A portion of Interstate 80 in western Iowa that was closed overnight to repair a collapsed portion of the shoulder that could have affected the entire width of the three-lane road, re-opened this morning, just in time for the rush hour. Troy Jerman, with the Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 4 Office in Atlantic, told KJAN News the road re-opened today (Thursday) at 8-a.m.

Jerman says contrary to some earlier reports, the Interstate itself did not collapse at around 8:15-p.m. Wednesday, and create a 10-foot gap, two-to three-feet deep. He says it was just the shoulder that gave way. Immediately afterward, crews stopped working and investigated how extensive the void was.

Jerman says the situation began to unfold while crews were installing a pipe beneath the road located between Exits 1-A and 4, in Council Bluffs. Workers discovered a void that ran under the eastbound lanes, so they were closed to traffic. Jerman says they’re still not sure what caused the void.

Jerman says crews worked throughout the night to make sure the road would be open as quickly as possible.

(He says they cut a 10-foot section of the interstate out where the void was, backfilled it with granular materials and put a patch of pavement on top.)