Nickolas J. Schaul,
Finance Director
Second Avenue will be closed at W Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway starting Sunday, August 27 at 7 p.m. as the Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority (WRA) continues work on its EPA-mandated Ingersoll Run Sewer Separation Project.
The closure is expected to last three to four months but will be dependent on the completion of a required archeological study of the area.
"Because this area is historically significant, it is required that we allow the archeological team to finish their work before we begin any construction," said WRA Facilities Engineer Melissa Schlickbernd.
The area near Principal Park was the location of Fort Des Moines (the second of three military installations sharing the name) in the 1840s. The City of Des Moines was later established near this site at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers.
The planned closure is happening ahead of schedule as contractors have completed much of their work in the western third of the project and are already paving 16th through 11th Streets.
Schlickbernd said that the WRA has been preparing for the closure of 2nd Avenue since this segment of the project began in April. This will be the most significant traffic impact since the lane reduction of W Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway occurred at the beginning of the project in April.
Residents traveling into Downtown via SW 2nd Street will be diverted west at W Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway where they can either utilize SW 5th or SW 7th Street to head north into downtown.
"The WRA is grateful to residents for their cooperation with the traffic changes that have occurred as a result of this project," said Schlickbernd, "Their patience is essential to the completion of this work which will result in cleaner water for all of us."
Details of the Ingersoll Run Project can be found on the WRA Website and all three segments of the project can be viewed on the City's Engineering project map at DSM.City/ProjectMap. Updates will continue to be provided publicly throughout the duration of the project.
