Thousands of Iowans will be hitting the road over the Memorial Day weekend and they’re being reminded to watch out for construction zones. Mark Bortle, with the Iowa Department of Transportation, says one of the bigger projects in central Iowa is along Interstate 35 from West Des Moines, south to just beyond the town of Cumming.
“We still will be maintaining two lanes in each direction, but traffic will be a little bit more congested due to the closeness of the construction activity,” Bortle says. That project, which carries a price tag of just over $32 million, is expected to be completed later this year.
Other roadwork will impact travelers in western Iowa. “We have ongoing projects in the Council Bluffs metro area as we continue to rebuild the interstate system there and up in the Sioux City area…that will impact Interstate 29 traffic up in Woodbury County,” Bortle says.
In northeast Iowa, motorists may be slowed down a bit if they pass through Waterloo. “We’re doing some work on the I-380 bridge over San Marnan Drive and traffic is restricted to one lane in that normal three lane section,” Bortle says. While the DOT will not be doing work in most construction zones over the holiday weekend, Bortle says motorists should still slow down when they see the black-on-orange warning signs and merge into the appropriate lanes as soon as they can.
You can check the DOT website to find the various construction areas in the state.