Repairs address I-380 bridge erosion spotted in viral Facebook photo

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Iowa Department of Transportation has scheduled repairs to begin this weekend on Interstate 380 bridges where motorists spotted eroding concrete and exposed steel in piers last spring.

The repairs will require closing down the access ramp from westbound Highway 30 to northbound Interstate 380 this weekend and three other unscheduled weekends. The deck joints aren't working properly causing water drainage to pool on the concrete piers, said John Vu, an Iowa DOT engineer involved in the project.

'It's to stop water draining onto the piers,” Vu said. 'It causes damage to the piers. When you have a lot of salts in the water from the winter, it will eat away the concrete.”

A viral photo of the deterioration shared 2,200 times caused a stir on Facebook last spring. The Iowa DOT allayed fears saying safety of the I-380 bridges over Hawkeye Downs Road SW were not compromised despite that the columns 'may look bad.” The agency noted a rehabilitation project was already in the works.

Repairs to improve drainage and allow room for expansion are set to begin on six joints of two I-380 bridges over Prairie Creek, Hawkeye Downs Road SW and railroad tracks, according to the Iowa DOT. The northbound on-ramp will be closed from 8 p.m. tonight to 6 a.m. Monday, weather permitting, according to the Iowa DOT Cedar Rapids construction office.

'The on ramp is too close to the bridge, so there's no room for traffic to merge and it would cause a lot of accidents,” Vu said in explaining the Highway 30 ramp closure.

Traffic on westbound 30 will be detoured to Highway 13 and 151 to Highway 100/Collins Road and then to I-380.

Iowa Erosion Control, Inc. of Victor, has the $1.5 million contract to complete the project.

Work crews can only take on halves of three joints per weekend, which is why it is expected to take four weekends, Vu said. Weather will dictate the remaining scheduled weekends. Vu added the work was scheduled for the weekend when the traffic is lightest.

The 380/30 crossing is one of the busiest spots in Eastern Iowa with around 100,000 per day passing through that point, according to Iowa DOT figures. Only a fraction of that amount use the westbound 30 ramp off I-380, although the Iowa DOT doesn't have a count for the ramp, Vu said.

Later in the project, the 33rd Avenue on-ramp to southbound I-380 will be closed. Detoured traffic could go north on I-380 and then take Wilson Ave exit to go southbound, or travel on Sixth Street and J Street to get on Highway 30 and then southbound I-380.