Crews open new lanes on Interstate 80 through Iowa City

IOWA CITY- Construction crews worked overnight Thursday to open new eastbound lanes on Interstate 80.  For the past six months, traffic patterns along  a 4.5-mile stretch from the Iowa River bridge to Herbert Hoover Highway have shifted all vehicles into the westbound lanes.  The construction is part of a massive multiyear project by the Department of Transportation to widen the interstate through Johnson County.

Crews hope to remove the center lane barrier that divided traffic in the westbound lanes by the end of next week.  "We are removing everything back to normal for the winter," said Ben Pasker, senior construction technician at the DOT's Manchester office.

The completion of the eastbound lanes marks an end to the third phase of the five-phase project.  Next spring crews will begin widening the westbound lanes, Pasker said.

The construction zone became a point of concern for truck drivers last spring after six trucks drove off a narrow shoulder created by the lane reductions.  At least two of the trucks sustained major damage, and a few of the drivers were treated for injuries.