County staff told the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 24 that the Iowa Department of Transportation is planning to proactively close sections of interstate highways during major winter storms, a step that could divert interstate traffic onto local two‑lane roads and create traffic and emergency‑response challenges.

A county staff member who briefed the board said DOT pays for its own meteorologist and would send notifications when the forecast meets a closure threshold. "Their intent would be to send out notifications saying, hey... at this time the interstate's going to close," the staff member said, adding DOT hopes to reopen interstate traffic as soon as possible after operations on the interstate resume.

The staff member said DOT's current plan could include closing stretches from the Quad Cities to Iowa City in large events and that the agency intends to notify the county engineer and the local Emergency Management Agency a few hours before such a closure. The staff member warned that diverting interstate traffic can overload parallel two‑lane routes: "You're gonna take them off a road designed for traffic and put it on a 2 lane road," a board member responded.

County staff also noted a recent local emergency response that used Pettibone as a detour route when Fruitland Volunteer Fire Department crews could not access Muscatine directly; staff reiterated that residents can subscribe to county alert services and use 5‑1‑1 mapping for current road status. On local road work, staff said paving operations on Stuart Road are essentially complete for the season but final shoulder, erosion and tiling work remain; a fiber‑optic cable currently blocks some shoulder work and may delay final opening, with staff estimating roughly three more weeks if the fiber is relocated.

What happens next: County staff said they will seek more information from DOT about notification protocols and implementation of any interstate closures and will share updates with the board and the public when available.