At tonight’s Des Moines City Council meeting, the city engineer will recommend that the council vote to move forward with an estimated $2.78 million in road construction and improvements in the Riverpoint West area south of West Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. If approved, the city will ask for construction bids, and on Aug. 24 award the contract.

According to a council communications document, construction plans involve extending Southwest 11th Street from Tuttle Street to Dart Way and Murphy Street from Southwest Ninth Street to Southwest 11th Street. The project includes grading, pavement, sewer and water main work, with some reconstruction of existing roads as well.

The area mainly affects Gray’s Lake Office Park and Gray’s Landing, a 125-acre mixed-use development being planned by Riverpoint West LLC, owned by Sherman and Associates Inc. Hubbell Realty Co. owns some land in the area as well, which it is planning to develop as office space.

Funding for the project will be shared by the government and developers and includes $536,147.43 in City of Des Moines tax increment finance-backed bonds; up to $521,290 in Iowa Department of Transportation Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy funds for 50 percent of the construction cost of eligible items; $1,308,006.24 from Riverpoint West LLC, which contains proceeds from the Housing and Urban Development Section 108 Loan approved by the city council in July 2007; and $411,810.68 from Hubbell Terminal Corp. upon completion of the project.

Snyder & Associates has been the consultant on the project and prepared the plans, specifications, form of contract documents and the city engineer’s estimate for construction.