IA 415-NE 66th Avenue exit will be removed

One of Iowa’s oldest interchanges is on its way out.

IA 415 in Polk County between Des Moines and Ankeny was upgraded to four lanes, with a grassy median, in two stages: Broadway to Northeast 54th Avenue in 1959, and from there to the old Y-intersection with IA 160 in 1961. (A very short piece that goes under the railroad tracks and past the then-brand-new Firestone tire plant became four lanes as World War II was winding to a close.)

Included in that 1961 upgrade was a full diamond interchange with Northeast 66th Avenue. Half a century later, that interchange with its small underpass and short ramps is going to be removed. It will be replaced with a standard intersection with traffic signals. The DOT will hold a meeting about the project Feb. 5, but the plans are already online.

Ironically, although that part of IA 415 is one of the oldest rural non-interstate four-lanes in Iowa, US 69/Northeast 14th Street just to the east remains two lanes to this day. (Why did that not change at least 20 years ago? It’s baffling.)

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