[NEMDF]

We took 29 south to St Jo last weekend, and it was in good shape, only a couple areas where it was 2 lanes instead of 4, one of which was Hamburg, which was anticipated.

I really think one of the KEY reasons they could do these repairs so quickly is that the roads were completely closed while the work was being done, so they didn’t have to do that one-lane-at-a-time with crossovers and all. Probably made a big difference.

[Mountain Dewd]

That and the approximately 2 million dollar bonus they get for completing early.

When people have (financial) motivation, they work hard.

[ErnBatavia]

Mid July, we drove south on I-29 headed toward overnighting in St. Joseph - we were misled about the detour; it took us an extra 200 miles and four hours of meandering around rural Iowa, thanks to Iowa's DOT goofy detour signage.

We finally hooked up with two "Follow us and ignore the 'road closed ahead'" salesmen who got us on the right track.

That all said - the flood devastation around I-29 was astounding.