Dreaded Detour Over For Carl Voss Trail Users

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A dreaded detour is no longer in place along the Carl Voss Trail south of downtown Des Moines. But another closure is coming, and cyclists will have to find their own way around this one.

Right Now

The City of Des Moines is in the midst of a years-long project to repair levees along the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, to better protect the city from flooding. Since the Carl Voss Trail runs on top of some of those levees, a couple sections have been closed during the construction. Here is where the trail closures currently stand:

The trail is back open between SE 6^th and SE 14^th streets. This section was shut down for most of 2024 and reopened before Thanksgiving. This closure led to a detour that directed cyclists to the sidewalk of the SE 14^th St. bridge. More on that in a minute.

The Carl Voss Trail remains closed between SE 1^st and SE 6^th streets, with a detour taking cyclists to the north side of the Des Moines River. City of Des Moines park planner Derek Hansen said this section will remain closed the first half of 2025. A small section of this stretch – the very north end near Mullets – will stay closed to allow for construction of the nearby ICON Water Trails project at the river. Hansen said a quick detour route will be posted.

Hansen said the Meredith Trail between SE 1^st St. and the SW 5^th St. pedestrian bridge (the green bridge) will reopen at the same time as the currently closed section of the Carl Voss Trail.

Future Closure

While one phase of levee construction and closures is coming to an end, another will be right behind it. Once again, a section of the Carl Voss Trail will shut down, but it will not include an official detour route.

This time, levee work will focus east of SE 14^th St., south of the Des Moines River. The city’s project website lists construction for 2026 to 2027.

Hansen said a mile-long stretch of the trail is likely to close from SE 14^th St. to Hartford Ave. Cyclists will have to figure out for themselves how to get around the closure.

“The city is required by law – ADA law – to be in compliance, to accommodate all trail users for an official route,” Hansen said. “Although bikes can go on roadways and bike lanes and shared roadways, pedestrian users can’t.”

The most direct way around the closure would be Hartford Ave. and SE 14^th St., which has sidewalks on both sides of the road between Hartford and the trail. Hartford does not have sidewalks.

“The city can’t post anything, but I know bicyclists will find a way to get around those closures,” Hansen said.

More precise information about the closure will be released closer to the start of construction.

The impending shutdown of another section of the Carl Voss Trail comes less than five years after the final piece of the trail opened. That link has made it much easier to ride between downtown Des Moines and destinations like Easter Lake Park, Ewing Park, the new Karras-Kaul Connector Trail and Carlisle.

About That Detour

The reopening of the Carl Voss Trail between SE 6^th and SE 14^th in November, put an end to a white-knuckle detour. Riders were directed to use the sidewalk on the SE 14^th St. bridge over the Des Moines River. It was a harrowing ride, putting cyclists on a narrow strip of pavement while traffic zoomed by on one side and the river flowed below on the other side.

“We were very much aware,” Hansen said about the rough ride. “This was kind of the only route that could work for accommodating both bicyclists and pedestrians. It’s unfortunate that this is the route we could have had, it was either that or post nothing.”

Unlike the forthcoming closure, this detour route was able to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, even if it was less than ideal.

The levee project is expected to be fully complete in 2030 and does not appear to impact any other stretches of trails.

See You At the Bike Expo!

If you’re planning on stopping by the Iowa Bicycle Coalition’s Iowa Bike Expo this weekend, I hope to see you there! I’ll have a booth, so please feel free to say hi and share your story ideas with me. I’m looking forward to getting out of the house after this cold weather, and it would be great to chat with my subscribers. The Iowa Bike Expo is happening from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, and it’s free!