(Radio Iowa) – There’s a push to designate a 25-mile freeway that curves around the east and southwest sides of the Des Moines metro as an interstate. Ryan Moon is director of public policy for the Greater Des Moines Partnership, which represents chambers of commerce in 11 counties.

The bypass is actually a combination of two state highways.

Consultants often grade sites based on how close the property is to an interstate. The lobbying effort to get the Des Moines Bypass designated as an interstate is called Future four-35 (435) — and it would be called Interstate 435 because it has an interchange with Interstate 35. It also has an interchange on the north, in Altoona, with Interstate 80. Moon says there is some agricultural traffic on the bypass and that has complicated the argument it should be an interstate. Advocates are asking the state legislature to spend 250-thousand dollars on a study that would suggest alternative routes for farm equipment, like tractors, and slower-moving semis carrying huge loads of grain. Getting the interstate designation requires action at the state AND federal level.

Motorists who drive on the bypass may notice signs that it has been called the Purple Heart Highway. It’s one of 10 highway segments around the country that are named in tribute to men and woman of the military who have been awarded the Purple Heart medal.