Closing I-35 Right Decision; Winter Storm, Winds Present Challenges

The Iowa DOT and Iowa State Patrol closed Interstate 35 from Ames to the Minnesota state line at about 3 pm last Sunday (03.15), as blizzard conditions continued to ramp up across north Iowa.

Pete Hjelmstad with the DOT’s Mason City office says it was the right call.

After about 19 hours of closure, I-35 opened in both directions at around 10 am Monday (03.16) morning. 

The winter storm was challenging for secondary roads crews Sunday as well.

That’s Chickasaw County Engineer Roman Lensing giving the Board of Supervisors a recap of road clearing efforts that resumed Monday (03.16) morning at 5 am. He also noted that high winds last Thursday (03.12), with gusts of around 60 mph, created extra work, too.

In Floyd County, Engineer Adam Miller reported that blacktops were all good as of about 2 pm Monday, though the wind was still causing drifting snow.  He said crews were running on gravel roads, but it may take through Tuesday (03.17)  or longer to get all the snow drifts cleared.  

He added that he had not heard of any areas in the county that were impassable and “I think we got lucky on this one!”