Called jetties, they began serving their purpose in the spring of 2023 before they were completely finished.

“I was out here yesterday and I’ve been out here a couple of times,” Brad Cabrera, of Barnum, said while fishing on an April afternoon. He described the new jetties as “awesome.”

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

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

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

“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.”

On the day that he was fishing, the jetties were solid structures, inviting people to get close to the water. However, from an engineering perspective they were not completely finished. That happened later in the spring and work on a nearby parking lot was finished in the fall.

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 master plan.

Work on the jetties began in December 2022. Doyle Construction, of Fort Dodge, had a $2,116,790 contract for the work.

-Messenger file photo by Kelby Wingert
The River’s Edge Discovery Center project, Webster County Conservation’s 13,000-square-foot building now under construction, will be a focal point of the redeveloped Fort Dodge riverfront area.

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

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

The jetties are not the only improvement coming to the city’s riverfront.

The riverfront area at the west end of Central Avenue has been an open, largely unused spot since the old AGP plant that once sat there was destroyed in a pair of major fires more than 20 years ago.

Chad Schaeffer, the city’s chief development officer, said the area is destined to become the “front porch” for downtown.

Features will include picnic shelters, a river overlook and an area called the Karl King Sculpture and Sound Garden. There will be trail connections throughout the park.

The River’s Edge Discovery Center, Webster County Conservation’s 13,000-square-foot building now under construction, will be a focal point of the redeveloped riverfront area.

First Street, which runs along the east side of the riverfront, was rebuilt.