Efforts to create a safer pedestrian connection across Fleur Drive began roughly two decades ago. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios
Signage for the Ruan Connector was recently completed, DSM Parks and Recreation director Ben Page tells Axios.
Why it matters: It marks the official end of the $3.1 million project connecting two of DSM's busiest parks, Gray's Lake and Water Works.
Catch up fast: The pedestrian underpass opened three years ago.
- But closing the project's financial books continued into this year, partly due to financial challenges during the pandemic.
- A nearly 30-year payment plan is now in place for the DSM Water Works Park Foundation to repay the city for most of the project's construction, as it had initially pledged.
Of note: The connector is named after John Ruan III and his wife, Janis.
They helped spearhead multiple DSM beautification projects prior to John's death in 2021.
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