I-29 work in Bluffs will close lanes through May [Video]

You might notice a traffic squeeze on Interstate 29 north of Omaha and Council Bluffs the next few weeks.

Engineers say it’s to make the road safer.

Over the next four weeks, workers will be installing a cable barrier in the I-29 median between Exit 56 (North 16th Street) and Exit 61 (Interstate 680/Old Mormon Bridge Road). Work is scheduled to wrap up May 30.

The barrier is designed to dramatically reduce the threat of head-on collisions by crossover drivers, said Austin Yates, southwest Iowa district engineer for the Iowa Department of Transportation.

To safely accommodate the construction, the inside traffic lane will be closed in both directions for nearly the entire five miles of freeway.

“We have the left lane closed so the trucks can have ready access to the median,” Yates said.