July 2, 2014: This Scheels store in the southeast quadrant of the IA 58/Viking Road intersection (the last quadrant developed) opened March 2, 2013. It replaced stores at both College Square and Crossroads malls and is one reason there is so much traffic at this intersection. (Also the Target next door, and the Wal-Mart and Farm & Fleet across the street.)
The newest plans for one of Iowa’s most dangerous urban intersections, revealed at the end of last month (Courier, KWWL), do something that is very rare in Iowa. An interchange will be constructed with modifications to the existing major road instead of having a bridge built for the cross-road.
There is very little space to maneuver for modifying IA 58 at Viking Road, as the diagrams show. Flipping the SPUI design to put Viking on top may result in less disruption for the businesses all around, but it will be interesting to see how IA 58 goes down into the ground while maintaining traffic.