Neal Smith Trail Planned Detour and Improvements

Posted Jun 17, 2015
16,579

Starting in July access to the Neal Smith Trail, Sycamore Access and Commuting routes may be affected on NW 66th Ave bridge.

Polk County, in conjunction with the City of Johnston and Des Moines Water Works, are beginning construction of Phase 1 of the NW 66 Ave./Kempton Bridge project on Monday, June 22nd.

Trails Affected

Neal Smith Trail
Sycamore Access Mountain Bike Trail
Also affects commuters going to/from from Ankeny, Johnston and Des Moines

Schedule

Construciton of the detour is planned to begin in June of 2015, with the detour implemented in late July 2015, weather permitting. The detour will remain in place throughout the construction of the project which will likely continue until the spring of 2017

New Bridge Improvements

This project will construct a new trail from NW Beaver Drive to the east side of the DM River, including a trail on the bridge, and make connection to the Neal Smith Trail.

The proposed improvement is to replace the existing 2-lane bridge with a 4-lane bridge and include a multi-purpose trail on the bridge to connect the trail systems on the east and west sides of the Des Moines River. more info

Neal Smith Trail Impacts
During construction, the portion of the Neal Smith Trail under the existing bridge will have to be closed to maintain safety of the users and allow construction of the improvements.

A temporary detour trail will be constructed to take riders from the existing trail south of the bridge, east along the south side of the existing Neal Smith Trail parking lot, and continue east to connect to NW 66 Ave. opposite the intersection of NW Toni Drive.

To cross NW 66 Ave., a push button activated traffic signal will be installed. Bike lanes will be constructed along NW Toni Drive from NW 66 Ave. to the intersection of the Gay Lea Wilson Trail which will then take riders back west to the Neal Smith Trail, or east on the Gay Lea Wilson Trail towards Ankeny.

See the Neal Smith Trail Detour Display on this website for a graphical view of this detour.

Project Overview

The proposed improvement is to replace the existing 2-lane bridge with a 4-lane bridge and include a multi-purpose trail on the bridge to connect the trail systems on the east and west sides of the Des Moines River. The project will also construct a 4-lane roadway with a continuous left
-turn lane between the entrance to the Sycamore Trail and NW Toni Drive.

The project also includes construction of Des Moines Water Works’ NW 66 Ave. Feeder Main to serve the City of Johnston from the NW 26 St.
treatment plant to NW Beaver Dr.

Construction Staging

The Project will be constructed in four stages.
Stage 1 - Initial Construction -includes shoulder widening and construction of temporary detour of the Neal Smith Trail
Stage 2 - Construction of south ½ of new bridge and roadway.
Stage 3 - Shift traffic to new bridge and roadway and construct north half of new bridge and roadway.
Stage 4 - Construct new section of Neal Smith Trail under the new bridge and connection to trail on bridge, and removal of temporary detour trail.

Keep 'in the know"...

More information on the project, including future updates, can be found at www.kemptonbridge.com

If you wish to receive project schedule updates via email as they are developed, submit your email address and contact info to us at publicworks@polkcountyiowa.gov

Questions?

Polk County Public Works
Engineering Division
5885 N.E. 14th Street
Des Moines, IA 50313
(515) 286-3705

Email: publicworks@polkcountyiowa.gov Or go to www.Kemptonbridge.com