Interstate 680 (I-680) in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

and

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

is the northern bypass of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. I-680 spans from its southern end in western

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, to its eastern end near

Crescent, Iowa Crescent is a city in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 628 at the 2020 census. Geography Crescent is located at (41.363656, -95.858789). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , ...

. The

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

passes through a diverse range of scenes and terrains—the urban setting of Omaha, the Missouri River and its valley, the rugged

Loess Hills The Loess Hills are a formation of wind-deposited loess soil in the westernmost parts of Iowa and Missouri, and the easternmost parts of Nebraska and Kansas, along the Missouri River. Geology The Loess (, , or ) Hills are generally located bet ...

, and the farmland of

Pottawattamie County, Iowa Pottawattamie County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. At the 2020 census, the population was 93,667, making it the tenth-most populous county in Iowa. The county takes its name from the Potawatomi Native American tribe. The cou ...

. From 1973 until 2019, I-680 extended much farther into Iowa. It followed I-29 for between Crescent and Loveland. It then headed east along what is now known as I-880 until it met I-80 again near Neola. The I-880 section was originally known as I-80N from 1966 until it was absorbed into I-680 in 1973. I-680 in Omaha was originally designated Interstate 280 (I-280). Maps from the early and mid-1960s showed I-280 in Omaha. Since this highway would extend into Iowa and

I-280 Interstate 280 may refer to multiple highways, all of which are or were related to Interstate 80: * Interstate 280 (California), a north–south freeway running from San Jose to San Francisco * Interstate 280 (Iowa–Illinois), part of the beltway ...

was already planned for the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

area, this route was redesignated I-680.

Route description

I-680 begins at a complex interchange with

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

in Omaha. Due to the proximity of the West Center Road interchange on I-680 and the I, L, and Q street interchanges on I-80, all the exit and entrance ramps which connect I-80 to I-680 also connect to West Center Road and I, L, and Q streets. The freeway heads north through the heart of

West Omaha West Omaha is a geographic area of Omaha, Nebraska, that comprises all points within the Omaha metropolitan area Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern Un ...

; it serves as a dividing line of several residential neighborhoods. north of West Center Road, which, prior to 2003, was Nebraska Highway 38 (N-38), is a new interchange with US Route 6 (US 6), known as

Dodge Street Dodge Street is the main east–west street in Omaha, Nebraska. Numbered as U.S. Route 6 (US 6), the street starts in Downtown Omaha and connects to West Dodge Road just west of 78th Street. From there, it continues westward through the ...

in Omaha. Another mile () north of Dodge Street is

N-64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...

, known as Maple Street. At N-133, I-680 turns to the east toward Iowa. South of this interchange, I-680 travels through residential neighborhoods, but, to the east, the population thins and the Interstate passes through farmland for . I-680 crosses over N-36, which is accessed via the US 75 interchange later. US 75 runs adjacent to I-680 for before turning south at 30th Street. The Interstate crosses the Missouri River to

via the Mormon Bridge. In Iowa, I-680 is markedly less urban than in Nebraska. The first of I-680 travel through the flat bottoms of the Missouri River valley. I-680 ends at an interchange with I-29 just west of

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

History

In Nebraska, plans for I-280 to bypass Omaha to the north to I-29 were drawn up in the late 1950s. At the same time, plans were being drawn up for an I-280 to bypass the Quad Cities. Since two Interstates cannot have the same designation in the same state, one of the I-280s had to be renumbered. The Omaha I-280 was redesignated as I-680 around 1965. In Iowa, I-80N opened to traffic on December 13, 1966. I-80N extended from the current northern interchange with I-29 near Loveland to the I-80 interchange near Neola. In the early 1970s, the

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United ...

(AASHTO) decided that Interstates with a directional suffix, such as I-80N, would have to be renumbered. By 1974, I-80N had been redesignated to I-680 to match Nebraska. The last piece of I-680 to be completed in Nebraska was the westbound bridge across the Missouri River. Paving in Iowa wrapped up in the years to come and the entire route was open to traffic by April 21, 1979.

2011 flooding

Over the course of several months in 2011, I-680 was severely damaged by flood waters from the Missouri River. The first sections of both I-680 and I-29 closed on June 10. I-29 was closed from North 25th Street to the northern I-680 interchange near Loveland. I-680 was closed from US 75 in Omaha to the southern interchange with I-29. A week later, water was diverted and drained from the area around the northern I-29 interchange to allow traffic to use the roads. I-680 was opened from the interchange to the Beebeetown exit and I-29 was reopened from the interchange to the US 30 exit at Missouri Valley. I-29 traffic was routed around the flooded area by using I-680 eastbound to I-80 westbound to Council Bluffs. After floodwaters receded and the damage was assessed, sections of I-680 were reopened to traffic. However, the section west of I-29 was the most heavily damaged and it remained closed. Contract bids were let on September 23, and reconstruction began on September 28. Construction crews worked at "an accelerated pace" to complete the road in 34 days. The road was officially reopened on November 2 during a ceremony in Crescent hosted by Governor

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa f ...

Exit list

References

External links