(Radio Iowa) – Blizzard conditions have shut down roadways and travel is not recommended in many areas of western and northwestern Iowa this afternoon. D-O-T Winter Operations Director Craig Bargfrede says a large area is impacted. “If you draw a line basically from just north of Council Bluffs, kind of in the Missouri Valley area, and then do a diagonal up through Carroll Fort Dodge Mason City, pretty much that area, along that line and just north of that line. Interstate 29 is closed in both directions between Sergeant Bluff and Missouri Valley.
Bargfrede says they are working on getting some of the vehicles there removed as there are power lines down on the interstate. He says electric crews can’t get in to work on the power lines until they get cars out of the way. Bargfrede says there are a lot of semis and other cars that have blocked roads as the storm blew through. “We didn’t close the roads, the roads closed themselves due to incidents and vehicles and trucks basically getting stuck and stranded in those areas,” he says. Bargfrede says they have NOT pulled any crews off the roadways.
“We’re continuing to plow and trying to get in there as best we can and at least free those vehicles,” Bargfrede says. “There are some towing bans in place up in that same area. So, what that means if the vehicle is down in the right of way, not in the traveled portion of the highway, it’s probably going to remain there until conditions have improved.” He says the snow missed much of the rest of the state as it curled up north.
“Get into the Des Moines and on into like, say, Iowa City, Coralville, Cedar Rapids area, into the Quad Cities. Conditions are are much better, still seeing wind, still seeing some off and on showers in that area, but not the snow. It’s pretty dramatic drop off from where we’re seeing the significant snow till there’s basically nothing other than wet payment,” Bargfrede says…