I-80 Construction Keeps Trails Closed As Biking Picks Up

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Road construction has created months-long trail closures on the east side of the Des Moines metro area. But officials say two stretches of trails that are currently shut down should be ready to welcome back riders before the end of summer.

What’s Happening

Since October, portions of the Chichaqua Valley Trail and the Gay Lea Wilson Trail have been closed to bikers near Interstate 80 between the East Mixmaster and Altoona.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is rebuilding the mixmaster, adding lanes and replacing old bridges. The two trails just happen to be in the way of all that construction.

The DOT plans to build a new bridge, carrying eastbound I-80 traffic over NE 29^th St., forcing the Chichaqua Valley Trail to close just before reaching the interstate. Cyclists can ride right up to both dead ends. The Polk County Conservation Department has not designated an official detour, but a combination of NE 29^th St. and NE 54^th Ave. is the most direct way for cyclists to get around the closure.

Just a bit to the east, the Gay Lea Wilson Trail is also closed just before reaching the interstate. Again, cyclists can ride right up to the edge of the construction zone before hitting a dead end on both sides. The DOT shut down the trail as crews rebuild the I-80 westbound bridge over Fourmile Creek.

No official detour is in place for Gay Lea Wilson as well, and there is no great way to get around this closure. The NE 38^th St. bridge over I-80 has been removed and the new bridge will not open until 2027, according to the DOT. That means Gay Lea Wilson users’ nearest interstate crossing is also NE 29^th via Broadway – a lot of street riding.

“We just ask them (cyclists) to understand and give the contractors some room and take this as an opportunity to explore some of our other great trails across the county and central Iowa,” said Adam Fendrick, parks planner at the Polk County Conservation Department.

Fendrick said the DOT has told him the project timeline remains on track, and both trails should reopen sometime in July.

“We will inspect the trails to make sure the contractor didn’t damage them in the construction process. So if they’re not damaged and everything looks good, we can just reopen them,” he said.

Fendrick said the department will announce when the trails are officially open on its website and Facebook page.

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More Construction Coming

While both trails could reopen within a few months, Fendrick said cyclists should expect more construction in the years ahead along the Chichaqua Valley Trail.

That will begin with the closure and extensive renovation of the old railroad bridge over the South Skunk River east of Bondurant. Fendrick said a recent inspection uncovered issues with some of the bridge’s abutments.

“These are still old wood timber piers that are getting fairly rotted at this point in time. And a lot of them show that they have had fire damage to them,” he said.

Fendrick said construction was originally set to start later this year, but now the fall of 2026 looks more likely. He estimates the bridge will be closed for nine months.

“We don’t want to be under construction in the middle of summer when it’s prime riding season because this is almost right in the middle of the entire trail segment,” he said.

That old railroad bridge is just the beginning for construction on the Chichaqua Valley Trail. Fendrick said ten other bridges need some level of repair along the trail, though these bridges are smaller than the one crossing the river.

“We’ll be focusing on and going for grants to make those repairs, but we probably won’t start until we secure some big grant dollars,” he said.

Because of that, Fendrick does not have a timeline for when these repairs could happen.

Paying Tribute

I recently received an email from a DSM Bike Notes reader named Jeff Miller. He wants to spread the word about the Paul Black Memorial Plaza, which he and other avid cyclists helped make a reality along the High Trestle Trail in Bouton.

The plaza was dedicated in October 2024 in memory of Paul Black, who Miller wrote was a legendary marathon cyclist who passed away from cancer in 2020.

The plaza features a bench, picnic table, and other amenities, but Miller’s group and the City of Bouton hope to make it even better and build a shelter there. He said they will likely raise money for that in the future, but for now, encourage everyone to stop by and check it out.

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