WINTER DOESN'T SLOW BRIDGE WORK
Replacing the Des Moines and Raccoon River downtown bridges feels like it’s been going on forever. Or at least a decade! I was a new interim City Council member in January 2014 when I voted with colleagues to approve a $171,000 professional services agreement for the evaluation of the Locust Street, Walnut Street, and Court Avenue bridges.
The City has made great progress on maintaining its 52 structurally sound bridges, and has replaced or rehabilitated 21 over the past 10 years. In 2013 the City had 14 bridges classified as structurally deficient, meaning elements were in poor condition although not unsafe. In 2024 two bridges were so classified. Both are under construction (Walnut Street) or planned in the Capital Improvement Program (Fleur Drive over the Raccoon River).
In 2016 the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the City an $8 million grant to replace the Locust Street Bridge and rehab the Court Avenue, Scott Avenue, and First Street bridges. The City rehabbed the Fifth Street Bridge (known by some as the “green bridge”) primarily with grants and private dollars.
All in, since 2016 the City has spent or allocated $54,189,852 on replacing or rehabbing eight bridges: the Fifth Street and First Street bridges on the Raccoon River, plus the Grand Avenue, Locust Street, Walnut Street, Court Avenue, Union Railway (red), and Scott Avenue bridges on the Des Moines River.
Anthony Cramer, a Cramer & Associates superintendent, shown above, is part of the crew working through these bone-chilling winter days—even New Year’s Day!—on replacing the Walnut Street Bridge. Constructed in 1911 and rebuilt in 1966, the bridge was one of those considered in “poor” condition in 2013. The estimated $19.9 million construction includes removing and replacing the east river wall with new balustrade railing between Walnut Avenue and Court Avenue.
Behind Anthony—grandson of George Cramer, the bridge contractor’s founder—are seven 48"-diameter caissons that have been bored about 25 feet into the bedrock below the river. Soon, the towering caissons rising 25 feet or more above the river will be lined with rebar and then filled with concrete to form the bridge’s third pier.
In the second photo below, Brian Jones, another Cramer superintendent, steps out of the cab while breaking up concrete in the fifth and final pier of the old bridge. The new bridge design has two fewer piers, reducing flood elevations upstream. Cofferdams allow bridge workers, such as Anthony and Brian, to work at the river’s edge.
Ben Cole, the City’s project engineer overseeing the Walnut Street bridge, told me the new abutments, piers, and deck will require roughly 3,125 cubic yards of concrete—equivalent to 312 loads. Ben estimates the cubic yard total equals the concrete necessary to pour about 14 residential street blocks.
The schedule calls for opening the bridge to auto traffic in May 2026. With the project’s completion, the entire 1.5-mile Principal Riverwalk will be free of construction detours. And the Simon Estes Amphitheater can reopen for concerts.
AIRPORT TERMINAL UPDATE
Mayor Connie Boesen, shown above, and several City Council members attended a Beam Signing ceremony on December 17 at the Des Moines International Airport. Contractors, airport authority members, and public officials added their signatures to the final beam before The Weitz Company crew lifted it onto the expanded and much-anticipated terminal.
Jake Christensen, chair of the five-member Des Moines Airport Authority and a well-regarded developer who has been part of the expansion plans since joining the airport authority nine years ago, was all smiles at the event. “This is one of the best teams I’ve ever observed,” Jake told me.
I got an opportunity last week to catch up with him with more details on the expansion timetable. Here are a few highlights:
Terminal expansion. The $500 million project is on target for an early 2027 opening, with at least seven additional gates. “With additional funding, a phased expansion could add up to four more gates [11 gates total],” Jake told me.
“Our new forecast states that we need 17 total gates,“ airport executive director Kevin Foley told me. “We would like to complete the first and second phases if funding is available, providing 11 new gates. The plan is fluid and constantly changing, as grant dollars become available. With nine new and 12 existing gates, we would have 21 gates.”
What stays. The current 12 gates remain and connect to the new gates and new terminal processor, including check-in counters, baggage check, and security screening.
What goes. After the new terminal opens, the current terminal processor (check-in, security) will be demolished. The current baggage claim area will be remodeled for offices.
Airplane parking. Jake spent a few minutes talking about the crunch for planes remaining overnight (RON in airline lingo) for early-morning departures. After parking planes at the gates in the evening, ground crews invest a lot of extra effort into shuttling the aircraft in and out of overflow parking spaces. The additional gates will be impactful in a positive way.
De-icing area. The new dedicated area will mean savings in treating fewer gallons of runoff water (10 acres of dedicated space vs. 40 acres currently) and be an environmental win.
Great signage. Gotta get it right for the unfamiliar traveler! Jake told me that 70 percent of the passengers come to the Des Moines Airport once a year.
'CLOSE ENOUGH FOR GOVERNMENT WORK?' NOT THIS TIME
Sometime this spring, contractors will remove portions of the new John “Pat” Dorrian Trail on the north bank of the Des Moines River to conform with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) certification requirements for the new elevated earthen levee. The trail on top of the levee, which provides additional flood protection, leads to Pete Crivaro Park on Southeast 14th Street.
To gain the FEMA accreditation of 100-year base flood elevation plus 3 feet, “close” doesn’t cut the mustard. Craig Bouska, the City’s project engineer, told me two 100-foot sections were more than an inch short of FEMA requirements. The new asphalt trail and topsoil aren’t considered part of the levee, so it’s not as simple as adding an asphalt overlay to meet the standard.
This spring’s 700-foot do-over: Remove the asphalt trail, elevate the levee, get a certified survey, and replace it with new asphalt.
“The main reason for all this work, costing over a hundred million dollars in total, is to provide better flood protection to Des Moines’ residents, businesses, and visitors,” City Engineer Steve Naber told me. “But it also has insurance benefits, too.”
Craig explained that FEMA accreditation allows the City to remain in the National Flood Insurance Program [NFIP]. “Being a part of the Rehabilitation & Inspection Program and Public Law 84-99 allows for reimbursement for specific damages to levees that result in high-water events,” he says. He added that if the City doesn’t improve the levee system to at least meet FEMA accreditation criteria, the agency would no longer recognize the levee system on its flood hazard mapping, which would impact flood insurance requirements for property owners.
Steve said large portions of Downtown Des Moines, the Historic East Village, and McKinley School/Columbus Park Neighborhoods are designated areas with “Reduced Flood Risk Due to Levee” on the FEMA flood insurance rate maps.
in 2015, the City received state flood mitigation grant funding to help meet FEMA accreditation requirements for the levee system, which runs along portions of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers and Fourmile Creek. In 2019, Steve added, the City decided to increase the level of protection by another six inches above the 2015 original plan in the state flood mitigation program, providing a buffer or increased safety factor.
“With many of the levees having our trail system on top, this work, along with the work being done by ICON Water Trails, has been disruptive to those traveling along the rivers,” Steve acknowledged. He said the City’s contractor hopes to have completed the levee system improvements down to the S.E. 14th Street (U.S. 69) Bridge over the Des Moines River by summer 2026. He added that the ICON Water Trails project, which has been under construction over the past year in the river at Scott Avenue, is also anticipated to be completed by summer 2026.
“After that, over the next five years,” he concluded, “the City plans to continue making improvements to the levee system along the Des Moines River down to Fourmile Creek, and then up along a portion of Fourmile Creek north of Vandalia Road.”
DMPD'S NEWEST MAJOR
Ryan Doty was sworn in as a major at a promotional ceremony January 8 at police headquarters. Ryan’s wife, Rachael, plus children Ethan and Everly wore proud smiles at the event. Major Doty now heads the Operations Division previously directed by Police Chief Mike McTaggart.
WHAT HOYT SHERMAN PLACE MEANS TO DES MOINES
Robert Warren, CEO of Hoyt Sherman Place, writes a terrific thank-you letter. Recently, he thanked the mayor and City Council for a $316,075 Bravo Greater Des Moines grant, provided via the City’s hotel-motel tax.
Robert’s letter included three interesting nuggets. In 2024:
12,230 Des Moines persons purchased tickets for one of 300 events, for a $605,724 total.
241 Des Moines individuals donated to the historic Sherman Hill mansion, built in 1877, and theater, added in 1923, that make up the nonprofit destination.
Folks from more than 50 miles away spent $1,457,000 on tickets, making up a remarkable 33 percent of attendees. In addition, they spent additional dollars at local restaurants and hotels.
“Without the support of funding for general operating expenses,” Robert wrote, “the Hoyt Sherman Place mansion, museum, and art galleries would not be able to stay open and free to the public Monday through Friday.”
ARF! ANIMAL SERVICES CELEBRATES ONE YEAR IN NEW BUILDING
The City’s new Animal Shelter recently celebrated its one-year anniversary in the new building at 1441 Harriet Street. Toad, a recent dog adoptee, is shown with a member of his forever family.
Adoptions: 1,494 (761 dogs/puppies; 733 cats/kittens) Trips by Animal Service Officers: 10,206
Pet-food pantry households helped: 1,133
Pet-food pantry by animal types: 2,412 dogs fed; 2,440 cats fed
Surgeries: 1,590 animals in care and 230 for community outreach services
Trap, neuter, release (TNR) cats: 308
Number of community outreach clinics: 38
Microchips via Wellness Outreach Clinics: 829
Vaccinated via Wellness Outreach Clinics: 930
Volunteers: 94 and growing
In addition, the City’s solar array connected to Animal Services generated 35 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity since it went live in August. The five months of production offset an amount of CO2 roughly equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 35 single-family homes.
DES MOINES READS, READS, READS: TOP 2024 CHECKOUTS
The 2024 results are in: The Women, Kristin Hannah’s historical fiction of Vietnam War nurses, was last year’s most requested book at the six Des Moines Public Library branches. And as one might guess, this title was the most requested fiction, too. (On my nightstand, No. 5: James, Percival Everett’s tale of Huckleberry Finn’s adventure through the eyes of Jim, the former enslaved friend and companion.)
Other notable popular titles by category:
Nonfiction: The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt’s telling of how social media and overprotective parenting have contributed to the “rewiring” of childhood. (Also on my nightstand, No. 3: The Demon of Unrest, Erik Larson’s accounting of the months between Abraham Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s Fort Sumter shelling.)
Teen: Throne of Glass, first in a series of eight adventure titles by Sarah J. Maas
DVDs: Twisters, a sequel to the 1996 movie Twister, follows an Oklahoma storm-chasing team.
INVEST DSM MAKES HUGE STRIDES IN NEIGHBORHOODS
At our December meeting of the Invest DSM board of directors, staff members shared one-year and five-year achievements of this young nonprofit:
$29.9 million invested, $5.2 million in Invest DSM dollars, $24.7 million in private dollars. Every Invest DSM dollar leveraged $4.72 from other sources.
37% increase in investment compared with 2023
402 new grants signed in 2024; 320 completed
Here are Invest DSM’s five-year numbers:
$76.8 million investment in the community: $14.3 million by Invest DSM, $62.5 million in private dollars. Every Invest DSM dollar leveraged $4.37 from other sources.
1,334 projects completed
18 new single-family homes constructed (two auxiliary housing units or AHUs)
93 percent of completed projects involved existing homeowners.
NONPROFIT PARTNERS BENEFIT FROM DES MOINES ARTS FESTIVAL
Four local nonprofits recently were awarded a total of $45,000 for volunteer staffing at the 2024 Des Moines Arts Festival beverage stations.
Here’s a snapshot of the partners and how they used their hard-earned dollars:
Community Youth Concepts updated its Stowe Heights Challenge Course, an East Side rope course accessible to youths 10 and older.
Cowles Montessori enhanced its visual art programming, including support of the school music program and Fine Arts Day.
Des Moines Refugee Support invested in its arts program, which helps kids connect with the community.
Perkins Elementary PTA hired an artist to paint a mural in the school library.
