AMES, Iowa – Sept. 2, 2011 – The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) has set a proactive course to get traffic moving again in western Iowa just as quickly as possible now that the Missouri River flood waters are beginning to recede. A multitude of activities are underway, some are behind the scenes and others are already visible. For instance, contractors started this week removing tons of debris and power washing the sticky layer of muck from sections of Interstate 29 in Fremont and Pottawattamie counties. Yesterday, the I-29 and Hamilton Boulevard in Woodbury County was fully reopened to travel.

Because there is a lot a work ahead, the Iowa DOT will be providing regular updates to the public regarding damage assessments and progress being made to restore travel. Communications will be provided via news releases, posting of progress updates and photos on the Iowa DOT’s flood information website (http://www.iowadot.gov/floods/index.html), and by other means. The Iowa DOT is examining a wide range of options and innovative approaches to expedite the recovery process. Timetables and cost estimates will be provided when that information becomes available.

Each highway segment impacted by the flooding has unique characteristics and challenges, so the Iowa DOT’s public information efforts will frequently focus on specific sites and activities underway in those areas. Due to safety concerns and reconstruction activities involving heavy equipment, public access beyond the road closure barricades and to the damaged sites is restricted.

Officials with the Iowa DOT say road construction work on Interstate 680 between I-29 (exit 71) near Loveland and I-80 (exit 27) north of Neola will cause intermittent lane closures in both directions beginning Tuesday, Sept. 27th, weather permitting.  The project is expected to be completed by mid-October.

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Council Bluffs construction office reports bridge construction work on Interstate 80 between Pottawattamie County Road M-16 (exit 34) near Shelby and U.S. 59 (exit 40) near Avoca will cause lane closures in the outside lane beginning Monday, Sept. 12th, weather permitting . The project is expected to be completed by early October.

A pickup truck was totaled and its driver suffered possible, minor injuries, after the vehicle collided with a semi this (Friday) morning, in Montgomery County. Sheriff’s officials say 41-year old Ronald Paul Lyons, Jr., of Beaumont, TX, was transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital by Red Oak Rescue, following the crash at around 8-a.m. about half-way between Red Oak and Emerson.

Authorities said Lyons pulled his 2002 Ford F-150 pickup off of the traveled portion of Highway 34 in a turning lane, that would allow a vehicle to turn right off of the highway, without impeding the flow of traffic. As Lyons attempted to conduct a left hand turn, his truck collided with the center portion of a westbound, passing semi-tractor trailer. Following the impact, the pickup ricocheted off of the semi, and came to rest in the ditch at the intersection of Highway 34 and County Road M-37 (Boxelder Avenue).

The driver of the semi, 47-year old Jeffrey Arnold, of Kahoka, MO., locked up the brakes on the cab and trailer. The tractor-trailer slid across the intersection and came to rest on the pavement, facing westbound. Arnold was not injured in the crash, but the 1997 Peterbilt semi he was driving sustained $5,000 damage to a drive axle and fuel tank assembly.

The pickup, valued at $12,000, was a total loss. The sheriff’s report did not indicate if any citations were issued.

The Atlantic Fire Department responded to a report of a possible vehicle explosion this (Friday) morning, at the local scrap metal recycling plant. The call about a fire at Frederiksen Iron Recycling at 607 Sunnyside Lane, came in just after 11-a.m.

Fire department  officials say workers at the facility were working on a car that was being scrapped, when a fire broke out. There were reports a small explosion, possibly related to a fuel tank rupture, could be heard across the street from the business. Workers at the recycling facility typically punch holes in a fuel tank before a vehicle is crushed or recycled, to prevent such a incident.

The fire was quickly extinguished, and no injuries were reported.