1. 2012 Moving Iowa Forward Conference
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Sheraton, West Des Moines
Mitchell Dillavou, Engineering Bureau Director
Iowa Department of Transportation

2. Iowa Department
of Transportation
The 2011 Missouri River Flood:
Coordinating Response and
Recovery
2

3. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
The Missouri River Basin
North Dakota
Montana
Wyoming South Dakota
Iowa
Nebraska
Colorado
Missouri 3

4. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Overview of Flood Event
• Snowpack in Northern Rockies was 212% above normal.
• One year’s worth of rain fell in the Upper Missouri Basin the last
two weeks of May.
• Water released from Gavins Point Dam June 25 exceeded
twice the previous record and did not decrease until July 31.
• The Missouri River in Sioux City was above flood stage from
June 5 to August 26 (82 days).
• Old oxbows / meanders filled with floodwater and groundwater.
• Longest duration flood event in U.S. history. 4

5. 180,000
2011 Missouri River Flood Timeline - Iowa Transportation Impacts
USACE: "Peak flow of 160kcfsreduced to 150kcfs
USACE: "Flow
through August" on August 1st"
USACE: "Peak flow of 150kcfs by USACE annouces plan to step-
160,000 mid-June" down to 90kcfs by Aug 27th
USACE: "Peak flow of 130-
Daily Average Release from Gavins Point Dam - Cubic Feet per Second
150kcfs by late I-680 north interchange
I-29 / June"
Waters begin to recede, exposing
closes
USACE announces peak flow of/ I-680 north interchange
I-29
140,000 extensive debris and damage
110kcfs by late June mitigation project
I-29 / I-680 north
Letting for I-680 re-construction
interchange re-opens
120,000 TrapBag installation on US-30 Letting for IA-175 Decatur bridge
west of Missouri Valley project
I-29 and IA-333 closed in I-680 in Council Bluffs area
Hamburg area (MP 1-10) (MP 1-3) re-opens
100,000 I-29 / Hamilton Blvd I-29 closed exit closes (exit 24)
exit Bartlett I-29 / Hamilton Blvd exit re-
(exit 149) mitigation on I-29 near
TrapBag opens (exit 149)
Blencoe (MP 107-109)
I-29 in Council Bluffs area
I-680 closed in Council Bluffs area IA-333 near Hamburg re-
80,000 (MP 55-71) re-opens
(MP 1-3)IA-175 Decatur bridge opens
embankment mitigation project
Gavins Point exceeds all-time
record flow of 70kcfs
60,000 IA-175 shoulder protection mitigation project using 12"
I-29
project ACC overlay (MP 103.5) I-29 near Hamburg (MP 0-
I-29 Closed in Council Bluffs area IA-175 Decatur bridge re-
32) re-opens
(MP 55-71) opens
IA-175 Decatur bridge closes
40,000 IA-2 lane closure
IA-2 closed west of I-29
20,000
-
27-May
3-Jun
1-Jul
8-Jul
5-Aug
12-Aug
19-Aug
26-Aug
10-Jun
17-Jun
24-Jun
15-Jul
22-Jul
29-Jul
2011 Release Rate Typical Year Release Rate
5

6. 180,000
2011 Missouri River Flood Timeline - Iowa Transportation Impacts
USACE: "Peak flow of 160kcfsreduced to 150kcfs
USACE: "Flow
USACE: "Peak flow of 150kcfs byAugust" on August 1st"
through USACE annouces plan to step-
160,000 mid-June" down to 90kcfs by Aug 27th
Daily Average Release from Gavins Point Dam - Cubic Feet per Second
USACE: "Peak flow of 130-
150kcfs by late I-680 north interchange
I-29 / June"
Waters begin to recede, exposing
closes
USACE announces peak flow of/ I-680 north interchange
I-29
140,000 extensive debris and damage
110kcfs by late June mitigation project
I-29 / I-680 north
Letting for I-680 re-construction
interchange re-opens
120,000 TrapBag installation on US-30 Letting for IA-175 Decatur bridge
west of Missouri Valley project
I-29 and IA-333 closed in I-680 in Council Bluffs area
Hamburg area (MP 1-10) (MP 1-3) re-opens
100,000 I-29 / Hamilton Blvd I-29 closed exit closes (exit 24)
exit Bartlett I-29 / Hamilton Blvd exit re-
(exit 149) mitigation on I-29 near
TrapBag opens (exit 149)
Blencoe (MP 107-109)
I-29 in Council Bluffs area
I-680 closed in Council Bluffs area IA-333 near Hamburg re-
80,000 (MP 55-71) re-opens
(MP 1-3)IA-175 Decatur bridge opens
embankment mitigation project
Gavins Point exceeds all-time
record flow of 70kcfs
60,000 IA-175 shoulder protection mitigation project using 12"
I-29
project ACC overlay (MP 103.5) I-29 near Hamburg (MP 0-
I-29 Closed in Council Bluffs area IA-175 Decatur bridge re-
32) re-opens
(MP 55-71) opens
IA-175 Decatur bridge closes
40,000 IA-2 lane closure
IA-2 closed west of I-29
20,000
-
7-Nov
14-Nov
15-Aug
22-Aug
29-Aug
5-Sep
12-Sep
19-Sep
26-Sep
3-Oct
10-Oct
17-Oct
24-Oct
31-Oct
2011 Release Rate Typical Year Release Rate
6

7. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Impact upon Iowa’s Primary Roads
• I-29, I-680 and other primary routes were impacted.
– Approximately 60 miles of roads were closed
– I-29 closed in two segments covering almost 50 miles
• 12 mitigation sites
– 7 closures
– 5 open sites had mitigation measures in place
– 3 of 12 Western Iowa river crossings were closed from
June to November
• Emergency projects to keep sections of I-29 and US 30
open. 7

8. I-29 Hamilton Blvd Interchange - Sioux City
Southbound exit / entrance ramps closed 8

9. Iowa Highway 175 Bridge: 1950’s
9

10. Iowa Highway 175 Bridge: 2009
10

11. Iowa Highway 175 Bridge: Summer 2011
11

12. Iowa Highway 175 Bridge

13. I-29 / I-680 north of Omaha-Council Bluffs
I-29 / I-680 Interchange looking west to Omaha 13

14. I-29 / I-680 north of Omaha-Council Bluffs
I-29 / I-680 Interchange looking southwest to Omaha 14

15. I-29 north of Omaha-Council Bluffs
I-29 Looking Southwest toward Council Bluffs 15

16. Levee Breech in Fremont County

17. I-29 in Southwest Iowa
I-29 looking north at MP 15 17

18. I-29 in Southwest Iowa
Water and debris on roadway at MP 1 18

19. I-29 in Southwest Iowa
Drainage ditch under mainline at MP 1 - Two months after flooding began
19

20. Rail damage in Fremont County
Rail line looking north from Iowa 2 east of I-29 20

21. I-29 at Hamburg
Looking north from the Missouri border 21

22. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Communication and Coordination
• Initial coordination between 6 states (South
Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas)
• Iowa DOT hosted a daily partner conference call / webinar
starting in June, became weekly in August and lasted into
October.
• Included neighboring states, Iowa state agencies, Federal
officials and facilitated key decision-making discussions.
• Heavy use of GIS provided partners a common operating
picture. Used Google Earth with custom layers (inundation
levels, LIDAR, historical imagery, etc…)
22

23. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Communication and Coordination
• Iowa DOT opened a flood call center for the public
– Open from June 9 - July 12.
– Anywhere from 2 - 8 operators at any one time, close to
50,000 calls were received from the public.
• A Missouri River Flood Website was hosted by Iowa DOT.
– Contains press releases, detour maps and other
information resources.
• The Iowa 511 site had approximately 650,000 visits during
peak flooding in June and July.
23

24. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Iowa DOT Response: District Level
• Flooding in 2 of 6 DOT Districts
• Resources from other Districts moved to Western Iowa
• State Disaster Proclamation issued
• State resources used to support local flood fight
• Missions assigned from State Emergency Operations Center
• High degree of coordination between DOT Districts and HQ
24

25. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Iowa DOT Response: District Level
• Mitigation Measures employed:
– Installation of TrapBags on shoulders and medians
– Raised roadway elevations with HMA overlay
– Used pumps and pipe jacking to keep water off roads
• Coordination with local officials
– Setting up local detour routes
– DOT access to local resources, e.g. quarries
– Providing information to affected residents
25

26. I-29 MP 107 in Monona County
TrapBag installation on southbound I-29 bridge 26

27. US 30 West of Missouri Valley
Installation of TrapBags on south side of US 30 27

28. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Iowa DOT Response: HQ Level
• Implemented Incident Command System (ICS).
• Daily conference calls / webinars with local-state-federal
partners, documented with Situation Reports
• Weekly detour coordination conference calls with neighboring
states (Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska).
• Participated in multiple US Army Corps conference calls.
• External Communications managed thru Public Information
Officer (PIO) in DOT’s Office of Multimedia Services.
• DOT’s 24/7 Operations Center posted information via the
Iowa 511, e-mail, Twitter and other subscription services.
28

29. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Multi-state Global Detour
June 13 – June 17
I-29 Detour
I-29 in Iowa
150 Extra Miles
152 Miles
(Kansas City – Sioux Falls)

30. Iowa DOT Website:
Multi-state Global Detour
June 17 – October 8
Iowa
Nebraska
Missouri
Kansas

31. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Iowa DOT Response: Local Impacts
• A 75 mile stretch of the Missouri River had no open highway
crossings.
• Detours forced Interstate traffic on to local roads.
• The decreased flow of goods and services led to economic
displacement in communities along the river.
• One of the three Interstate crossings in Omaha-Council Bluffs
was closed on June 9.
• Movement of large amounts of materials (sand and rock)
adversely impacted local roads and residents.
31

32. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Iowa DOT Response: Regional Impacts
• The scope and duration of the flooding required substantial
coordination between Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
• Coordination between the states and Federal agencies
(FHWA, Army Corps of Engineers) aided the response.
• Increased efforts were made between the four states to
maintain a consistent message and coordinate detours.
• A global detour was in place starting in June to address the
closure of I-29 in Western Iowa. Detour map hosted by Iowa
DOT.
32

33. 33

34. I-680 in Western Iowa
34
Receding water reveals damage

35. I-29 in Southwest Iowa
35
Debris on roadway after water receded

36. I-680 Reconstruction
Project Timeline
•Pre-Bid Meeting September 14th
•Bid Letting September 23rd
•PCI & Reilly Construction $19,239,000
•Open to Traffic November 2nd
36

37. 37

38. 38

39. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
Flood Recovery
• First road closed June 4th (I-29 SB Hamilton Blvd exit in Sioux City)
• I-29 in Council Bluffs opened September 23rd
• I-29 in Southern Iowa opened October 8th
• I-680 and IA-175 opened November 2nd
• Last road opened November 11th (IA-333)
Projects Awarded $ 37.8 million
Future Projects 2.6 million
Total $ 40.4 million
39

40. Iowa Department
2011 Missouri River Flood
of Transportation
QUESTIONS?
40