The jetties aren’t done yet, but they are serving their intended purpose.

People have been fishing from them already.

“I was out here yesterday and I’ve been out here a couple of times,” Brad Cabrera, of Barnum, said Thursday afternoon while fishing.

He described the new jetties as “awesome.”

-Messenger photos by Kelby Wingert
Some new fishing jetties are completed along the Des Moines River near the Kenyon Road Bridge.

“We’ve been needing something like this for a long time,” he said.

Seven jetties are being constructed: three on the west bank of the river and four on the east bank.

Strictly speaking they are not complete yet. But they look not only complete, but also inviting to anyone who wants to get close to the water.

“I think a lot of people are going to use it, even people who aren’t just fishing or kayaking,” Cabrera said. “I’ve seen tons of people ride their bikes down to take a look, grab a seat for a little while and take a rest. It’s perfect right by the running water and everything.”

The work on the jetties is to be finished by the end of this month. Work on a nearby parking lot is to be done by Sept. 30.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Brad Cabrera holds up a walleye he caught while fishing on one of the new fishing jetties along the Des Moines River near the Kenyon Road Bridge on Thursday afternoon.

The jetties are located south of the Kenyon Road Bridge where the Little Dam used to be.

The Little Dam, along with the Hydroelectric Dam farther upstream, were removed in 2019 in accordance with the recommendations of a riverfront masterplan.

Work on the jetties began in December. Doyle Construction, of Fort Dodge, has a $2,116,790 contract for the work.

One jetty on either side of the river will have a deflector built onto it which will create a small whitewater feature for kayakers.

In addition to building the jetties, the company will construct plazas on each side of the river where the abutments for the dam used to be. It will also build a parking lot, complete with a cul-de -sac where vehicles can turn around, on the west side of the river.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Fishing jetties along the eastern bank of the Des Moines River near the Kenyon Road Bridge are paved so they can be handicap accessible.

Messenger staff writer Kelby Wingert contributed to this story.