Iowa DOT Responds to Growth in Des Moines

Iowa DOT is responding to growth in Des Moines with a $94 million, three-phase construction project to improve traffic flow and safety. The project includes adding a diverging diamond interchange, widening lanes, and reconstructing interchanges. Completion is expected by 2028.

August 12, 2025 - Midwest Edition #17
Lori Tobias – CEG Correspondent

Iowa DOT photo

Work on the first phase of the project on Hickman Road at the interchanges of Interstates 80 and 35 began in October 2024.

Crews will construct the new bridge foundation on site, hang the beams and build the rest of the bridge using forms over traffic. Phase three, the final phase, will begin in 2027. (Iowa DOT photo)

In the rapidly growing west end of Des Moines, a $94 million, three-phase construction project is expected to increase traffic flow and increase safety. (Iowa DOT photo)

One challenge is the worksite, located in a busy metro area and set in the tight space between the freeway and the edge of state property right-of-way. (Iowa DOT photo)

The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is adding another diverging diamond interchange to a rapidly growing list of updated interchanges in the state, expected to number seven in the upcoming years. (Iowa DOT photo)

The project is funded through 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent state and is expected to be completed in 2028. (Iowa DOT photo)

Phase one is expected to be completed by the year’s end. (Iowa DOT photo)

Phase two is slated to begin in early 2026 and will involve demolishing the old existing portion of the bridge and building the new.
(Iowa DOT photo)

Crews of United Contractors removed pavement and beams from the bridge about 15 ft. above Hickman Road, shifting traffic away from the work. (Iowa DOT photo)

The main challenge has been keeping traffic moving while rebuilding the bridge, Leong said. (Iowa DOT photo)

In the rapidly growing west end of Des Moines, a $94 million, three-phase construction project is expected to increase traffic flow and increase safety. The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is adding another diverging diamond interchange to a rapidly growing list of updated interchanges in the state, expected to number seven in the upcoming years.

Work on the first phase of the project on Hickman Road at the interchanges of Interstates 80 and 35 began in October 2024. Crews of United Contractors removed pavement and beams from the bridge approximately 15 ft. above Hickman Road, shifting traffic away from the work.

"What we're doing right now is we're widening to the outside," said Frank Leong, Iowa DOT spokesman. "So, depending on where you are, we're adding up to 36 feet of paving to the outside of the project. And then, the next project is going to be redoing the middle section of the freeway and in the third project, they're reconstructing the Hickman interchange down below from a standard signalized intersection to a diverging diamond intersection."

The west end of Des Moines has seen an incredible amount of growth in recent years with big businesses relocating to the area and providing numerous job opportunities, Leong said.

Iowa DOT photo

"Right now, on the freeway, we're around 122,000 vehicles per day. Those are based on 2022 traffic counts. In 2025, we're projecting 185,000 vehicles per day."

The main challenge has been keeping traffic moving while rebuilding the bridge, Leong said. For the first phase of the project, crews shifted traffic toward the middle of the freeway.

"We moved onto the existing shoulder area to get traffic away from the area where we have to work, which is the outside," he said. "And then we had to saw between the beams — pick a place in the slab that falls between the beams and then we removed that pavement along with the beams."

A second challenge is the worksite, located in a busy metro area and set in the tight space between the freeway and the edge of state property right-of-way.

"We can't get deliveries and equipment in there at will," Leong said. "We have to do it during strategic times during the day. Usually, if it's going to be pretty impactful, if they're going to get picking equipment in there like cranes or some of the off-road vehicles they're using, a lot of that has to happen at night. So, there are a lot of scheduling concerns out there. Construction out here doesn't move as fast as it does in a more landscaped area where a contractor can move freely at will."

Cews are in the process of moving dirt so that everything is to the desired grade.

"Then, they'll get the walls built, and once that's completed, they'll start base operations and put the pavement on top," Leong said.

Iowa DOT photo

The project also involves widening Walnut Creek Bridge, a second, smaller structure to the south. Phase one is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Phase two is slated to begin in early 2026 and will involve demolishing the old existing portion of the bridge and building the new. Crews will construct the new bridge foundation on site, hang the beams and build the rest of the bridge using forms over traffic, Leong said. Phase three, the final phase, will begin in 2027.

"The new bridge is going to allow room for the diverging diamond intersection along with increased capacity," Leong said. "There are currently three lanes, north and south bound. Once fully completed, there will be four lanes south and five lanes north."

The project has been a long time coming, Leong said.

"The overall traffic growth has gotten the DOT's attention because we like to stay ahead of the growth so the roads can operate safely, and people aren't sitting in traffic."

The project is funded through 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent state and is expected to be completed in 2028.

Some project statistics, courtesy, Iowa DOT:

• number of subcontractors on site: 23

• sq. yds. of pavement being built: 100,000

• sq. ft. of earth walls being built: 100,000

• cu. yds. of dirt being moved: 788,000

• length of project: 2.1 mi.

CEG

Lori Tobias

Lori Tobias is a career journalist, formerly on staff as the Oregon Coast reporter at The Oregonian and as a columnist and features writer at the Rocky Mountain News. She is the author of the memoir, Storm Beat - A Journalist Reports from the Oregon Coast, and the novel Wander, winner of the Nancy Pearl Literary Award in 2017. She has freelanced for numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Denver Post, Alaska Airlines in-flight, Natural Home, Spotlight Germany, Vegetarian Times and the Miami Herald. She is an avid reader, enjoys kayaking, traveling and exploring the Oregon Coast where she lives with her husband Chan and rescue pups, Gus and Lily.