A New I-380 Interchange Has Officially Opened

One way to get anyone fired up in the state of Iowa is to bring up roundabouts. When it comes to roundabouts, it appears as if there is no middle ground here in Iowa. You either love them or you hate them. I have a feeling eastern Iowa residents, specifically those who use this newly designed road, are going to have similar thoughts. You're either going to love Tower Terrace Road's new interchange or you're going to hate it.

Have you ever heard of a diverging diamond interchange before? If you haven't, you'll be familiar with this term very soon.

How do diverging diamond interchanges work? Sometimes these are referred to as DDIs and supposedly they allow free-flowing turns when entering and exiting an interstate. This video does a good job of explaining how they work and what they look like from an ariel view.

According to KCRG, after years of planning and two years of construction, the Tower Terrace Road interchange is officially open. The Iowa DOT and the City Officials of Hiawatha held a ribbon cutting yesterday (June 22) to announce the new design just off Interstate 380.

The newly designed interchange is available for people to drive on, but there is still work that needs to be completed. Drivers can still expect small portions of the roadway to be closed off at various times this summer.

Jon Fitch is the Hiawatha City Engineer and he told KCRG that it's been exciting to see the process come together. He said

It’s a very slow process during the early parts of construction, but to see it all come together with all the contractors and subcontractors working together, this is just exciting because they’re ahead of schedule and this is just a great economic opportunity for all the metro communities.

This interchange is the first step in the process that connects Cedar Rapids, Robins, and Marion all the way to Highway 13.

How do you feel about this new DDI located in eastern Iowa? Is this something you'd be a fan of where you live? Could we start seeing more of these being constructed throughout the state? Let us know how you feel in the comments.