Johnston is moving ahead with plans to build an approximately $30 million interchange at Highway 141 and Northwest Towner Drive, a long-planned project officials say will make one of the city’s busiest corridors safer and more efficient.
Johnston city officials unveiled plans on Monday, Aug. 3, at Johnston City Hall to move forward with a new, grade-separated interchange at the high-traffic corridor that will replace existing at-grade crossings to make the growing area on the community’s west side safer and more efficient.
The project will separate local and highway traffic to eliminate at-grade crossings and reduce potential points where vehicles are more likely to crash along the corridor.
It also includes right-in and right-out intersections that limit vehicles to right turns only, as well as new pedestrian and bicycle connections that will tie Johnston neighborhoods to the regional trail network. And it will improve access management with new collector roads and the closure of three nearby at-grade intersections.
City officials have secured more than $12.8 million toward the project, including a local commitment exceeding $6.3 million, and are seeking additional federal transportation grant funding.
Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn on Monday announced he secured $500,000 in Community Project Funding for the project, which will cover final engineering and design costs.
Mayor Paula Dierenfield said construction will start in 2027 and wrap up by 2030. It is expected to be bid this fall. Preliminary engineering and environmental review are underway.
Dierenfield said the interchange will be located in an area Johnston annexed about eight years ago. She said it will improve the safety and traffic flow along Highway 141, support residential and commercial growth in northwest Polk County and strengthen the regional connectivity of central Iowa’s rural and interstate highway system.
“It’s important not only for the residents of Johnston, but for the tens of thousands of Iowans who live along Highway 141 and drive up and down that highway every day,” Dierenfield said. “This is a great example of how federal, state, and local government officials work together to make Iowa and Iowa communities safe and more prosperous for all of us.”
Johnston Police Chief Dennis McDaniel said reducing potential points of traffic conflict would improve safety for the growing corridor, which he said has an extensive history of crashes. He said approximately 20,000 vehicles per day currently travel around the proposed interchange and that figure is projected to climb to about 50,000 vehicles per day by 2050.
Nunn said the project would strengthen the Des Moines metro’s connection to rural Iowa and support the expansion of advanced manufacturing facilities as Indianapolis-based Corteva Agriscience transfers the headquarters for its seed spinoff, Vylor, to Johnston.
“In a generation, we went from what was just above a B-road to now having a major highway to now having major arteries that flow into it,” Nunn said. “We want to make sure there’s access for business, that there’s safety for families, that we’re driving down accident rates and that we’re providing the best possible pathways for first responders to get to our communities in need.”
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com. Follow her on X at @marissajpayne.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Johnston pursues plans for new $30 million Highway 141 interchange
Reporting by Marissa Payne, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By Marissa Payne, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
