 Construction then moved to the western half of the state. A new 20-mile-long (32 km) section from US 71 west to US 59 north of Avoca opened in December 1965. A year later, the interstate was 90 % completed when two stretches, a 50-mile-long (80 km) stretch from US 59 to I-29, which included 16 miles (26 km) of I-80N and the missing 25-mile-long (40 km) section between the western section and Des Moines, each opened to traffic. Sections of I-80 in the Council Bluffs area did not open for another couple years. A short section between Madison Avenue and US 6 opened in 1968. The interstate was completed from the eastern junction with I-29 to I-80N in late December 1969.
