Long-term closures ahead on MLK Jr. Parkway as Des Moines installs sanitary sewer line
Des Moines commuters should brace for traffic disruptions along Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway over the better part of two years as the city works to install a sanitary sewer line.
On April 3, the Des Moines Metro Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority will begin work on part of the three-segment Ingersoll Run Outlet Sewer Project, according to a news release from the city. The project, mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is meant to eliminate the pollution caused when combined sanitary and stormwater sewers overflow during heavy rainstorms and dump untreated sewage into the Des Moines River.
The sewage and stormwater streams will be separated, with the sanitary sewer flow rerouted to the Wastewater Reclamation Authority's treatment facility before the water is released into the river.
"This project is one of the final steps in a significant, long-term effort to reduce pollutants in our rivers,” the authority's director, Scott Hutchens, said in a statement.
This phase of the project, which will extend through December 2024, will also have a "significant impact" on downtown traffic, city officials said.
The north lanes of MLK Jr. Parkway will be closed from Southwest 15th Street to Southwest Second Street to install the new sanitary sewer line, city officials said. The south lanes will remain open, accommodating both east- and westbound traffic.
Intersections along MLK Jr. Parkway will remain open except for a short closure at Southwest Second Street, where sewer lines will be installed across the intersection.
The authority is working with the city’s traffic and transportation department to establish detours and temporary access where needed, but city officials are advising commuters to use alternative routes when possible.
The construction site's proximity to an archeological site — the area near Principal Park which was the location of Fort Des Moines — is an added challenge in the project's timeline. Crews will be doing archeological investigations during the project, authority officials added.
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Another segment of the project, which includes construction along Locust Street, is being designed and could start as early as 2024, according to the authority's website. A third segment, along 18th and 19th street, Ingersoll Avenue between those streets and on High Street, already is underway. The last part of that segment should be done by late spring.
For more information on the Ingersoll Run Project, visit the authority's website at dmmwra.org and the city's engineering project map at dsm.city/projects.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Sanitary sewer installation on MLK Parkway to impact traffic
