On Thursday morning, a new Fifth Avenue intersection linking Mercy Medical Center’s Central Campus with downtown Des Moines and with the Interstate 235 frontage roads will be opened to traffic, Mercy officials announced.

The new intersection will improve safety and relieve congestion during peak traffic. Southbound drivers from Mercy on Fifth Avenue will be able to access westbound and eastbound I-235 more directly. This will reduce traffic on Laurel Street, which is now the only outlet on the south side of the hospital campus. In turn, congestion at signal lights on Sixth Avenue will be reduced. Pedestrians cannot use Fifth Avenue to cross I-235, as that bridge has no sidewalks.

The completed intersection also will improve access to downtown retail businesses, services and housing for the tens of thousands of patients, family members, hospital staff and others who work on or utilize the services on Mercy’s Central Campus.

A brief ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday on Fifth Avenue in front of the Iowa Ortho Building, just north of I-235 and south of Laurel Street. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the lobby of the Iowa Ortho Building. Invitees include Congressman Leonard Boswell and representatives of the Federal Highway Commission, the Iowa Department of Transportation and the city of Des Moines, all of which were involved in the project.