The Damage

No one knows for sure exactly when the approaches to the bridges began to collapse, because the roadway was covered with water. But at around 8:50 am MDT, the first call came in that there was severe damage to some of the bridges that were submerged. As the floodwaters slowly receded, personnel on the scene found it hard to believe so much damage had been done in just a few hours.

Roadways, farmland, businesses, no one was immune. The major damage to the interstate highway system occurred when the approaches to bridges in both the east and westbound lanes of Interstate 80 near Ogallala, NE, were washed out. The bridges were still standing, but no one initially knew if they were structurally sound. The Interstate was closed and the thousands of vehicles that use the Interstate each day had to be rerouted. The aftermath of the flood was a logistical nightmare.

(Click on each thumbnail below to see a larger view)

Looking north across the west approach in the  westbound lane	Another view of the same damaged approach-Note the mud from the field washouts	View showing field washout near the damaged approaches	Looking west -showing both damaged approaches in the westbound lane
View showing the east approach of the westbound lane	View showing tree that was uprooted and floated into the area by the force of the flash flood	Another view of damage to one of the approaches	Contractors and NDOR Engineers inspect the remaining structures on Monday, July 8
These photos were taken by Rodney McNeel, District 6, NDOR Thanks to the Omaha World Herald for allowing us to use some material from their stories about the flood