The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 11

Des Moines Register ST AROUND IOWA Thursday, December 27, 2001 Page 3B Traffic on lowa's IOWA 1-35 between Des Moines interstate highways and north border Tell 1 Average daily traffic has grown dramatically on Iowa's interstate 1-29 Sioux Mason City roads over the past two between City decades. Commercial trucks account for a and 1-680 significant share of the increase. traffic: 18.400 Sioux I-380 between Waterloo and 1-80 KEY: Waterloo City 26. 7000 ANNUAL AVERAGE PERCENT I DAILY TRAFFIC MERLINS 64. 900 I-80 between Des Moines and I-380 1-80 between I-680 Daily 29.

I-29 16,400 and Des Moines Cedar 1-35 20,800 Tile traffic: 22. Rapids I-74 36,000 1-80 27,300 Iowa 1-129 1 19,400 Des Moines City I-235 86,700 1-235 1-80 between I-380 1-280 16,500 700 and east border Council Bluffs 1-380 26,700 1-29 between Council Daily aiffe: 32. 9001 Bluffs and south border 1-480 1 52.800 Dully 13.2010 I-35 between Des Moines 1-680 7,000 and south border ALL 23,800 Butte 1. SOURCE: lowa Department of Transportation KATIE REGISTER Interstate 80 takes a beating in Iowa By WILLIAM PETROSKI routes such as I-80 causes the REGISTER STAFF WRITER The east-west road saw 27,300 vehicles a day pavement to wear out relatively Mitchellville, la. Interstate quickly, said Robert Younie, a state east -west," Baumel said.

Despite heavy truck traffic on I-80, some motorists say they don't have any hesitation about continuing to drive the route in their cars, vans and sport utility vehicles. "It's the fastest way to get there," said Michael Stoll of Peosta in northeast Iowa. He and his wife, Norma, were recently headed on I-80 to Iowa Medical Center in Des Moines, where their daughter had given birth. However, Tom Aller of Cedar Rapids, chairman of the Iowa Transportation Commission, said he is concerned about worsening traffic congestion on I-80. It's one reason why he favors continued study of a proposed high-speed passenger train service that would run from Chicago to Omaha along the Iowa Interstate Railroad's tracks.

"I-80 is getting clogged. There are times that it is dangerous, and it is getting worse," Aller said. In contrast to Iowa's rural interstate highways, 1-235 in the Des Moines area primarily serves metro commuters, Baumel said. Only 5 percent of the traffic on I-235 is trucks. "Trucks don't want to get caught in that heavy traffic in the morning or the afternoon.

It is a Baumel said. Among other major routes in Iowa, Interstate Highway 35 from the Minnesota border to the Missouri state line carried an average of 20,800 vehicles daily last year. Interstate Highway 380 from Iowa City through Cedar Rapids to Waterloo averaged 26,700 cars and trucks. Interstate Highway 29 in western Iowa averaged 16,400 vehicles. The heavy traffic on interstate highway construction engineer in Ames.

That means cars and trucks must often slow down for construction zones during warmweather months. "It is kind of a double whammy. Even though we try to design them to a higher level, they still require more attention," Younie said. On I-235, which was completed in the late 1960s, extensive repairs have been required in the past 15 years, Younie said. That work has included asphalt overlays on some sections of road and full-depth patching, which means the entire pavement is removed and replaced with new pavement in a specific area, Younie said.

Over the next five years, the entire 14-mile stretch of I-235 through the Des Moines area will be rebuilt at a cost of $426 million. Reporter William Petroski can be reached at (515) 284-8547 or AAA joins Auto Club Group The goal is better service for the 713,000 members of the club. was the busiest last year, serving an average of 86,700 vehicles per day. The most heavily used stretch of I-235 is on the city's west side with an average of 124,800 vehicles daily between 42nd and 56th streets, DOT officials said. It's no surprise that I-80 is Iowa's most heavily traveled rural interstate highway.

The nationwide pattern of car and truck traffic is similar to the east-west development of the transcontinental railroads in the 1800s, said Phillip Baumel, an economist at Iowa State University in Ames. I-80, in fact, runs parallel to the old Rock Island Lines' main route across Iowa, which is now served by the Iowa Interstate Railroad. "There are a lot more people east-west than there are northsouth. The concentrations of people are on the two coasts, so when these people travel they tend to go ASSOCIATED PRESS AAA is joining the Auto Club. Following a national trend of consolidation, AAA has agreed to affiliate with the Auto Club Group of Dearborn, through a holding company arrangement.

The goal is better service for the 713,000 AAA members in Iowa and Minnesota, said Duane J. Crandall, president and chief executive officer of AAA Iowa, which will retain its name and its autonomy. Paid Memorial Obituary Howard Madsen Hansen Howard Madsen Hansen, 84, of Elk Horn, LA died Monday at Salem Lutheran Nursing Home. Services will be 10:30 AM Friday at Elk Horn Lutheran Church with Interment at Elk Horn Lutheran Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday after 3 PM at the Ohde Funeral Home in Kimballton.

Mr. Hansen was born September 2, 1917 near Elk Horn and was a lifelong resident of Elk Horn. He joined the Army Air Corps. in 1942, and became a pilot with the 780th Squadron, flying B-24 bombers on 58 missions over Germany, Italy, Austria, and the Balkans during WW Il. Following his honorable discharge in 1945, he returned to the Elk Horn area where he farmed until 1974.

Howard had become the administrator of Salem Lutheran Homes in 1970 and continued in that position until he retired in 1983. He was a member of the Elk Horn Lutheran 1 Church and served on the cemetery board. He is preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Mildred and husband, Leo Mardesen and Alice and husband, Harold Beck; brother, Robert; sister-in-law, Colleen Hansen and brother-in-law, Raymond Nelson. He is survived by wife, Doris, Horn; a daughter, Donna and husband, Doug Archer, Pleasant Hill; three sons, Alan, West Des Moines, Eddy and wife, Connie, Orient, IA, and Steve and wife, Debby, Davenport; nine grandchildren; three great grandchildren; sister, Della Nelson, Elk Horn, brother, Harvey and wife, Priscilla of Atlantic; sister Helen Hansen, Atlantic; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Fire's cause remains a mystery By TOM ALEX REGISTER STAFF WRITER Des Moines fire investigators are searching for the cause of a house fire Monday that critically injured an elderly woman.

Investigators initially thought a clothes dryer might have started the fire. "We're still carrying the cause as undetermined right now," said Fire Investigator Dave Knutzen. "We've talked with the family and the dryer wasn't running. There were no clothes in it." Augustina Martinez. Rodriguez, 89, was found on the floor after firefighters responded to a neighbor's call for help at 826 S.E.

Dunham Ave. She remained in critical condition Wednesday at Iowa Methodist Medical Center with second- degree burns to her face and throat. Firefighters found Rodriguez face down between her bedroom and living room. She apparently had been overcome by heat and smoke. She was unconscious but still breathing when crews arrived.

Firefighters also are looking at a clothes dryer as a possible cause of a house fire at 1106 Oak Park Ave. about 3 a.m. Wednesday. Smoke detectors allowed the Lonnie and Kasey Dings family to escape without injury. Fire officials suggest keeping the lint traps clean, making sure dryers are vented properly, and keeping the areas around them clear of clothing.

Reporter Tom Alex can be reached at (515) 284-8088 or Highway 80 is the king of the road in Iowa with average daily traffic of 27,300 cars and trucks last year. The Iowa Department of Transportation reports that 1-80, which extends east-west from the Quad Cities through Des Moines to Council Bluffs, is the state's busiest rural interstate highway. Onethird of I-80s traffic is trucks, making it Iowa's most heavily used interstate route for hauling freight. William Jones, 45, a truck driver for Van Wyk Inc. of Sheldon, said he drives on I-80 at least three or four times a month.

He was stopped at the Mitchellville highway rest area while hauling a load of frozen TV dinners about 1,200 miles from Iowa to Lyndhurst, Va. "This is the main thoroughfare. It is a very well taken care of road compared to a lot of others," Jones said. In urban Iowa, Interstate Highway 235 in the Des Moines area Citizen takes speed limit as her duty MCBRIDE, from Page 1B trailers, which were rotated through the city. Through her donation, she said, she was assured that one trailer would be in her neighborhood seven days a month.

The trailers for which McBride donated money will likely be on the streets in the next few months, Moulder said. "This is really what community policing is about," Moulder said. "It's not so much about not having enough cops. You'll never have enough cops to police all areas at all times, but you'll always have enough citizens." McBride, a retired marketing executive from Pioneer Hi-Bred International said her efforts have helped make streets safer. More than a year ago her privately hired firm documented about 60 percent of the thousands of cars on her street every day were traveling at least 10 mph over the speed limit.

In recent months her own radar -gun survey shows that only about 20 percent of vehicles travel at least 10 mph over the limit. McBride cannot write speeding tickets and does not jot down license plate numbers of speeders. Her efforts, she said, are simply to inform police and residents of the speeding problem. She hopes other neighborhood leaders will be inspired to combat speeding. "This is not something I wanted to do," McBride said.

"It's sort of like that old saying, 'If you can do it, then maybe you Becky Morelock, president of an umbrella group for the city's neighborhood organizations, said she admires McBride's commitment. Other neighborhoods have placed signs in areas to slow traffic. Success often depends on a group effort, she said. "People should be able to get out and walk in their neighborhood," Morelock said. "It's not good when you have to be concerned because some fool drives 50 in a 20 mph area." Jason Clayworth can be reached at Reporter or Toddville school to close this spring FROM REGISTER NEWS SERVICES Toddville, la.

The 78-year-old elementary school in Toddville will close after this school year. Alburnett's school board voted this month to close the building and establish a kindergarten through sixth-grade center at Alburnett, even though about 50 residents from the area attended the meeting in protest. Toddville's 76 students will go to Alburnett. AAA Michigan and AAA Wisconsin were the first to affiliate in 1995. When the Chicago Motor Club joined five years later, it meant a name change for the holding company.

Since then, Nebraska and North Dakota also have joined. Crandall expects will be under the umbrella by April, benefiting from a pooling of resources and a broader array of services. "For instance, our combined buying power helps each of our affiliated clubs offer better travel bargains for our members," said Charles Podowski, president and CEO of the Auto Club Group. Jerry Zienty, senior vice president and general counsel of AAA -Chicago Motor Club, said the arrangement also allows On the Web more information, check: www.aaa.com clubs to focus on their strengths in marketing what essentially are dissimilar services. "Most people think of AAA as a motor club.

Some people think of AAA as an insurance company," he said. "In order to use resources in the most efficient way possible, all of the companies are dependent on each other to really be successful." The clubs also will share a planned $100 million customer service center and some administrative functions. PAID ADVERTISEMENT Zienty said the regional grouping of contiguous upper Midwest states makes sense as AAA clubs across the country form similar alliances. "Over the past eight to 10 years, there's been a tremendous amount of consolidation," Zienty said. "There's a strong club in the upper I Northeast, mid-Atlantic in Philadelphia and AAA Auto Club South in Tampa, Fla." The Minnesota and Iowa clubs merged in 1997 and had been looking at additional possibilities, Crandall said.

"We looked at this for a couple of years to see how it went with some of these other states that had joined this group," he said. "Our board is satisfied that it's gone in the right direction." LOOKING GOOD Feeling Good For More Information Contact Steve Danielson at 515-284-8415 or 1-800-532-1455 ext. 8415 LASER HAIR REMOVAL Getting the very best results with laser hair removal requires the fastest most comfortable laser and the most experienced people operating the laser. Our office has ten years of experience in dealing with excess hair problems, ingrown hair problems, and preventing scarring from hair removal treatments. For women who simply need relief from painful irritating shaving of underarms or bikini line, we offer an INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL.

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