Des Moines hopes the road construction will contribute to long-term infrastructure goals

DES MOINES, Iowa — Construction season is in full swing, and that means road work is underway all across Des Moines.

In many road construction projects it is necessary to completely replace the roads due to their ageing.

Tom Vlach, deputy city engineer for Des Moines, said the city can replace more than just the roads.

“When we do these reconstructions, it’s going to be a brand new road, brand new infrastructure, replacing the last sewer. We often work with Des Moines Water Works to replace water mains, and once we do that, I would say it’s hopefully 25, 40, 50 years before we have to do anything major again,” Vlach said.

Many of the city’s road construction projects are expected to be completed by the spring of 2025. However, the reconstruction of Grand Avenue is expected to be completed before the start of the school year.

According to Vlach, construction in an urban environment like downtown Des Moines can cause more disruption due to several factors.

“Given that the infrastructure in Des Moines is older than we often see in the suburbs, we have to completely rebuild our infrastructure. And it’s very different when you’re building in a more urban environment than in what’s called a greenfield or open field, just a new road. And when you have existing homes and businesses and infrastructure to deal with when you’re rebuilding a road, it’s much more challenging to do and it has much more impact on people because they’re right next to it,” Vlach said.

Visit the City of Des Moines website for a map of where road construction is underway.