Heavy drift near Keota draws statewide attention

KINROSS — Absurd levels of snow measured in Southeast Iowa last week prompted the Iowa Department of Transportation to call in “the big snowplow” to Keokuk County, where it worked its way through drifts up to 18 feet tall along an area known as the Keota Curve of Highway 22.

The machine has been described by employees as “a snowblower on steroids.”

“This blower is usually up in northern Iowa where we typically see higher snowfall totals,” the Iowa DOT said in a Facebook post. “For this storm, Jeff Nielsen from the Waterloo garage ventured south to help out.”

The stretch of road near Kinross was declared impassible by the state over the weekend of Jan. 13-14, according to its 511 map of road conditions.

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News of the plow’s travel to Keokuk County spread quickly on social media, as Iowans gawked at the sheer volume of snow, and photos of the area were shared over 500 times on Facebook.

Locals said the sheer volume of snow was mind-boggling.

“Honestly looks like a mountain road,” said South English resident Jennifer Grove on Facebook. “We saw the state snowblower work last night. It was an impressive machine.”

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State and county plows aside, Rebekah Tate, a Kinross resident, said locals in the area removed much of the accumulation themselves from roadsides and driveways.

“We have a wonderful community here in Kinross, and several people who own heavy-duty … farm equipment (helped) move the snow,” she said. “It really was a community effort to get everything together.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com