If you thought the bulk of the roadwork and ramp closures on Interstate 235 were over, you’re in for a shock. Starting this week, the 50,000 to 60,000 daily commuters who use I-235 will notice significant construction getting under way on parts of the freeway closest to downtown.

According to Amy Baker, director of transportation and access for the Transportation Management Association, access into and out of downtown is going to change soon, particularly for commuters who live northeast of Des Moines.

“This is truly the biggest construction season that we’ve seen for I-235, and it’s going to have the biggest impact on people who work downtown,” Baker said.

Last week, road crews began preparations for a major traffic shift between Cottage Grove Avenue and East 15th Street. By Wednesday, westbound traffic will be shifted completely into the eastbound lanes to allow reconstruction of the westbound lanes. Some entrance and exit ramps will be closed during this first phase of construction, which is expected to continue through mid-summer. Once the westbound roadway has been laid, traffic will shift to the new road and remain in that configuration through the end of the construction season later this year.

This phase of construction, dubbed the “megadowntown project,” along with rebuilding I-235 from Guthrie Avenue north to Broadway Avenue, make 2006 a major year for the five-year reconstruction project, according to Bill Lusher, the Iowa Department of Transportation’s project manager for I-235.

Access to downtown

When the westbound traffic shifts to the eastbound lanes, creating head-to-head traffic, drivers coming in from the west will have the same exit options they do now: Second Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue and East 15th Street. But drivers from the east will be limited to East 15th or Keosauqua Way for getting into downtown. An access road that starts at East 15th will be in place for drivers to get to the overpasses at East Sixth Street and Third Street, where these offramps will be closed.

When the traffic shift takes effect, Lusher expects the East 15th to become much more congested, and he recommends that people plan now to avoid that interchange altogether if possible. The University Avenue interchange is expected to open sometime during the next several weeks, which could offer an alternative route for some commuters. Otherwise, drivers might consider coming in from the north on East 14th Street or Second Avenue.

“East 15th Street will be fairly busy,” Lusher said. “We really encourage people to seek alternative routes as soon as they can, rather than even try to negotiate some of these routes, because these roads only have a certain amount of capacity.”

The Transportation Management Association has been working with Lusher and his staff since 2002 to educate companies and their workers about using alternative transportation or programs companies can implement to help reduce the number of vehicles coming into downtown. Baker said the TMA has been particularly busy this month sharing these ideas with people who work at the state Capitol complex, an area that will be affected by the upcoming construction.

“We want people to think about their options and consider riding to work with their buddy who works down the hall, start vanpooling or ride the bus or their bike into work,” Baker said. “Or at least check with your boss on whether you can do a flexible schedule with starting work before or after the peak commute times.”

Baker said companies such as Principal Financial Group Inc., Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Bankers Trust Co. are offering subsidized bus passes for employees, and other companies have made preferred parking available for workers who carpool. Participation in Rest Your Car, the TMA’s reward program to encourage people to use alternative transportation, is also growing.

“We were having people signing up by the dozens every day,” Baker said. “The more information we get out, the more people we hear from. People aren’t going to change overnight, but once they have been impacted by the construction changes, they will make a change.”

Widespread impact

Summer is not only construction season in Iowa; it’s tourism season. Kelly Foss, the director of the Downtown Farmers Market, already knows that the weekly event will be different when it kicks off its season this year on May 13 because Second Avenue will have to remain open to allow traffic access out of downtown. A police officer will be paid from the farmers market’s budget to direct traffic and pedestrians at the intersection of Second and Court avenues. This change means less space for vendors, who have previously spread out across the intersection.

“We’ve tried to take what could be something negative and turn it around to be creative with the space that we do have,” Foss said. “The vendors have been forewarned that their space may be reorganized, and they’re not frustrated because they know that progress requires change.”

Baker said the TMA is creating customized maps and directions for downtown attractions such as Wells Fargo Arena and Principal Park. These maps will be posted online at www.knowdowntown.com, and they will be updated to reflect construction changes as they occur.

“We don’t want anyone to think that getting downtown is difficult,” Baker said. “If they know where they’re going before they leave the house, they’ll be just fine.”

The Iowa Events Center, which will be accessible at its normal exit from the west but not from the east, plans to rely heavily on the TMA’s maps and up-to-date driving directions to ease confusion over the construction, according to Dustin Godsey, its marketing manager.

“We’ll post maps on our Web site, hand them out at events, enclose them with ticket orders and send them out by e-mail – anything we can do to make sure people are kept up to date,” Godsey said. “I think as long as we have resources out there to educate people on what’s going on, it should eliminate any last-minute surprises for them. The last thing we want is for people to show up for entertainment at our facilities and be frustrated before they even get here because of their driving experience.”

Scott Sailor, the director of logistics for the Iowa Cubs, said his team also plans to link to the TMA’s maps on its Web site to help fans find their way to Principal Park, especially during the high school state baseball tournament in July, an event that attracts many people who aren’t familiar with driving in Des Moines. But overall, he doesn’t expect the construction will create major problems for fans.

“Most of our fans come from Central Iowa, and they’ve been to Des Moines often enough to know to leave a few minutes early because of construction,” Sailor said. “We’ve dealt with construction for the past few summers and fared pretty well, and we think it will be similar this season.”

Signs of progress

“Once we shut down sometime in November this year, we should have both the eastbound and westbound mainline roadways finished slightly east of the Des Moines River,” Lusher said. “We’ll have a great majority of the work done, with a small segment of work yet to be done in 2007.”

Because a great deal of work is scheduled for 2006, much of the I-235 reconstruction budget will be swallowed up by year’s end. Lusher expects this year’s projects to cost about $110 million. Most of the large work contracts have now been finalized, and Lusher said work appears to be staying within the project’s $429 million budget.

“We feel good about the schedule now,” Lusher said. “We’re not dropping our guard yet, because we still have a lot of work to do, but we’re definitely on the downhill slope now.”