Years Of Construction Closures Ahead For Trails In Western Suburbs

Bikers who use several trails in the western suburbs will soon have to deal with years of off-and-on detours and disruptions due to a major construction project.

What’s Happening

The Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority (WRA) is installing a huge sewer line. The pipe will be buried from around NW 142^nd St. and Douglas Pkwy. in Urbandale, southeast to the area of SW 56^th St. and North Valley Dr. on the western edge of Des Moines. It will link to another line, which will carry the wastewater to the treatment plant where it is cleaned and pumped into the Des Moines River.

The sewer line will generally follow Walnut Creek, which means it is also running near the routes of several highly-trafficked trails.

Biker Impact

The WRA is planning to build the sewer line in three phases. Construction should start in late 2025 and is expected to last about five years.

A lot of heavy equipment will be used to dig up dirt and bury the pipe. That means trails and the people who use them will definitely be impacted.

The WRA said it is too early to say exactly where trails will need to be closed. DSM Bike Notes examined the route and identified where trails appear to be close to the sewer line’s path. Those sections include:

• A series of smaller trails in Urbandale (Walnut Trace Park Trail, Timberline Park Trail, Deer Ridge Park Trail and Country Club North Trail, according to the Iowa DOT), from NW 142^nd and Douglas to Rocklyn Dr.

• Raccoon River Valley Trail in Urbandale, at the Hickman Rd. crossing near Walnut Creek

• Greenbelt Trail in Clive, near Campbell Recreation Area past the I-80/35 underpass to NW 114^th St.

• Greenbelt Trail in Clive, near NW 92^nd Ct. and Swanson Blvd.

• Greenbelt Trail in Clive, near NW 86^th St. and Swanson, all the way to 73^rd St. in front of Walmart and Sam’s Club in Windsor Heights where it becomes the Walnut Creek Trail

• Walnut Creek Trail in Des Moines, west of 63^rd St. to Grand Ave.

Disclaimer: This list is in no way official. I simply looked at the project route and compared it to where trails run.

Why This Is Necessary

Patrick Brown, project manager at WRA, said this sewer line is needed because the current pipe is near capacity. All the growth in the westerns suburbs means there are more people flushing their toilets and doing the dishes. That wastewater has to go somewhere.

“If we don’t do this, the side effects would be, water would back up in basements or come up somewhere, come out of manholes,” Brown said.

DSM Bike Notes asked why the WRA selected this route.

“It’s not our first choice to go through the area,” Brown said.

However, he said it’s the best option because Walnut Creek is a low point, so the wastewater will naturally flow downhill in its direction without the use of expensive pumps. The new pipe will follow the current pipe, so there should also be fewer surprises along the way.

Current Construction

As many cyclists know, there is already a major closure and detour along the Greenbelt Trail due to another big construction project. The Iowa Department of Transportation is rebuilding the I-80/35 interchange at Hickman Rd., forcing the trail closure. The current closure and detour is likely to last through the end of 2025, according to Clive Assistant City Manager Pete De Kock.

What’s Next

Brown said more specific trail impacts will be finalized this spring or summer before construction starts in late 2025.

“We’re kind of in the middle of the design phase where we’re trying to find all the various strains and work around them,” Brown said.

Once the issues are identified, the five cities along the route – Clive, Des Moines, Urbandale, West Des Moines and Windsor Heights – will work with the WRA to establish closures and detours.

“A lot of places will be impacted, but for the most part that won’t be happening at the same time,” Brown said.

De Kock told DSM Bike Notes the closures would be shorter in duration with more convenient detour routes compared to the current detour for the I-80/35 interchange project. He also said the sewer line project will be a good opportunity to complete trail improvements, like resurfacing.

The WRA expects sewer line construction to be finished in 2030.

This Has Nothing To Do With Biking, But…

While I was chatting with Patrick Brown, he casually mentioned something super interesting:

“We pulled a car door out of the sewer,” he told me.

Exsqueeze me?! How did it get there?!

“We’re not entirely sure, but we were doing some repair work and the contractor crew drug out a car door. I mean like the entire door!” Brown said.

If you have any idea how someone may have squeezed that through a drain, give the WRA a call. 😄