West Des Moines Planner Resigns to Work for Company Planning Alice's Road Corridor

A West Des Moines city planner is leaving his job to work for the engineering firm hired to oversee construction of the Alice’s Road interchange, a joint project between the city councils in West Des Moines and Waukee.

Development and Planning Inspection Manager Chris Shires will leave next week after 23 years with the city, the Des Moines Register reports. He is taking a job as a planner with Confluence of Des Moines, a landscape architecture and design firm, where he will continue working on the Alice’s Road project.

The Alice’s Road interchange on Interstate 80 will open both Waukee and West Des Moines for more development. The Waukee City Council on Tuesday approved a one-year, $450,000 contract with Confluence on the planning and design of the Alice’s Road project.

Waukee and West Des Moines will split the cost of the Interstate Highway 80 interchange at 105th Street in West Des Moines and Alice’s Road in Waukee. Then Waukee will pay to extend Alice’s Road as six lanes of street and install storm sewers, water mains, and three lanes of paved road.

Shires started with the city as a summer laborer in 1990.