Several quiet Iowa communities are suddenly much busier because of the closure of the northbound lanes of Interstate 35 in Warren County south of Des Moines.

The Iowa State Patrol began rerouting northbound traffic Monday night after a truck hauling construction equipment hit and severely damaged a bridge that passed above I-35.

Until it’s repaired, the bridge is too precarious to drive beneath.

That meant on Tuesday, residents in Martensdale, Prole and Norwalk dealt with big changes in their communities.

For elementary principal Tom Wood, Martensdale has changed from a place where the only noise was children playing or birds singing to “semis humming by every few seconds.”

The detour veers onto Highway 92, then Highway 28 and north to Highway 5, where traffic returns to I-35 near West Des Moines.