Flooding, Road Conditions

2011 Missouri River Flooding Update #4

Here is the latest on the long duration flood on the Missouri River as of July 2nd.

At Sioux City, the river stage was 34.5ft at 2pm. The river is expected to remain at this level (which is moderate flood) through the weekend into next week. It is down a foot from a few days ago however.

Downstream at Decatur NE, the stage was 39.8ft at 2pm. It is expected to remain around 39.5 feet through next week (which is moderate flood)

At Blair NE, the stage was 32.2ft at 2pm. It is expected to slowly fall to 31.4 feet (which is moderate flood) by Thursday Morning, however that is still almost 5 feet above flood stage.

At Omaha NE, the stage was 36ft at 2:45pm. It is expected to fall to 35 feet by Tuesday and remain steady near that level (which is moderate flood) through the rest of the week.

At Plattsmouth NE, the stage was 36.2 feet at 2pm. The river is expected to fall slowly to 35 feet by Thursday, which is still major flood stage and 9 feet above flood stage.

At Nebraska City, the stage was 26.1 feet at 3pm. The river stages here have been falling due to the levee breach near Percival several days ago. The river crested last Tuesday at 28.3 feet. The river here is expected to rise again to 27 feet by Thursday which is Major Flood Stage.

Here are the roads that are closed (or otherwise noted) from the Iowa Department of Transportation.

I-29 Hamilton Boulevard interchange in Woodbury County: The southbound I-29 interchange ramps at Hamilton Boulevard in Sioux City are closed. An alternative ramp has been constructed from southbound I-29 to Wesley Parkway/U.S. 77.

I-29 in Pottawattamie County: The south- and northbound lanes of I-29 between milepost 54B (North 35th Street interchange in Council Bluffs) and the I-29/680 interchange at milepost 71 (near Loveland) are closed. This is expected to be a longer-term closure.

I-29 from exit 24 (near Bartlett, Iowa) south across the Iowa/Missouri state line to the U.S. 136 interchange in Missouri (Mo. 110 exit, near Rock Port): The north- and southbound lanes are closed. This is expected to be a longer-term closure.

I-680 in Omaha area: I-680 is closed from the I-29/680 interchange (exit 61 near Crescent) in Iowa to North 30th Street in Omaha, Neb. (exit 13). This closure includes the Mormon Bridge across the Missouri River. This is expected to be a longer-term closure.

UPDATE: U.S. 30 west of Missouri Valley, including the Blair, Neb. Bridge across the Missouri River: This road is currently OPEN for the holiday weekend, but will close again at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 5. The temporary closure is expected to last approximately 48 hours while a flood barrier wall is installed along the north side of the road.

Iowa 2 in Fremont County: Iowa 2 is closed from I-29 in Iowa to Nebraska City. Both east- and westbound lanes are closed. This is expected to be a longer-term closure.

UPDATE: Iowa 175 between I-29 (near Onawa) and Decatur, Neb.: The road is closed because of serious erosion of the embankment near the east abutment of the Decatur Bridge.

Iowa 333 in Hamburg: Iowa 333 is closed from I-29 into Hamburg. Access to Hamburg is currently available via U.S. 275 in Iowa.

Iowa 376 northbound (U.S. 75 Business-Lewis Boulevard): The exit ramp to westbound Gordon Drive is closed.