"The plaintiffs allege in their complaint that the defendants prohibit bicycle drivers from driving their bicycles on three interstate bridges between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska, specifically the I-680, I-480 and I-80 bridges, and have failed to provide alternative means for bicycle drivers to cross the Missouri River, thereby depriving the plaintiffs of their right to travel. The plaintiffs allege that through these restrictions, bicycle drivers have been deprived of equal protection as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment since, essentially, a discriminatory classification based on wealth has been established: persons who can afford to operate automobiles are provided with avenues for travel and persons unable to afford automobiles but rely upon bicycles are deprived of such avenues. Finally, the plaintiffs allege that the exclusion of bicycle traffic is arbitrary and unreasonable. They assert that bicycle travel on the paved shoulders of the interstate highways is safer than bicycle travel on most non-interstate highways and streets where bicycle riders are permitted to travel, and consequently, the exclusion of bicycle riders from the interstate highways has no rational basis and does not serve a compelling state interest.
"The plaintiffs pray that Neb. Rev. Stat. 39-633(4) (1974) be declared invalid in regard to bicycle traffic. That statute provides in pertinent part:
"'Use of a freeway and entry thereon by the following shall be prohibited at all times except by permit from the Department of Roads or from the local authority in the case of freeways not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Roads, and the Department of Roads or the appropriate local authority shall not issue such permit except in extreme emergency: ... (4) bicycles ...'
"The plaintiffs have also prayed that the state cease enforcement of the minimum speed laws in regard to bicycle traffic on the interstate bridges. Iowa Code Annotated, Section 321.285(8) (1975) provides in pertinent part:
"'Notwithstanding any other speed restrictions, the speed limit for all vehicular traffic ... on fully controlled-access, divided, mult-lane highways ... shall be fifty-five miles per hour. ... It is further provided that a minimum speed of forty miles per hour, road conditions permitting, shall be established on the highways referred to in this subsection.
"'It is further prohibited that any kind of vehicle, implement, or conveyance incapable of attaining and maintaining a speed of forty miles per hour should be prohibited from using the interstate system.'
"The defendants have argued, in response, that these restrictions are a proper exercise of the police power for the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the traveling public. In addition, the defendants argue that an alternative route for bicycle traffic does presently exist, namely, the Highway 275-92 bridge, known as the South Omaha bridge.
"The evidence presented at trial established that there are four different bridges crossing the Missouri River in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area: the I-80, I-680, I-480 and the Highway 275-92 bridges. The I-80 bridge has twin roadways, each thirty-eight feet in width consisting of twenty-four feet of traveling lanes with a four-foot inner shoulder and a ten-foot outer shoulder. The bridge is 2,468 feet long and has a concrete center barrier which is three feet, two inches high (commonly referred to as a Jersey barrier). The outer shoulder has twelve six-foot long drainage grates along its outer edge. The shoulder is used for emergency parking or emergency maneuvering. The speed limit on the bridge is fifty-five miles per hour with a forty-mile per hour minimum speed.
"The I-480 bridge is 2,538 feet long, including the Douglas Street approaches on the Nebraska side of the bridge. It is a twin-structure bridge, each structure having a fifty-three foot roadway containing four twelve-foot wide traffic lanes, a two-and-a-half-foot wide outer shoulder and a three-foot wide inner shoulder adjacent to the center concrete barrier. On the Douglas Street approaches, which are the closest entry and exit ramps to the bridge on the Nebraska side, the shoulders are also three feet on each side of the traffic lane. There are drainage grates on the outer two-and-a-half feet of the shoulders. The speed limit on the I-480 bridge is fifty miles per hour with a forty mile per hour minimum.
"The west-bound portion of the I-680 bridge is an interstate highway system bridge. (The east-bound bridge is the Mormon toll bridge which is not under the control of Nebraska or Iowa.) The west-bound roadway, however, consists of two twelve-foot lanes with a ten-foot wide right shoulder and a six-foot wide left shoulder. There are no drainage grates but a 'pipe scupper' at the edge. The speed limit on the I-680 bridge is fifty-five miles per hour with a forty mile per hour minimum.
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