ANKENY, Iowa — If you travel between Ankeny and Des Moines, chances are you’ve noticed major construction on the east mixmaster.
December brought the first of many overnight closures at the interchange as the Iowa Department of Transportation continues building a new flyover bridge that will bring improvements to the busy interchange.
"People are starting to see those steel girders go up across the freeway, and that's been more of our impactful work to the traveling public," said Frank Leong, a construction engineer who is leading the project.
Late-night drivers have had to detour due to the ramp closures, causing short delays.
“We've seen five-to-10-minute delays because those typically happen later on in the night. So they haven't been too bad," Leong said.
It’s a short-term headache for some drivers. But when the project is finished, Leong says people will be able to travel the mixmaster safer and a little quicker, which increases capacity.
The Iowa DOT will build new ramps from I-80 westbound to I-35 northbound and I-80 east to I-235 westbound, with wider curves and more space for drivers.
According to Leong, drivers will see the biggest impact during rush hour and should leave more time for their commute.
“These are probably some of our most traveled freeways in Iowa, so anytime you have a pinch point where you have to make decisions, that's what slows traffic down," he told Local 5. "If we can kind of minimize that, we get people through the northeast mixmaster a lot safer and a lot faster.”
The DOT has not announced any new overnight closures for the rest of December, mainly due to holiday travel. Leong says there will more than likely be more closures coming in the new year.