The Iowa Department of Transportation is considering building two new interchanges along Interstate 80 and Interstate 35 near Des Moines.

The only problem is the DOT may have to tear down two existing rest stops to do it.

The Des Moines Register reported that a study conducted in September by the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization contends that two rest areas – the Ankeny Rest Area on I-35 north of the city and the Dallas County Rest Area on I-80 west of the city – could be torn down and not replaced if they are displaced by interchange projects in the area.

The report said the Des Moines area has enough truck stops, rest areas and commercial establishments to make up for the lost rest areas.

However, not everybody agrees with that assessment.

Scott Dockstader, a DOT district engineer, told The Register that he doesn't think it's a good idea to tear down the rest stops.

Closing them, he said, would leave an 85-mile gap between rest areas on I-80 and an 88-mile gap between stops on I-35. Dockstader said the study also didn't take into consideration the services offered by the rest areas, such as travel information, parking and restrooms.

Tom Shepherd, a Davenport, IA-based truck driver, told The Register that people like him need the rest stops.

“Truck stops are overcrowded, and sometimes you get into a metropolitan area and there are people hanging around who are not of good quality,” he said. “These rest areas are really needed; they need more of them.”

Anyone interested in filing a comment with the Iowa Department of Transportation can do so on the Web at www.dot.state.ia.us/contact.htm#form . Or call the DOT at (515) 239-1101 and ask for the Maintenance Department.