By Monday, Fifth Avenue in downtown Des Moines will be a two-way street

Kim Norvell, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
Cars covered with snow drive turn onto Locust Street in downtown Des Moines on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022.

By this time Monday, Fifth Avenue between Grand Avenue and Mulberry Street in downtown Des Moines will be open to two-way traffic.

The city began work Thursday on the one-way to two-way conversion and work is expected to wrap up Sunday. The conversion means drivers will be able to travel both northbound and southbound on the three-block stretch of Fifth Avenue instead of just south.

Traffic and access to parking garages along Fifth Avenue will be interrupted Friday and Saturday as crews finish resurfacing and installing pavement markings. The closure will extend from Grand Avenue south to Cherry Street for crews to lay new asphalt.

More: Should Locust Street and Grand Avenue downtown be two-way? How to share your thoughts:

A 2017 downtown mobility report, Connect Downtown, called for eliminating nearly every one-way street, reducing the number of vehicle lanes and growing the city's network of bike lanes.

The project to convert Fifth Avenue is one piece of that report. It also adds dedicated bike lanes and sidewalk and bus stop improvements. Crews already have completed curb bump-outs along the intersections to shorten pedestrian crossing distances and improve pedestrian visibility, and new traffic signals have been installed to accommodate the two-way traffic, according to a news release.

Crews will move next to a one-way to two-way conversion on Grand Avenue between Third Street and Fifth Avenue. Work is expected May 4-7, weather permitting.

"Our goal and focus is to make our streets safer for all street users — pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and motorists,” city engineer Steve Naber said in the release. "And this project continues our efforts to make our downtown streets safer, more walkable, and vibrant.”

Meanwhile, Des Moines has asked for resident input whether Grand Avenue and Locust Street from Second Avenue to 15th Street should also be converted to two-way streets. People have until summer to give their thoughts online at https://gis.bolton-menk.com/inputid/?app=GrandLocust.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Fifth Avenue in Des Moines closed for two-way street conversion, construction