Des Moines offers $150K incentive to speed up Ingersoll Ave rebuild

Des Moines is offering $150,000 to incentivize contractors reconstructing the Ingersoll Avenue streetscape to complete the project early, a spokesperson for the city manager's office tells Axios.

Driving the news: Crews started the nearly $5.3 million third phase of the rebuild project about a week ago.

• The city is hoping its offer will motivate contractors to complete the work by late this year, well ahead of its anticipated summer 2023 completion.

Why it matters: Ingersoll is a busy commercial and residential district.

• Thousands of people are being inconvenienced and dozens of businesses are facing hurdles linked with the multi-year project.

Catch up fast: The rebuild, which launched in 2020, includes street, sidewalk and sewer improvements from Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway to 42nd Street.

• This year's construction focuses on streetscape improvements along Ingersoll's south side between MLK and 28th Street.

What they're saying: One-way traffic will be necessary during some later construction stages this year and it "won't be popular," Scott Almeida, an engineer working on the project, said in a February public update meeting.

How it works: Des Moines will only pay the $150,000 incentive if the work, excluding landscaping, is done by Dec. 2.

Of note: Ingersoll will also undergo sewer or streetscape work between 35th and 41st this year, but those pieces are not part of the early-finish incentive.

What's ahead: A fourth and final stage is planned for 2024.