Construction begins on Fleur Drive around Des Moines International Airport

DES MOINES, Iowa — After several years of heavy construction on Fleur Drive, the project is nearing completion. But for the next six weeks, drivers and flyers in Des Moines can expect some congestion around the airport.

“The final completion date is in September,” said Steve Naber, Des Moines city engineer. “But the contractors are currently working on repairing sections of the curb and gutter in the northbound lanes that need to be replaced, so they have to do that part all at once. Fleur Drive carries over 30,000 vehicles a day.”

This work is renovation work, so it’s not the complete facelift that Fleur Drive got around Hy-Vee last year. But from McKinley Avenue to Army Post Road, construction will be noticeable through the end of the summer, as some days it will be down to one lane for repaving.

Next year, similar work will be done on the road around Gray’s Lake. When that’s done, Fleur will take a while to build, with the city having spent $23 million on those repairs alone.

Businesses along Fleur have had to deal with construction traffic in recent years and a local golf shop is curious about the new road surface.

“This is probably the worst part of Fleur and the construction of the city has been great for us, but we need to get this done and fixed because it’s, you know, kind of the first thing people see when they come out of the airport, especially people who are visiting,” said Ray Kinley, of Kinley’s Golf Sales. “And that’s the thing about the construction, it kind of limits our hours because Fleur is so busy that once they get into that 4:30 traffic jam, part of the reason we close early is because if they cut it down to one lane on each side, you’re lucky that someone is nice enough to let you back on the road.”

Des Moines International Airport’s website warns travelers to arrive earlier than usual for flights, as operations can vary from day to day.