Interstate 235 (Iowa)

Interstate 235 begins at the western intersection of Interstate 35 and Interstate 80, known locally as the West Mixmaster. Here, eastbound I-80 exits the highway, which becomes I-235 and joins northbound I-35. From the West interchange, I-235 heads east. Almost immediately is a half-diamond interchange with 50th Street in West Des Moines. One mile (1.6 km) later is a partial-cloverleaf interchange with Valley West Drive,[3] which was renamed from 35th Street in 1988 due to its proximity to Valley West Mall and Valley High School.[4]

At Windsor Heights at a tight partial-cloverleaf interchange I-235 meets 73rd Street / 8th Street. The interchange is particularly tight because of an Iowa Interstate Railroad line just to the east. 73rd Street / 8th Street is actually a single road: north of I-235, 73rd Street follows the Des Moines street numbering plan, while south of I-235, 8th Street follows the older street numbering plan of West Des Moines.[5]

At the 63rd Street interchange, I-235 picks up a fourth lane of eastbound travel and drops a lane westbound. Now within the city limits of Des Moines, it passes the through the heavily wooded Waterbury neighborhood. Near the 42nd Street interchange, I-235 curves to the south around Theodore Roosevelt High School. Zero point five miles (800 m) later is an interchange with 31st Street, which provides access to Drake University to the north, and to Terrace Hill, the governor's mansion, to the south.[3]

East of 31st Street, I-235 briefly picks up a fifth lane and drops a lane westbound, creating a 10-lane freeway just west of downtown. This stretch of freeway receives, on average, over 125,000 vehicles per day,[6] making it the busiest stretch of road in the state.[7]

Interstate 235 crosses the Des Moines River in downtown Des Moines.

There are three eastbound interchanges connecting I-235 to downtown Des Moines. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and 19th Street, a pair of one-way streets, lead traffic to the west of downtown. Keosauqua Way, known locally as Keo Way, enters downtown from the northwest. These interchanges are combined westbound. Closer to the Des Moines River, a combined interchange in each direction filters off the rest of downtown traffic to two destinations: Seventh Street and Sixth Avenue, and Third Street and Second Avenue, each of which are pairs of one-way streets. The fourth lane of traffic drops off at this combined interchange.[6]

At the Des Moines River, I-235 passes Wells Fargo Arena, the main Iowa Events Center facility, which lies to the south along the western bank and the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden to the north on the eastern bank. On the eastern side of Des Moines, it skirts the northern edge of the East Village, the Iowa State Capitol, and East High School before the interchange with U.S. Route 69. One mile (1.6 km) east is an interchange with East University Avenue, which, up to now had been relatively parallel to I-235.[3] East University provides access to the Iowa State Fairgrounds for northbound I-35 and eastbound I-80 traffic.

At University Avenue, I-235 begins curving to the north, dividing an industrial district to the west and residential areas to the east. One and a half miles (2.4 km) to the north, it intersects East Euclid Avenue at a partial-cloverleaf interchange. It continues north for another one and a half miles (2.4 km) until it meets Interstate 35 and Interstate 80 again at the East interchange.[3]

The current route of I-235 closely follows the original plans from 1955, seen here.

The first section of Interstate 235 to open, from Cottage Grove Avenue to Keo Way, opened on December 14, 1961. Over the next seven years, sections of I-235 opened, spreading east and west toward the interchanges until it was completed on October 30, 1968.[8]

In October 1963, the Des Moines city council designated I-235 the John MacVicar Freeway in honor of two former mayors of Des Moines: John MacVicar, Sr., (1896–1900, 1916–1918, 1928) and John MacVicar, Jr., (1942–1948).[9] However, this name is seldom used; most people simply refer to it as I-235.

In March 2002, a six-year-long project to completely rebuild I-235 and the bridges which cross it began. The first two years consisted of rebuilding most of the bridges which cross it, starting with 42nd Street in West Des Moines. The final four years of the project entailed finishing the remaining bridges, widening, regrading, and repaving the entire length of the highway.[10]

The Edna M. Griffin Memorial Bridge

The entire route is in Polk County.

Location	mi[3]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
West Des Moines	0.000	0.000	123	I-35 / I-80 – Council Bluffs, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago	Exit number based on I-80 mileage; I-80 exit 123A
	0.579	0.932	1A	50th Street – West Des Moines	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	1.317	2.120	1B	Valley West Drive – West Des Moines	Formerly 35th Street
	2.136	3.438	2	22nd Street – West Des Moines, Clive
West Des Moines–Windsor Heights line	3.216	5.176	3	73rd Street north / 8th Street south – Windsor Heights, West Des Moines
Windsor Heights–Des Moines line	3.826	6.157	4	Iowa 28 (63rd Street) – Windsor Heights
Des Moines	4.333	6.973	5A	56th Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only
	5.342	8.597	5B	42nd Street – Art Center
	5.890	9.479	—	35th Street	Eastbound exit only, removed during reconstruction project
	6.144	9.888	6	31st Street – Terrace Hill Historic Site
	6.780	10.911	—	Cottage Grove Avenue	Removed during reconstruction project
	7.051– 7.388	11.347– 11.890	7	Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway, 19th Street, Keosauqua Way – DSM Airport, Pappajohn Sculpture Park	Signed as exits 7A (MLK Jr. Pkwy./19th Ave.) and 7B (Keo. Way) eastbound
	7.543	12.139	—	12th Street	Eastbound and westbound entrance only; removed during reconstruction project
	7.727– 8.230	12.435– 13.245	8A	Downtown Des Moines, Iowa Events Center	Access to 2nd, 5th, and 6th Avenues and 3rd and 7th Streets
	7.835	12.609	—	7th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only; reconfigured during reconstruction project
	7.972	12.830	—	5th Avenue	No westbound entrance; reconfigured during reconstruction project
	8.202	13.200	—	2nd Avenue, 3rd Street	Eastbound and westbound entrance only; reconfigured during reconstruction project
	8.718	14.030	8B	E. 6th Street, Pennsylvania Avenue
	9.317– 9.631	14.994– 15.500	9	US 69 (E. 14th Street south / E. 15th Street north)
	10.070	16.206	10A	Iowa 163 (E. University Avenue) – State Fairgrounds	No eastbound exit to westbound Iowa 163, eastbound entrance to westbound I-235, or eastbound entrance
	10.478	16.863	10B	To Iowa 163 (E. University Avenue) / Easton Boulevard	Eastbound exit and entrance only
	11.241	18.091	11	Guthrie Avenue
	12.129	19.520	12	US 6 (E. Euclid Avenue) – Grand View University
Ankeny	13.812	22.228	137	I-35 / I-80 – Davenport, Council Bluffs, Kansas City, Minneapolis	Exit number based on I-80 mileage; signed as exits 137A (east) and 137B (south/west)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 235 (Iowa).

• Geographic data related to Interstate 235 at OpenStreetMap
• I-235 history
• I-235 photo gallery
• I-235 Pedestrian Bridges at Structurae