Gates have been used on the Interstate 35 in northern Iowa for many years to close the roadway during winter storms. They are now being installed across the state, including an area in central Iowa near one of the state’s fastest growing cities.
The DOT’s Bob Ellis says a blizzard in February led to the decision to install five gates on the northbound I-35 ramps in Ankeny. “We had multiple accidents just north of 36th Street between 36th and Huxley, where the interstate pretty much closed itself, so those gates would come in handy where we just don’t let any more people get onto the system,” Ellis says. He says they work with local law enforcement to figure out when things are bad enough to close the gates and cut off interstate access.
Ellis says they started putting the gates along Interstate 80 last year, starting in Altoona and heading east all the way to Davenport…