The Council Bluffs and Sioux City interstate projects continue to plod along, and a big sign of progress is coming soon in Council Bluffs.
The Daily Nonpareil reports the Iowa DOT plans to open the westbound dual divided freeway for I-29/80 in early spring (assuming, as one must, that spring will come). This means there will be a clear shot from the Mall of the Bluffs exit across the Missouri River for I-80 with only the I-29 exit ramps in between. The state’s page, with a video I can’t embed, says the counterpart (eastbound 80/southbound 29) will open later in the year. See also this PDF. The Iowa DOT also has a “sponsored feature” online at the Omaha World-Herald that says the overall $1.6 billion, 15-year project is “on schedule and on or under budget.”
There is a safety valve of sorts: Each end of the dual divided freeway will have a ramp from Express I-80 to either direction of I-29. Nebraska is adding a lane to I-80 between 13th Street and US 75 on its side of the river.
The DOT’s Council Bluffs Interstate site has an “online meeting” that offers details about the upcoming year’s construction in the area.