Construction has started on an interchange that Ankeny officials believe can ease traffic issues and spur development in the northern part of the city.

A new Interstate 35 interchange at Northeast 36th Street is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. The project is estimated to cost just more than $26 million.

“As a community, we grew by 18,000 people in the past decade,” said Tim Moerman, the city’s director of economic development. “We know it’s going to keep growing, and a lot of development ground is to the north, so what we end up having to do now is somehow give these people access to the interstate.”

Currently, those living near the new interchange must enter Interstate 35 from either the First Street interchange to the south or the Northeast 126th Avenue interchange to the north. City officials say the access roads to reach the First Street ramp are currently at or nearing capacity, making it essential to provide another access point.

“If you’ve ever been to Ankeny at 7 a.m. or 5 p.m., you see a lot of issues where this whole part of our community, to get to the interstate, has to go through the First Street interchange, which is at capacity right now,” Moerman said.

Development opportunities

Last year, Ankeny adopted a 30-year comprehensive plan, which identifies the city as growing in the area of the interchange in the future. The plan was left flexible intentionally, said Eric Jensen, director of the city’s planning and building department. The goal, he said, is to identify a regional commercial node in the area around the interchange. How that will look is anyone’s guess at this point.

“That could be anything from an employment center to shopping,” Jensen said.

The land to the west of the new interchange is largely controlled by Dennis Albaugh-owned DRA Properties LC. Officials expect quick development on the land, which already has a pair of golf courses and residential areas. Ted Rapp, development coordinator for DRA Properties, said the plat northwest of the interchange will be for commercial use, and that the interchange should open up residential housing around the Otter Creek Golf Course, where the company owns land.

DRA also owns land to the southeast of the interchange, which Rapp said would likely be a mixture of office and commercial space that blends into the existing residential area west of the interstate.

“The 36th Street interchange will just open up a lot of possibilities for the whole north end of Ankeny, not only on the west side but also on the east,” Rapp said. “I think the comp plan they have done really sets up the interchange for its optimal use.”

Jensen from the city of Ankeny said DRA has already approached the city about commercial development use in the land around the interchange.

The rest of the land to the east of the interchange is farmland owned by Otter Creek Land & Cattle LC., NDA Farms LLC and James Farms Inc.

The possibility for development in the area fits what the city envisions.

“The City Council, one of their goals is for Ankeny to be a regional business center,” Jensen said. “This project goes nicely with that, where this will help us create employment opportunities for residents.”

Construction ramps up

A large part of the project will be moving a section of the interstate to the east. The new southbound exit and entrance ramps will be located near the existing southbound lane. As part of Federal Highway Administration requirements, the interstate must be kept open during the construction process. It made sense to build a new 1.2-mile section and keep the old section open until the new roadway is ready for use, said Paul Moritz, Ankeny’s public works director.

Another element to the plan is a separate project to widen Northeast 36th Street from two to four lanes, from the interchange to Delaware Avenue. Moritz said redoing the road was part of the justification for adding the interchange.

The interchange project is happening in two phases. This year, workers are scheduled to complete the structural work for the overpass, and work has already begun on that. Next year, workers are scheduled to build the ramps and pave the main line of the actual street interchange pavement, which will be bid on in November. Work on widening 36th Street will also be done during that time.

Moritz said the interchange project will be paid for partially with federal funds, partially by the Iowa Department of Transportation and partially by the city of Ankeny. The cost of the 36th Street project is estimated at $3.8 million, to be paid for by federal Surface Transportation Program funding and the city.