an emergency situation whereby temporary detour signs need to be posted to cover the area affected.  Standard routings should not IMO be changed for such a reason.

So now instead of having a I-680 alternate/bypass to I-80 thru the Omaha area, 3 different routes need to be followed.   Why?
I feel the same way I-680 is a bypass pf Omaha it made sense to have one route number.

mrose

Is there any chance of extending 680 past 29 to meet up north of Council Bluffs, like the map showed? Seems like the change would be much more appropriate in this case as it now would allow for such a thing.

There was a time where we would use the entire 680 route as an Omaha bypass, usually westbound, but as far as time goes we think it only made a difference if there was heavy traffic as the (now 880) section was always very, very light.

DandyDan

Quote from: mrose on November 07, 2019, 08:58:51 PM
Is there any chance of extending 680 past 29 to meet up north of Council Bluffs, like the map showed? Seems like the change would be much more appropriate in this case as it now would allow for such a thing.

There was a time where we would use the entire 680 route as an Omaha bypass, usually westbound, but as far as time goes we think it only made a difference if there was heavy traffic as the (now 880) section was always very, very light.

First of all, you would have to obliterate the railroad crossing immediately east of the I-680 interchange. From there, you'd have to come up with a way to bypass the city of Crescent and get over the bluffs on the east side of the Missouri River valley. I imagine it's possible, but to have a road between Crescent and Underwood may be a challenge  too big for the Iowa DoT.
MORE FUN THAN HUMANLY THOUGHT POSSIBLE

Revive 755

Quote from: DandyDan on November 09, 2019, 01:32:32 AM
First of all, you would have to obliterate the railroad crossing immediately east of the I-680 interchange.

Doesn't look to hard - just raise the mainline and add bridges on the outer ramps.  On streetview it appears there is a good downgrade between the bridges over I-29 and the railroad.

Quote from: DandyDan on November 09, 2019, 01:32:32 AMFrom there, you'd have to come up with a way to bypass the city of Crescent and get over the bluffs on the east side of the Missouri River valley. I imagine it's possible, but to have a road between Crescent and Underwood may be a challenge  too big for the Iowa DoT.

Maybe a financial challenge, but I think Iowa could figure it out if the need arose, considering they built US 34 through Burlington and some of the roadways around Dubuque.  But I don't think the need will be there for decades unless there is a large population boom in the area.  IIRC back during the Omaha beltway study, it was stated the rebuild of I-29 and I-80 should be have enough extra capacity to preclude the need for a bypass on the Iowa side.

kdelrio

Quote from: MNHighwayMan on October 29, 2019, 05:18:14 PM

I'm pretty sure no signage has changed yet. Perhaps later this week I'll drive out there to verify.

Having driven through the area this past weekend (apologies for no photos), I can confirm that 880 is signed on the overhead gantries along both eastbound and westbound I-80 near the 80/880 interchange (using the clip/square patch style that IDOT seems to like to use for gantry updates).  There is also a regular cutout 880 sign on a wooden post along 80 westbound, complete with the state name in the new shield as well.
Clinched interstates: 410 (TX), 225, 35, 35E (MN, TX), 35W (MN, TX), 135, 235 (IA, OK), 335, 535, 635, 129, 229, 37, 44, 271, 76 (NE-CO), 88 (IL), 155 (IL), 470 (KS), 170 (MO), 172, 180 (WY), 280 (IA-IL, NJ), 380 (IA, PA), 480 (IA-NE), 680 (IA-NE), 190 (SD), 194 (ND), 394, 494, 694, 794

DandyDan

I drove over I-880 and I-29 north of Council Bluffs today. I-680 is still signed on I-29, at least northbound. It feels like you're driving through a lake once you get past the Honey Creek exit. I hope they don't have another flood. I'm surprised they have "IOWA" posted on the I-880 signs,  considering they have older I-29 and I-80 signs without it.
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DandyDan

Quote from: DandyDan on December 01, 2019, 09:18:33 PM
I drove over I-880 and I-29 north of Council Bluffs today. I-680 is still signed on I-29, at least northbound. It feels like you're driving through a lake once you get past the Honey Creek exit. I hope they don't have another flood. I'm surprised they have "IOWA" posted on the I-880 signs,  considering they have older I-29 and I-80 signs without it.
I feel like I am repeating myself, but a year and a half later, the I-680 signs on I-29 are still up. Signs that suggest EB I-680 continues on NB I-29 continue to exist as you approach the I-29/I-680 interchange. I-680 signs also exist at the Honey Creek interchange. I didn't go further north, but it struck me as being too lazy to take old signs down.
MORE FUN THAN HUMANLY THOUGHT POSSIBLE

SD Mapman

Quote from: DandyDan on July 14, 2021, 08:14:12 PM
Quote from: DandyDan on December 01, 2019, 09:18:33 PM
I drove over I-880 and I-29 north of Council Bluffs today. I-680 is still signed on I-29, at least northbound. It feels like you're driving through a lake once you get past the Honey Creek exit. I hope they don't have another flood. I'm surprised they have "IOWA" posted on the I-880 signs,  considering they have older I-29 and I-80 signs without it.
I feel like I am repeating myself, but a year and a half later, the I-680 signs on I-29 are still up. Signs that suggest EB I-680 continues on NB I-29 continue to exist as you approach the I-29/I-680 interchange. I-680 signs also exist at the Honey Creek interchange. I didn't go further north, but it struck me as being too lazy to take old signs down.
That's what it seemed like to me over Christmas; the signage was such you could make the argument I-680 ended at the I-880/I-29 interchange after a 6-mile pointless multiplex.
The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see. - G.K. Chesterton

SSOWorld

Quote from: SD Mapman on August 30, 2021, 12:59:16 AM
Quote from: DandyDan on July 14, 2021, 08:14:12 PM
Quote from: DandyDan on December 01, 2019, 09:18:33 PM
I drove over I-880 and I-29 north of Council Bluffs today. I-680 is still signed on I-29, at least northbound. It feels like you're driving through a lake once you get past the Honey Creek exit. I hope they don't have another flood. I'm surprised they have "IOWA" posted on the I-880 signs,  considering they have older I-29 and I-80 signs without it.
I feel like I am repeating myself, but a year and a half later, the I-680 signs on I-29 are still up. Signs that suggest EB I-680 continues on NB I-29 continue to exist as you approach the I-29/I-680 interchange. I-680 signs also exist at the Honey Creek interchange. I didn't go further north, but it struck me as being too lazy to take old signs down.
That's what it seemed like to me over Christmas; the signage was such you could make the argument I-680 ended at the I-880/I-29 interchange after a 6-mile pointless multiplex.
That's IowaDOT for ya.
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.



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