Mar 1, 2024 - News

Des Moines to launch a Thomas Beck Road diet

Jason Clayworth

A photo of Thomas Beck Road. — This area of Thomas Beck Road will have fewer lanes and a sidewalk later this year. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios

A section of Thomas Beck Road is narrowing from five lanes to three.

Why it matters: The project, approved last month by the Des Moines Transportation Safety Committee, is part of a larger effort to improve roadway safety after DSM scrapped the proposed $215 million Southwest Connector project in 2018.

Catch up quick: A transportation plan released in 2022 identified nearly 40 projects in the city's southwest corridors, including the realignment and a roundabout at George Flagg Parkway.

The Thomas Beck Road project is budgeted at $2.5 million and is among the first projects of the larger plan.

Zoom in: The road diet is between Bancroft and Southwest Seventh streets and will include a five-foot-wide sidewalk that connects to the Meredith Trail.

Construction is anticipated to begin in May with completion by the end of the year.

🍻 Fun fact: Thomas Beck was a local coal mine company president who immigrated from England in the 1860s, according to his 1933 obituary.

Confluence Brewing Company sells a seasonal ale in his honor.

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Des Moines to launch a Thomas Beck Road diet

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