AMES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa transportation officials say barriers that protected Interstate 29 near Blencoe from flooding along the Missouri River will be coming down. Officials say a contractor will begin removing them on Monday because the river continues to fall and they’re no longer needed. The barriers, called TrapBags, are filled with rock. The Iowa Department of Transportation says the work involves cutting open the bags to release the rock, and then loading and hauling the rock and bags away.

The project, which will cost over $160,000, is expected to last until Sept. 30. Northbound traffic will be rerouted for about 10 miles from the Blencoe interchange to a Monona County highway to Iowa Highway 175 and then back to I-29 at Onawa.