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.)

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Transportation Department expects to reopen eastbound Interstate 80 this (Thursday) morning.  District 4 engineer Troy Jerman says the pavement patch should be cured and ready for use by 8 a.m.

Jerman says a portion of the interstate shoulder collapsed about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday as workers were installing a pipe under the roadway. They discovered a void that ran under the eastbound lanes, so they were closed to traffic.

Drivers trying to cross from Nebraska into Iowa had been advised to seek other routes on Thursday. They were directed north to the Interstate 680 or south to the Veterans Memorial Bridge in southern Omaha. Westbound lanes remained in use.

(Note: Red Oak Police issued a correction on the name of the female.  Her name is Nicole SMITH, not Barker. This post edited at 7:51-a.m.)

The Red Oak Police Department reports a man and a woman were arrested early this morning on theft-related charges. 38-year old Markus Eugene Johnson, and 25-year old Nicole Ann Smith, both of Red Oak, were taken into custody at around 4:30-a.m. at 301 W. 4th Avenue in Red Oak. Both face a charge of Aiding and Abetting (Theft in the 2nd degree). The pair were being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 cash bond, each.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

A Red Oak man was arrested this (Thursday) morning for operating an ATV that was reported stolen. Timmy Lee Gardner was operating a 1997 Polaris Trail Blazer 250 ATV southbound on Highway 48 near 215th Street. A check of the Vehicle Identification Number (or, VIN) revealed the machine was stolen. Gardner was arrested for Theft in the 2nd Degree/Motor Vehicle, and brought to the  Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $5,000 cash bond. Red Oak Police assisted Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies in conducting the arrest.

The officer who’s been second-in-command of the U.S. nuclear arsenal has been fired after being accused of using 15-hundred dollars worth of counterfeit chips at a Council Bluffs casino. A Navy spokesman says Vice Admiral Tim Giardina was removed from his position at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha on Wednesday. Giardina was also demoted to a two-star admiral. For nearly two years Giardina has been the deputy commander of U.S. nuclear forces. The gambling allegations surfaced in June at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs. Agents from the State of Iowa and the Navy are investigating the case.

Giardina is a highly decorated officer with more than three decades of service in the Navy. He had been deputy commander and chief of staff of the U.S. Pacific Fleet before his assignment at Offut Air Force Base. He was stripped of his security clearance in early September.

(Radio Iowa)

Three men were arrested on drug charges Wednesday night, in Red Oak. Authorities say 20-year old Timothy John Jennings and 19-year old Gillian Ray James Bourn, both of Red Oak, and 19-year old Jacob William Avery, of Emerson, each face charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

The trio were arrested just after 10-p.m.Wednesday following a traffic stop at the corner of 1st Avenue an West 3rd Street, in Red Oak. The men were brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement  Center and held on $1,000 cash bond, each.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports three men were cited for Open C0ntainer, following a traffic stop early this (Thursday) morning. The vehicle was pulled over at around 12:50-a.m., and upon further investigation, the passengers, identified as 45-year old Raymond Briggs, 36-year old Clinton Gardner, and 35-year old Jeffrey Joiner, were all found to be in possession of alcohol. The men were cited and released.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Patrol says a section of Interstate 80 in Council Bluffs has collapsed, but no one was injured. The Omaha World-Herald reports crews were installing a pipe beneath the freeway when the three eastbound lanes collapsed Wednesday night. Council Bluffs police say the collapse left about a 10-foot gap that was 2 to 3 feet deep.

Workers immediately called 911 and authorities were able to halt traffic and avoid injuries. The state Department of Transportation posted a message on its website just before 9 p.m. saying lanes were blocked between Exit 1A and Exit 4.

Omaha TV station WOWT reported the Department of Transportation advised that eastbound lanes from the Missouri River bridge to the South Expressway exit would remain closed until late afternoon Thursday.