Construction begins on widely traveled bridge

By Beau Bowman

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    WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — Some commuters in West Des Moines will have to find a new route as a major roadway gets repairs.

West Des Moines City Engineer Brian Hemesath said, “We looked at some of our traffic counts and they were getting to the point where a two-lane road wasn’t going to cut it.”

Construction crews are already making progress on Ashworth Road over I-80. It’s part of a project that began last year to expand Ashworth to 5 lanes from Jordan Creek Parkway to Grand Prairie Parkway.

Starting Monday, the bridge on Ashworth Road over I-80 will be closed to all traffic, cutting off the north side from Jordan Creek and the closest routes to the on and off ramps for the interstate. Many commuters will have to detour north to University Avenue and then turn at Jordan Creek Parkway.

Currently, Ashworth is traveled by about 10 to 11,000 vehicles per day– two lanes roads typically only have a threshold for about 12,000. The new developments could inflate that number.

The buildings on the corner of Ashworth and Jordan Creek were razed last week to make room for a Ruth’s Chris Steak House and apartment buildings. The city of West Des Moines says it’s better to expand the road now to prevent traffic back up in the future.

“So when developments do come in we can ask them for a right of way at the time of the development so that they are not building a building right where we need to put a road,” Hemesath said.

The Ashworth bridge over I-80 is expected to be closed until Memorial Day.

The city of West Des Moines hopes to have the entire Ashworth construction project finished by the end of the year.

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