Walnut Creek Sanitary Sewer

The City of Grimes is constructing a new sanitary sewer through portions of the City of Urbandale. The new sanitary sewer will allow Grimes to connect to the regional Wastewater Reclamation Authority wastewater system. 

The project starts near 142^nd Street and Douglas Parkway and extends northwesterly to the west side of 156^th Street north of Ridgemont Drive. Almost all of the project will be constructed on park property owned by the City of Urbandale. See the map below.

The construction will start at the south end of the project near 142^nd Street and Douglas Parkway and continue northwesterly. Construction of the project will likely extend into the summer of 2023. Exactly how long it will take the contractor to complete the project will depend on many factors, including weather conditions and pipe delivery.

The new sewer will cross several streets, including Aurora Avenue, Meredith Drive, 156^th Street and Ridgemont Avenue. The sewer will be tunneled in place under the streets and there will be no street closures as a result of the project. The contractor will be accessing the project from the various street crossings so there will be some construction related traffic entering and leaving the streets that are crossed by the sewer.

Much of the sewer will be installed in areas that are part of the City of Urbandale’s Park system, including the trail network. The new sewer is being installed adjacent to the existing sewer so the location of the new sewer project is relatively fixed by the location of the existing sewer. As noted on the map, much of the project will be located in park property located along the creek. Significant portions of the existing trail will need to be removed for construction of the project. Other portions of the trail will not be disturbed by construction, but will be inaccessible as these areas of trail  will be located between sections of the trail that will be removed for construction. As part of the project the contractor will restore all of the areas disturbed by construction, including replacement of any trail areas disturbed by construction.

As indicated the construction of the project will start at the south end and continue upstream to the north and west. It is anticipated the trail areas upstream of where construction is occurring will remain open until construction reaches that area. Once the trail is closed for the start of construction in an area, it is anticipated the trail will be closed for a fairly significant duration of time as the contractor will need to complete all of the sewer construction, restore the area, and replace the trail. The trail will be reopened as major reaches of the trail are completed and continuity of the trail system can be achieved.

All of the construction of the sewer, including the restoration of the trails and park areas, will be completed at no cost to the City of Urbandale. The project is being funded primarily by the City of Grimes.

More information and trail closures can be found here.

Questions?

If you have any questions or need additional information concerning the project, please contact Grimes City Engineer, Matt Ahrens at 515-986-4050 or mahrens@grimesiowa.gov.