Pottawattamie County sheriff's deputies will join other law enforcement agencies throughout Iowa in a special traffic safety enforcement project called "Operation I's" Thursday.

The project area includes more than 500 miles of Interstate 35 and I-80 corridors and intersecting roadways from Duluth, Minn., to Laredo, Texas. The two major highways crisscross the state from border to border.

State, county and city law enforcement agencies will commit extra manpower and other resources to those areas to look for traffic violations. Pottawattamie County deputies will participate from noon to 8 p.m.

The project will target impaired drivers, seat belt and child restraint violations, obedience to signals and signs, speeding and driving without a license. Laser sighting radar equipment, aircraft and specially trained K-9 units will be utilized during the enforcement.

The goal is to raise Iowa's seat belt compliance rate and reduce impaired driving to prevent fatalities and injuries on Iowa's roadways. The effort is one of many planned for the fall and winter.