Iowa IndyCar race in jeopardy?
06/16/08 Interstate Highway 80 remains closed in both directions at milepost 266 in Cedar County, just west of the Iowa 38 interchange.
This major transportation artery may not reopen until the middle of the week according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The reopening depends on additional rain and any damage discovered to the roadway.
The I-80 detour route is U.S. Highway 61 north to U.S. Highway 20 in Dubuque, west on U.S. 20 to Interstate 35, and south on Interstate 35 to Interstate 80 in Des Moines. Des Moines Register
Note — This detour takes all traffic off of the section of I-80 where Newton is located…. Tim Wohlford reporting
06/14/08 While the Iowa Speedway website claims that the show must go on (below), there are good reasons to doubt that the event will happen.
Newton, Iowa is only about 70 miles from Cedar Rapids, where some 1300 city blocks are under water. Thirty miles the other way on I-80, a levee failed in Des Moines this morning, causing the evacuation of 270 homes. Parts of I-80 are currently closed due to high water.
Newton itself is not flooded, but no doubt emergency crews that are scheduled for use at Newton are busy attending to the needs of the flooded areas. In addition, hotel rooms will probably be full with displaced families as well as rescue workers.
In a similar situation, NASCAR postponed the 1998 Pepsi 400 due to fires, not because the fires threatened the Daytona area, but because of the need for emergency personnel to fight the fire, as well as highways being closed due to smoke.
From IowaSpeedway.com:
Iowa’s flooding disaster is not directly affecting scheduled events for the IndyCar Series weekend, June 20-22, at Iowa Speedway. The facility has immediate access to I-80 and is located on elevated ground near an adjacent airport. Racing fans who plan to attend the Iowa Corn Indy 250, especially those out-of-state, are encouraged to proceed with plans to attend the event.