'A brand new corridor': Three-year, $17 million remodel of Des Moines' Ingersoll Avenue starts soon

A years-long project to beautify and repair a 1-mile stretch of Ingersoll Avenue with a focus on pedestrian and bicycle access will include Des Moines' first elevated bike lanes, providing a new type of buffer between cyclists and vehicles. 

Construction on the three-year, $17 million project, which extends from Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway to 31st Street, kicks off in the next few days. The work will include a total reconstruction of the roadway, new storm sewers, buried overhead utilities, widened sidewalks, upgraded bus stops, new pedestrian crossings, the elevated bike lanes and landscaping. 

"It's going to be a brand-new corridor by the time we're done," said Scott Almeida, senior project engineer with Kirkham Michael, which created design plans for the city.

The project is a result of more than 10 years of targeted investment along the corridor, starting in 2009 with its reduction in driving lanes from four to the current three.

Four years later, an urban renewal district was established along Ingersoll to capture and save property taxes on new investment in the area. The district's boundaries stretch from 15th to 43rd streets and from the Raccoon River to Interstate 235. 

Since that time, small businesses, the city and The Avenues neighborhood group have invested $100 million in the district, said Kris Maggard, the organization's executive director. 

"There's different sizes of investments that have really come online," she said. "It's exciting, because it's so varied and mostly locally driven."

The $17 million project will be paid for with funds from the district account. 

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Des Moines had already identified the MLK-to-31st Street stretch of Ingersoll Avenue as needing a complete roadway reconstruction, meaning all pavement will be ripped up and repoured to eliminate potholes and deep scarring, said city planning administrator Mike Ludwig. 

Under the city's new transportation policy, Move DSM, any new street work also must take into account pedestrians, cyclists and public transportation — all items addressed under the new Ingersoll Avenue plan. 

Sidewalks will be wider, allowing pedestrians more room to move along the corridor. Next to the sidewalk will be benches, trees and other landscaping. 

Then there's the elevated bike lanes. Instead of the current striped lanes on the roadway, the lanes will be the same height as the sidewalk, separated from vehicle traffic by the curb and spaces for parallel parking. That will provide a 12-foot buffer between cyclists and motorists. 

"Bikers will be in a more friendly, welcoming space that feels safe. And they're not going to feel like they're in traffic," Almeida said. 

In addition to widened sidewalks, there will be two pedestrian crossings — one at the existing flashing light at 23rd Street and another at 25th Street near Mister Car Wash. There will be a median in the center of the street that serves as a "pedestrian refuge" for people crossing, said city engineer Steve Naber. 

"The distance for pedestrians to cross is drastically shorter," he said. 

Other visible changes include burying the overhead electric lines, adding permeable pavement to the parallel parking spaces to help slow the flow of stormwater, and enhancing bus stops. 

Underground, Des Moines Water Works is putting in new water mains and MidAmerican is running conduit for the possible addition of a fiber-optic network. 

"There's just a multitude of public infrastructure benefits," Ludwig said. "It's just a very exciting change to get to reconstruct a whole right-of-way into a very pedestrian and bike-friendly and environmentally friendly new street."

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Work on the street will be done over three construction seasons, starting this year with the north side of Ingersoll between Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and 24th Street. 

Ingersoll will remain open to traffic for the entirety of the project. 

Additional plans are in the works to continue the project west of 31st Street to 42nd Street. 

Kim Norvell covers growth and development for the Register. Reach her at knorvell@dmreg.com or 515-284-8259. Follow her on Twitter @KimNorvellDMR.

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