Another I-35 Road Construction in Iowa is Coming

There are a lot of road projects going on around Iowa. The one that matters most to central Iowa is the I-35 road widening project underway that will affect the interstate in West Des Moines. The section affected is from Highway 5 to the west mixmaster of I-235 and I-80. This project will widen the present four lanes to six. Work will begin later this year and there is no date indicated when it will be completed. The commuters coming from southern Iowa, like Clark County folks, who work at Farm Bureau, will need to add some time to their commutes. These projects set the stage for accidents. And with semi-trucks coming north from Kansas City and hoping to hook up with I-80 towards Omaha, east towards Chicago and then north to Minneapolis area, this stretch of roadway can get really busy.

There are other projects more important to people from around the state of Iowa. The other road work is listed in the Des Moines Register and includes those listed below. WHO also carries coverage for Road Work. A printable state projects list and map can be obtained online with the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Other key projects in the Des Moines area include:

• Rebuilding the interchange of Interstate Highway 80 and U.S. Highway 65 in Altoona. The construction will start in 2011 and be completed in 2015. The interchange serves Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino and Adventureland Amusement Park.

• Constructing an Ankeny interchange in 2011 at Northeast 36th Street and I-35. A rest area will be constructed at a site on I-35 yet to be determined north of Ankeny, probably in 2012, replacing the existing Ankeny rest area.
  
  Here are other key road projects in the state included in the five-year plan:
  
  

  Completion of a four-lane bypass around Fort Madison on U.S. Highway 61.

  
  Constructing U.S. Highway 34 on a new alignment in Mills County in southwest Iowa, including a new Missouri River bridge.

  Widening U.S. Highway 63 from two lanes to four lanes in Bremer County.

  
  Continuing to widen U.S. Highway 20 to four lanes in western Iowa. By the end of 2013, the only two-lane section of U.S. 20 remaining across western Iowa will be along a 45-mile stretch between U.S. Highway 71 in Sac County and east of Moville in Woodbury County.

Good luck this summer. Stay safe and as always put the distractions away. And as our friend Michael Conrad would say, let's be careful out there.