Interstate 235 is a 13.83-mile freeway running through downtown Des Moines between West Des Moines and Ankeny. It was named after John MacVicar in the 1960s after a father and son duo that held both the streets commissioner and mayor offices off and on between 1896-1948.1 The freeway carries six lanes of traffic and was completely rebuilt between 2003-07.
Interstate 235 began in 1957 when the Des Moines City County voted to support the Des Moines freeway plan. The Federal Bureau of Public Roads followed with final approval to the project that would be Interstate 235, a $54-million investment. Design of the route was completed in 1958 and the freeway opened in stages between December 14, 1961 and October 30, 1968. The 1.2-mile segment between Cottage Grove Avenue to 12th Street opened first.1
Interstate 235 reconstruction included the following projects:
Reconstruction of the Exit 1B (Valley West Drive) partial-cloverleaf interchange.
Replacement of the Polk Boulevard overpasses
Redesign of the Cottage Grove Avenue / Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway interchange
Widen the Des Moines River Bridge
Redesign the 2nd Avenue interchange
Redesign the East 6th Avenue / Penn Avenue interchange
Redesign of the U.S. 6 (Euclid Avenue) interchange
Redesign the Keo Way interchange
Redesign of the 5th/6th/7th Avenue interchange
Redesign of the 14th/15th Street interchange
Rebuilding of Interstate 235 at University Avenue and its interchange, including relocating the westbound carriageway to run parallel to the eastbound roadway.
Interstate 235 East
The first eastbound reassurance shield of Interstate 235 is posted at the 50th Street overpass. A half-diamond interchange joins Interstate 235 west with 50th Street as Exit 1A. Photos taken 09/04/05.
Exit 1B joins West Valley Drive (36th Street) with Interstate 235 east at its first interchange. West Valley Drive heads north to Valley West Mall and University Avenue in Clive. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Interstate 235 eastbound at the Exit 1B partial-cloverleaf interchange with West Valley Drive. This is the first of three interchanges to serve the city of West Des Moines. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Interstate 235 passes over 22nd Street at the Exit 2 diamond interchange to West Des Moines and Clive. 22nd Street which turns into NW 86th Street, travels to U.S. 6/Hickman Road. Photo taken 09/04/05.
A folded-diamond connects Interstate 235 with 73rd Street / 8th Street to Windsor Heights, West Des Moines and Urbandale at Exit 3. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Exit 3 departs Interstate 235 east for 8th Street south to West Des Monies and 73rd Street north to Windsor Heights. The freeway enters the construction zone associated with the complete rebuilding of Interstate 235 through Des Moines in this scene. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Interstate 235 East - Construction
Exit 4 - Iowa 28 / 63rd St / Windsor Heights
Interstate 235 spans Walnut Creek and enters the Exit 4 diamond interchange with Iowa 28. Iowa 28 (63rd Street) leads north to Windsor Heights and south to Valley Junction. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Exit 5B - 42nd St
Exit 5B is a partial cloverleaf interchange at the 42nd Street overpass. On each side of the overpass are two of three of the new basket-handle arched pedestrian bridges completed in 2005. Nearby Greenwood Park is home to the Des Moines Art Center. Photos taken 09/04/05.
Exit 6 - 31st St / Terrace Hill Historic Site
Exit 6 is a diamond interchange at the 31st Street overpass. Travel south on 31st Street and east on Grand Avenue to visit the Terrace Hill Historic Site, where Iowa's first millionaire lived back in 1869. Travel north to Drake University. Photos taken 09/04/05.
Exit 7A - MLK Jr Pkwy / 9th St / Airport
Exit 7A serves a one-way northbound 19th Street (via School Street) and a one-way southbound Martin Luther King Junior Parkway. Travel southbound past the western end of downtown to Grays Lake Park and the Des Moines International Airport. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Exit 7B - Keo Way / Bus Terminal
Exit 7B via Keo (Keosauqua) Way directs traffic northbound to merge with 19th Street, or southbound towards the north end of downtown and the bus terminal. The bus terminal is located between 6th Street and 7th Street, north of Center Street. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Exit 8A - DT Des Moines / Iowa Events Ctr
Exit 8A, utilizing School Street (eastbound frontage street), houses most of the main routes into downtown Des Moines and the Iowa Events Center. Travel northbound for Mercy Medical Center and the DMACC Urban Campus. Exit 8A replaced two separate ramps along eastbound in a new split-diamond interchange. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Exit 8B - E 6th St / Penn Av
Just after crossing the Des Moines River at the beginning of the Exit 8B ramp is the third basket-handle arch pedestrian bridge named the Edna M. Griffin Memorial Bridge. This exit houses the first one-way street couplet of 6th Street and Penn (Pennsylvania) Avenue. They are two of four of the main streets in and out of the Iowa's gold-domed Capitol. Keep going to rejoin Interstate 235 eastbound or exit at Mercy Capital Hospital onto Lyon Street to the second one-way street couplet of East 14th Street and East 15th Street, also US 69. These will also take you to the Capitol. Lyon Street also directs traffic back onto Interstate 235 eastbound. Photos taken 09/04/05.
Views of both the downtown Des Moines skyline and the Iowa State Capital Complex appear briefly along Interstate 235 east from the Des Moines River through to the trenched freeway north of the central business district. U.S. 69 follows SE 14th Street northward into downtown where it briefly splits into a one-way street couplet with 15th Street. Leading north, U.S. 69 heads toward Union Park and Ankeny outside of town. Photos taken 09/04/05.
Exit 10A - Iowa 163 / E University Av (EB) / State Fairgrounds
Exit 10A departs Interstate 235 eastbound for Iowa 163 (University Avenue-eastbound only). Just over a mile east is the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Iowa 163 will take you east-southeast past Pella to Okaloosa. To get back onto Interstate 235 eastbound, just turn north on East 21st Street from University Avenue. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Exit 10B - Iowa 163 / Easton Blvd / E University Av
Exit 10B follows from Interstate 235 east for Easton Boulevard. Easton Boulevard will take you to Iowa 163/East University Avenue. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Exit 11 - Guthrie Av
Exit 11 is a diamond interchange serving Guthrie Avenue. Travel Guthrie eastbound to Hubbell Avenue and Grandview Park. Hubbell Avenue northbound turns into US 6 at the East Euclid Avenue intersection, southbound shoots you into downtown Des Moines. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Exit 12 - US 6 / E Euclid Av / Grand View College
Continuing north, Interstate 235 next meets U.S. 6 (Euclid Avenue) on Des Moine's industrial north side. U.S. 6 travels east to Hubbell Avenue and Altoona and west to Douglas Avenue in northwest Des Moines. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Exit 12 departs Interstate 235 eastbound at the Hull Avenue underpass. U.S. 6 represents the main east-west arterial route through north Des Moines, from Urbandale and Merle Hay Mall eastward to Interstate 235. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Part of the reconstruction of Interstate 235 saw the removal of the Exit 12B loop ramp onto U.S. 6 (E. Euclid Avenue) westbound. Now all movements are handled by the redesigned Exit 12A ramp. U.S. 6 serves a clump of older commercial plazas just east of the freeway. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Interstate 235 East
Despite its north-south routing, Interstate 235 retains eastbound cardinal direction signs. Pictured here is the final reassurance shield assembly. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Nearing the north end of Interstate 235 at the NE 46th Avenue underpass; ramps ahead carry drivers onto Interstate 80 east to Altoona, Iowa City, and Quad Cities and Interstate 35 south & 80 west to Johnston, Urbandale, and Clive. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Dubbed the "Northeast Mixmaster Interchange", Interstates 35, 80, and 235 meet at a reconstructed directional-cloverleaf interchange. Previously, as pictured here, the carriageways split with left-hand on-ramps from Interstate 80. Work however build a new carriageway down the middle of the Mixmaster interchange while preserving the older carriageways for the ramp connections to the east-west freeway. Both exits from Interstate 235 north are unnumbered. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Typical for Iowa Interstate to Interstate interchanges is the placement of highway shields for the route in which the ramp connects. Therefore Interstate 35 north & 80 westbound shields are posted ahead of the loop ramp onto onto the westbound tandem. Interstate 35 & 80 share pavement 14 miles from their merge at West Des Moines to the somewhat rural Northeast MixMaster. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Traveling on what is now a dedicated loop ramp to Interstate 35 south & 80 west. Drivers merging onto the old carriageway from Interstate 35-80 east remain segregated before their merge onto Interstate 35 north. Interstate 235 east defaults onto Interstate 35 north to Ames, Mason City, and Minneapolis. Photo taken 09/04/05.
Interstate 235 West
Interstate 35 merges with Interstate 80 west in the wake of Interstate 235's westbound beginning. An Interstate 80 eastbound shield was posted next to Interstate 235 here for the loop ramp connection onto the eastbound freeway. The original southbound carriageway now carries Interstate 35 southbound traffic to Interstate 80 west and Interstate 80 westbound traffic onto Interstate 235 south, because a new mainline for Interstate 235 was built through the middle of the Northeast Mixmaster Interchange. Photo taken 09/04/05.
The old carriageway now defaults onto the Exit 87A loop ramp for Interstate 80 east. Interstate 80 leaves the Des Moines area via Altoona for Newton, Coralville, Iowa City, and the Quad Cities. Photo taken 09/04/05.
What was the first southbound Interstate 235 shield, posted on what is now the westbound Interstate 80 (Exit 137A) on-ramp to the freeway beginning. Photo taken 09/04/05.
