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County staff say DOT is considering proactive interstate closures during major winter storms; board raises concerns about local diversions
Summary
A county employee reported that DOT is exploring proactive interstate closures triggered by meteorological forecasts that could shut corridors from the Quad Cities to Iowa City during severe storms; supervisors raised concerns about traffic diverting to two‑lane local roads and asked staff to get more details.
At the Nov. 24 Muscatine County Board of Supervisors meeting a county employee, Brian, told the board the Department of Transportation (DOT) is exploring a plan to proactively close interstate segments during certain major winter storms based on its meteorological forecasts.
"They're going to look into doing a proactive closure of the interstate," Brian said, describing DOT’s preliminary approach: DOT would use its in-house meteorological forecast to meet a threshold that would trigger a closure, notify counties and emergency management officials a few hours in advance, and run wintertime operations on the closed corridor until travel could safely resume. Brian said DOT is working with Google Maps and with developers on notification systems and an "amber alert type system" to warn travelers when an interstate closure is imminent.
Board members expressed concern about traffic being diverted to smaller local roads. One supervisor warned: "You're gonna take them off a road designed for traffic and put it on a 2 lane road," noting Highway 6 and other local routes are prone to heavy congestion and closures during major winter events. Brian acknowledged the concern and said counties and the county EMA would be notified ahead of such closures when possible.
Brian said the plan is preliminary and that DOT’s current thinking in the meeting he attended would apply corridor-wide in eastern Iowa — he mentioned a potential closure corridor stretching from the Quad Cities to Iowa City — and that more details would be provided as they become available. He also updated the board on local roadwork, including Stuart Road paving nearing completion and a delay caused by a fiber‑optic cable in the shoulder, and said residents can call the county office or subscribe to the county "notify me" service for updates.
What’s next: Brian said he would obtain additional details from DOT and share that information with the board; the transcript does not show a formal directive or vote on the matter.
