Shawn Foutch is no stranger to challenging projects in Greater Des Moines.

For the last nine years, he has shepherded projects for Kirkham Michael & Associates Inc. consulting engineers as its Iowa project manager. Here’s a quick look at some of the projects he’s been a part of.

Alice’s Road:

He has worked with the city of Waukee in its efforts to obtain federal approval for the Alice’s Road interchanges on Interstate 80 that will open up development in that city and West Des Moines. The interchange has been a simple matter of completing studies and preparing for more, he said.

Federal approval for the project was granted last month. Kirkham Michael must complete environmental studies before construction can begin in the spring of 2013.

“You have to be careful not to draw any conclusions at the beginning of the environmental studies,” he said. “We will create the interchange with minimal impact on the terrain. The terrain issues are just a matter of engineering.”

Southeast Connector:

He is working with the city of Des Moines on the Southeast Connector, which will eventually take Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway from downtown to the U.S. Highway 65 bypass. The project is a significant challenge, Foutch said.

“If you didn’t know how to build a roadway, this wouldn’t be a good one to cut your teeth on,” he said.

The street cuts through salvage yards, which could result in the realignment of railroad tracks, and needs to squirm its way under the Southeast 14th Street viaduct.

“It’s terribly complex,” Foutch said.

MLK river crossing:

That oddly curving bridge that takes the street over the Des Moines River near Principal Park was another Kirkham Michael project. The bridge is constructed so that its pilings are in line with the current in order to prevent flooding. No two spans on the bridge are a like dimension.