Iowa - report on Iowa City and travel conditions
Jun 17th, 2008, 04:49 AM
#1
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Iowa - report on Iowa City and travel conditions
While the rest of us are able to worry about our summer vacation plans, my friend in Iowa City reports in on her situation -- which, fortunately, is a LOT better than many there and in other places like Cedar Rapids, etc.
"Yes, our house is high and dry. T. flew to New Orleans [for a meeting] on 6/13, and I set out at noon to drive up to my mother's house [NW Michigan]. It took me six hours to get to Davenport (50 miles east of Iowa City). I got turned back from my first two attempts to cross the Cedar River, finally had to go up I-380 through Cedar Rapids to Waterloo, east on 20 to Dubuque, then down 61 to reconnect with I-80 at Davenport. I stopped just short of Chicago for the night. T. had no problem getting to the airport in the morning, but by the time I went up 380 the traffic was so heavy that I went for an hour without getting out of first gear. 380 through Cedar Rapids is very high, but I could see all the flooding in the downtown area. What a mess. That evening, 380 south of CR was closed, so now the official detour between Iowa City and the Cedar Rapids airport involves a 280 mile drive via Waterloo and DesMoines! City Park and Dubuque Street down the hill from us have been flooded for a couple of weeks now.
"I'm sure things will be messed up for weeks to come. Cedar Rapids was flooded by the Cedar River, which has begun to go down. Iowa City was flooded by the Iowa River, which is dammed just north of us. So, we have to wait until the entire reservoir empties out. That is expected to be a much slower process. I sure hope I can get back by a more direct route. I'm sure there will be a lot of cleaning up to do. T’s building [at the Univ.], and the whole hospital, are on high ground, fortunately."
For Des Moines Register pics: http://tinyurl.com/5urhhc
For article on road and cross-river closings: http://tinyurl.com/5jwc8w
"Yes, our house is high and dry. T. flew to New Orleans [for a meeting] on 6/13, and I set out at noon to drive up to my mother's house [NW Michigan]. It took me six hours to get to Davenport (50 miles east of Iowa City). I got turned back from my first two attempts to cross the Cedar River, finally had to go up I-380 through Cedar Rapids to Waterloo, east on 20 to Dubuque, then down 61 to reconnect with I-80 at Davenport. I stopped just short of Chicago for the night. T. had no problem getting to the airport in the morning, but by the time I went up 380 the traffic was so heavy that I went for an hour without getting out of first gear. 380 through Cedar Rapids is very high, but I could see all the flooding in the downtown area. What a mess. That evening, 380 south of CR was closed, so now the official detour between Iowa City and the Cedar Rapids airport involves a 280 mile drive via Waterloo and DesMoines! City Park and Dubuque Street down the hill from us have been flooded for a couple of weeks now.
"I'm sure things will be messed up for weeks to come. Cedar Rapids was flooded by the Cedar River, which has begun to go down. Iowa City was flooded by the Iowa River, which is dammed just north of us. So, we have to wait until the entire reservoir empties out. That is expected to be a much slower process. I sure hope I can get back by a more direct route. I'm sure there will be a lot of cleaning up to do. T’s building [at the Univ.], and the whole hospital, are on high ground, fortunately."
For Des Moines Register pics: http://tinyurl.com/5urhhc
For article on road and cross-river closings: http://tinyurl.com/5jwc8w
Jun 17th, 2008, 07:04 AM
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My thoughts go out to all of those in Iowa affected by this. Thanks for the links. We are headed to Des Moines in August and our hotel is on the river. The link had an article that mentioned the specific hotel and how the employees sandbagged and saved the hotel from any damage. I look forward to visiting, but beyond my own selfishness I hope that the areas recover quickly.
Jun 17th, 2008, 01:04 PM
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Sister-in-law in Cedar Rapids emailed Sunday that they had been told they could shower everyother day now. They live on the westside and her husband's office is on the otherside of town however he's been out of town on business.
Our daughter's mother-in-law just went to Chicago and sounds like she had to take a similiar detour.
The last we heard in Iowa alone there were over 35,000 left homeless.
Our daughter's mother-in-law just went to Chicago and sounds like she had to take a similiar detour.
The last we heard in Iowa alone there were over 35,000 left homeless.
Jun 17th, 2008, 03:26 PM
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The main highway 80 and 380 are still closed, most people are taking 20. A few of work buildings were evacuated, and one warehouse where we store a lot of our parts went under water last Tuesday. We are recovering, but yes, it's very heartbreaking. I live in Cedar Falls.
