PLATTSMOUTH – Commuters on Wednesday going between Plattsmouth and Omaha will be much happier after one of southeast Nebraska’s main routes reopened Tuesday evening.
The Nebraska Department of Roads closed Highway 75 for nearly five days because the Platte River topped the levees in Cass County and flowed over the road and surrounded homes and businesses in more than eight feet of water.
Interstate 29 from Council Bluffs, Iowa to St. Joseph, Missouri remains closed. Road crews also have Highway 2 at Nebraska City blocked.
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Commuters headed to Sarpy, Douglas Counties slowed — or blocked — by floodwaters
LOUISVILLE – Commuters heading to Sarpy and Douglas Counties took much longer to get to work and home Monday because of roads closed by floodwaters, and some people weren’t able to make it to work at all.
Interstate 29 – from Council Bluffs, Ia. to Rock Port, Mo – and Highway 75 north of Plattsmouth both remained closed Monday night in both directions. The road closures left Highway 50 as the only route to get between Otoe and Sarpy Counties.
George Blessing, Jr., from Murray, Neb., normally takes Hwy. 75 to Omaha and on the average day it takes him about 40 minutes to get to his job as a Systems Engineer at the University of Nebraska.
On Monday, he says, it took nearly an hour and 45 minutes – including 35 minutes to go just one mile near Louisville.
“The real issue is that Hwy. 50 is the only route, both northbound and southbound. People definitely have the same idea. I see traffic from Otoe County, from Nemaha County, from Cass County…there’s a lot of people on Hwy. 50 these days.”
It took Blessing another 35-40 minutes to travel between Springfield and Louisville – a total of six miles between the two towns.
The Nebraska State Patrol sent extra troopers to Hwy. 75 between the Kansas line to Nebraska City on Monday due to heavy traffic.
There has been no official word on when I-29 and Hwy. 75 will reopen.
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