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Metro leaders look for answers to congested I-235 Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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WILL CLOSE IN 2020 FOUR AT LEAST A YEAR. NEW THIS MORNING, TRAFFIC JAMS ARE BACK ON A DES MOINES FREEWAY DESPITE A $400 MILLION REBUILDING PROJECT BACK IN THE 2000’S. KCCI SENIOR REPORTER TODD MAGEL IS LIVE ON INTERSTATE 235 NOW. TODD, YOU’RE INVESTIGATING WHY THE BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC IS BACK. TODD: WE ARE. GOOD MORNING. WE ARE HEADING OUT OF DOWNTOWN WEST ON I-235. AT THIS TIME OF DAY IT’S NOT TOO BAD. BUT AROUND 8:00 IN MORNING AND AROUND 5:00 AT NIGHT, CARS OFTEN COME TO A COMPLETE STOP HEE ON THE FREEWAY. WE WANTED TO KNOW WHY. WELL, IT TURNS OUT, THE D.O.T. IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. AND IT’S WORKING ON A PLAN TO FIX IT. BACK IN IN THE 2000’S, THE FREEWAY NEEDED TO BE REBUILT DUE TO HIGH TRAFFIC VOLUME. SO THEY CREATED AN EXTRA LANE TO MAKE THREE CONTINUES LANES FROM THE EAST MIXMASTER TO THE WEST MIXMASTER. BUT THE ORIGINAL D.O.T. PLAN WAS TO BUILD 4 LANES. SUBURBAN LEADERS WERE AGAINST THE PLAN, SAYING IT WOULD TAKE OUT TOO MANY HOMES AND BUSINESSES, AND IT DIDN’T HAPPEN. AND THERE’S ANOTHER ISSUE. THE POPULATION PROJECTIONS FOR THE WESTERN SUBURBS WERE WRONG. SO IT TURNS OUT THERE ARE FAR MORE CARS ON I-235 THAT PREDICTED. SO NOW THE D.O.T. AND METRO LEADERS ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DO ABOUT THE INCREASING NUMBER OF CARS ON THE FREEWAY, A PROBLEM THAT WILL ONLY GET WORSE AS THE POPULATION GROWS. TONIGHT AT 10:00, WE WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE PLANS TO FIX THE PROBLEM AND HOW THE PLANS MIGHT WORK. RHEYA: THAT CRITICS -- HOW DOES THE D.O.T. KEEP TRACK OF THE NUMBERS ON THE FREEWAYS? TODD: THEY USE SOME TRAFFIC CAMERAS AND THEY COUNT THE TRAFFIC EVERY DAY. PREDICTIONS WERE TO HAVE ABOUT 80,000 CARS ON THE FREEWAY AND DAY BY 2020. WELL GUESS WHAT -- THERE ARE NEARLY 100,000 CARS ON THE FREEWAY. THAT IS PART OF THE PROBLEM AND