The Fleur Drive Bridge over the Raccoon River could become a pedestrian bridge as part of an ongoing evaluation by the city of Des Moines.
Catch up quick: The 90-year-old bridge was once a main route between downtown and the airport before the east-west sections of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway were built about two decades ago.
- Now it carries around 6,000 vehicles a day, a decrease of over 80% from the 34,000 that traveled it before the MLK links were finished.
Zoom in: A road reconfiguration near Des Moines Public Schools’ Central Campus last year removed the direct route to the bridge from Grand Avenue.
- Its southbound lanes from downtown are now accessible only through a two-way section of Locust Street.
State of play: The bridge requires repair or replacement and the City Council approved a nearly $150,000 agreement this month to assess options, including converting it to a pedestrian bridge…