US highways in Iowa
(decommissioned routes are in italics):
6
18
20
30
32
34
52
55
59
61
63
65
67
69
71
75
77
136
151
161
163
169
218
275
For an explanation of the route listings, click here.

US 30
Length in Iowa: 331 miles/533 kilometers
Western terminus: Nebraska state line (Missouri River) near Blair, NE
Eastern terminus: Illinois state line (Mississippi River) at Clinton
Entrance photos

Counties: Harrison, Crawford, Carroll, Greene, Boone, Story, Marshall, Tama, Benton, Linn, Cedar, Clinton
Cities along route: Missouri Valley, Logan, Woodbine, Dunlap, Dow City, Arion, Denison, Vail, Westside, Carroll, Glidden, Ralston, Jefferson, Grand Junction, Beaver, Ogden, Boone, Ames, Nevada, Colo, State Center, Marshalltown, Le Grand, Toledo, Tama, Cedar Rapids, Mount Vernon, Lisbon, Mechanicsville, Stanwood, Clarence, Lowden, Wheatland, Calamus, Grand Mound, De Witt, Camanche, Clinton

NHS: Entire route
Commercial and Industrial Network: Entire route
Freeway segments:
  • 8½ miles, from the Boone-Story County line to I-35 near Ames
  • About 7 miles to the south of Marshalltown
  • 4 miles, from the junction with Business US 30 west of Toledo to L Avenue east of Tama
  • 8 miles, between IA 100 and C Street SW in Cedar Rapids
  • 7 miles, bypass of Mount Vernon and Lisbon
  • Expressway segments:
  • 16 miles, between US 169 in Ogden and Lincoln Way west of Ames
  • 28 miles, from I-35 east of Ames to IA 330 southwest of Marshalltown
  • 14 miles, from the South 18th Street exit in Marshalltown to the intersection with Business US 30 west of Toledo
  • 14 miles, from L Avenue (Business US 30) east of Tama to a point east of 11th Avenue in western Benton County
  • 14 miles, from 22nd Avenue in Benton County to IA 100 west of Cedar Rapids
  • 10 miles, from C Street SW in Cedar Rapids to Mount Vernon
  • 17 miles between US 61 at De Witt to west of US 67 in Clinton
  • Exit lists:
  • From US 169 at Ogden to US 63 in Toledo, including the freeway segments near Ames and Marshalltown
  • From US 63 through Mount Vernon/Lisbon, including the freeway segment through Cedar Rapids
  • Multiplexes:
  • ¼ mile with IA 37 in Dunlap. (This is a "wrong-way" concurrency where the two highways run in opposite directions.)
  • ½ mile with US 59 and IA 141 in Denison. (IA 141 also runs in opposite directions.)
  • 4 miles with US 169 west of Ogden
  • 19 miles with US 218, between south-central Benton County and I-380 in Cedar Rapids
  • 10½ miles with US 151 (including a 4-mile triplex of US 30, 151, and 218), from the Williams Boulevard exit southwest of Cedar Rapids to the IA 13 exit east of the Cedar River crossing
  • 1 mile with IA 38 east of Stanwood
  • 1 mile along the US 61 freeway west of De Witt
  • 3½ miles with US 67 through Clinton
  • History
    Designated: October 16, 1926, replacing the former IA 6 (I) (Lincoln Highway).
    Paving history: These segments were paved at the time of designation: the segment through Greene County, the segment through Marshall County (excluding the Chicago & Northwestern railroad crossing at Linn Creek), a short segment east and north of Belle Plaine, the segment through Linn County, a segment through Mechanicsville that was bypassed by another paved segment in 1927, and the segment through Clinton County.
  • 1927: Paved from Council Bluffs to Missouri Valley, Woodbine to Dunlap, the Marshall/Tama county line to present-day F Avenue at the Meskwaki Settlement, Tama to the Benton/Linn county line, and through Cedar County
  • 1928: Paved from Missouri Valley to Woodbine (on a new alignment that eliminated the "stairsteps" between present-day IA 44 and Dunlap) and Montour to Tama (except for a segment near the Iowa River crossing at the Meskwaki Settlement)
  • 1929: Paved from Dunlap to Westside (on a new alignment mostly parallel to the railroad tracks), Carroll to the Carroll/Greene county line, the Greene/Boone county line to the Des Moines River crossing, Ames to the Story/Marshall county line, from present-day F Avenue to the Iowa River crossing in Tama County, and from Meskwaki Road to Tama.
  • 1930: Paved from Westside to Carroll (on a new alignment), from Boone to Ames, through the Chicago & Northwestern crossing near Marshalltown, and across the Iowa River at the Meskwaki Settlement (on a new alignment that opened August 21)
  • 1931: Paved from the Des Moines River crossing through Boone
  • 1935: Paved between IA 300 (original alignment) and Missouri Valley
  • 1937: Last segment, between the Missouri River bridge and IA 300, paved
  • Major alignment changes:
  • August 1931: New segment bypassing Chelsea opened, creating IA 247. On August 10, it was also rerouted from 5th Street to 13th Street in Tama, taking US 30 off the historic Lincoln Highway Bridge that was built in 1915 and restored in 1987.
  • Also in August 1931: Re-routed west of Missouri Valley into Blair, NE, along old IA 130 (II); the old route from Missouri Valley to Council Bluffs (following US 75) became US 30S and eventually US 30A (see below). The original bridge was replaced with the current bridge in August 1991.
  • October 26, 1937: Route straightened through Tama and Benton counties; the old route west of Belle Plaine became part of IA 212, and the route north of it became IA 131. The cutoff opened east of IA 21 on June 23, 1936, but US 30 would not be rerouted until the Tama County segment opened.
  • December 1947: Route straightened through Marshall County (with IA 64), with part of the old highway becoming IA 330 a month later.
  • November 10, 1953: Re-routed along 6th Street SW and a new road from the south edge of Cedar Rapids to Lisbon (with IA 150); the old route followed Mount Vernon Road and is now signed as County Road E48 east of the city limits. The diagonal segment northwest of Mount Vernon was taken over by IA 94 and later became a relocated IA 150 before being turned over to local control.
  • September 25, 1954: Rerouted between Le Grand and Tama on a new alignment (with IA 64), engulfing IA 135 (I) and creating IA 135 (II) into Montour. The old segments are now parts of IA 146 and County Road E49.
  • June 13, 1955: Realigned between a point northwest of Ralston and IA 25 north of Scranton that year; the old segment is now County Roads E39 and N65.
  • June 30, 1956: Re-routed along the new Gateway Bridge at Clinton; the old route through town into Illinois (over the old Lyons-Fulton Bridge) became US 30A until 1966. Tolls were collected on this bridge until December 17, 1982.
  • August 7, 1956: Realigned between Clarence and Calamus
  • September 11, 1958: Straightened between IA 25 and Grand Junction, bypassing Scranton and Jefferson along the way; the old segment is now County Road E53.
  • September 12, 1963: New two-lane segment opened between State Center and IA 330
  • October 30, 1963: New two-lane segment opened between US 65 and State Center
  • September 1, 1964: New two-lane segment opened between US 69 and US 65, bypassing Nevada and Colo. IA 133 (II) was created to serve Nevada after this segment opened. All of old US 30 in Boone, Story, and Marshall counties was designated as secret IA 930 afterwards, but most of the old alignment east of Ames is now County Road E41.
  • For street alignments in Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids, and Clinton that are not listed here, please see their respective highway chronology pages.
  • Upgrades:
  • November 21, 1964: First expressway segment, from US 169 in Ogden to present-day 230th Street southeast of Boone, opened
  • 1970: 10-mile expressway segment from County Road Z24 east of De Witt to a point west of US 67 in Clinton opened
  • December 4, 1972: Freeway/expressway segment south of Ames, from present-day 230th Street to I-35, opened. (The segment from Elwood Drive, now University Boulevard, to US 69 had been used as a temporary detour for Iowa State football traffic starting in September. Also, the Lincoln Way interchange would not be completed until sometime in 1973 due to weather delays.)
  • September 29, 1975: 5-mile expressway segment between US 61 at De Witt and County Road Z24 opened.
  • November 12, 1975: 3-mile bypass to the west and south of De Witt opened. (The old segment through De Witt was IA 948 until 1992.)
  • 1975: 5-mile freeway/expressway segment between Bowling Street in Cedar Rapids and IA 13 south of Bertram opened
  • August 13, 1976: 2-mile freeway segment between US 218 (then following 6th Street SW) and Bowling Street in Cedar Rapids opened
  • September 23, 1981: Freeway segment between Stoney Point Road and 6th Street SW in Cedar Rapids opened (with US 218)
  • September 9, 1986: Freeway segment between 16th Avenue SW (old US 30) and Stoney Point Road outside of Cedar Rapids opened (with US 218)
  • 1992: Expressway segments between I-35 and Nevada (6 miles), and from IA 201 to the end of the freeway segment near Cedar Rapids (8 miles, with US 218), opened
  • November 26, 1996: Freeway segment south of Marshalltown opened
  • October 1998: 5-mile extension of expressway segment, from Nevada to US 65 interchange at Colo, completed.
  • November 1999: 6-mile extension of expressway segment between the US 30/218 split and IA 201 opened (with US 218)
  • July 2000: 3½-mile segment from the US 30/151 split to a point three miles west of Mount Vernon opened
  • November 2004: 3-mile bypass of Le Grand opens to two lanes of traffic; the old segment became unsigned IA 431 (II).
  • June 2005: 4-mile expressway segment from the east end of the Marshalltown bypass to Le Grand (including the bypass) opens
  • November 17, 2005: 5-mile expressway segment from Le Grand to the Meskwaki Casino entrance west of Toledo opens
  • November 1, 2010: 3½-mile freeway segment from US 63 in Tama/Toledo to M Avenue east of Tama opens
  • November 23, 2010: 4-mile expressway segment opens to two lanes between the Meskwaki Casino entrance and US 63; it opened to all four lanes on August 15, 2011.
  • November 29, 2010: 7-mile expressway segment between US 65 and State Center opened
  • July 7, 2011: 7-mile expressway segment between State Center and IA 330 opened
  • November 22, 2019: 7-mile bypass of Mount Vernon and Lisbon opened. The former segment of US 30 was unsigned IA 830 until it was turned over to local jurisdictions on December 8, 2020.
  • August 2020: 2-mile expressway segment between 22nd Avenue and US 218 opened; a new interchange with US 218 opened September 4, 2020.
  • June 2, 2021: 11-mile expressway segment from Tama eastward to X Avenue opened
  • November 14, 2022: 3-mile expressway segment between X Avenue in Tama County and 11th Avenue in Benton County opens (the interchange with IA 21 opened August 30, 2023)
  • Notes
  • US 30 barely nudges out IA 3 as the longest road in the state.
  • Most maps between 1960 and the late 1970s show US 30 as four lanes between Dow City and US 59 in Denison. This was because it was indeed a four-lane highway during this time, but according to Dave Vetter in a July 2003 e-mail, two of the four lanes were removed in the mid-1970s as a result of a resurfacing project. (After two-way traffic was moved onto the former eastbound lanes, the former westbound lanes were considered unnecessary and never rebuilt.) The short four-lane segment now ends west of the Denison airport; right-of-way for two extra lanes is still present west of there, along with a couple of guardrails.
  • A new interchange with County Road R70 (580th Avenue) east of Ames is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2024.
  • A two-lane bypass of Missouri Valley is programmed for grading in 2026 and paving sometime after 2027.
  • Paving for a new interchange at 610th Avenue west of Nevada is programmed for 2028.
  • Completion of the 14-mile expressway segment between IA 21 and US 218, the last segment between Ames and Cedar Rapids, has been delayed to 2024.
  • An Iowa DOT planning study released in September 2019 recommended upgrading the remaining segments between Lisbon and De Witt to a "super-2" highway with paved shoulders and more passing lanes. The Highway 30 Coalition and the Clinton County Board of Supervisors, both of which favor upgrading the remaining segment to four lanes, have opposed this plan.
  • Business US 30
  • Marshalltown: Follows the old 5-mile alignment of US 30 on the south edge of town (which was superseded after the nearby freeway segment opened). The whole route had been officially designated IA 976 at first, but by the time of 976's decommissioning (July 1, 2003), the designation only applied to 0.9-mile segment east of the US 30/Iowa Avenue interchange. Photos and commentary are available on Jeff Morrison's page.
  • Tama/Toledo: This was designated along US 30's most recent alignment in Tama and Toledo after the bypass first opened in November 2010. Construction of the intersection at the west end of the bypass was finished on August 15, 2011. (Terminus photos)
  • Mount Vernon/Lisbon (unsigned): AASHTO approved a Business US 30 designation following IA 1, old US 30, and Lisbon Boulevard between the two bypass interchanges in May 2020. While street signs in both cities refer to old US 30 as "Business 30" — even the segment west of IA 1 in Mount Vernon — there are no Business US 30 shields along the route or along the US 30 bypass as of mid-2022.
  • US 30S
    Designated: August 1931
    Decommissioned: December 1934
    Original northern terminus: US 30 at Missouri Valley
    Original southern terminus: Nebraska state line (Missouri River) at Council Bluffs
    Counties: Harrison, Pottawattamie
    Paving history: The entire route was paved at the time of designation.
    Replaced by: US 30A (western segment)
    When US 30 was re-routed between Blair, NE, and Missouri Valley, the original route between Fremont, NE, and Missouri Valley via Omaha and Council Bluffs (a total of 26 miles in Iowa) was redesignated as US 30S. (According to The Des Moines Register of December 7, 1931, this designation was supposed to be temporary, until the stretch west of Missouri Valley was paved.) US 30S and US 30A were the only suffixed US routes in Iowa history, although an Alternate US 52 existed in Dubuque County from 1964 to 1967.
    For a map of its street alignment in Council Bluffs, see Jeff Morrison's Council Bluffs/Omaha Highway Chronology page.
    US 30A (western segment)
    Designated: December 1934 (approved November 20)
    Decommissioned: November 19, 1969 (approved by AASHTO on October 26)
    Original northern terminus: US 30 at Missouri Valley
    Original southern terminus: Nebraska state line (Missouri River) at Council Bluffs
    Counties: Harrison, Pottawattamie
    Paving history: The entire route was paved at the time of designation.
    Replaced by: IA 183
    US 30A, also known as Alternate US 30, was co-signed with NE 92 through much of east-central Nebraska and US 6 and US 75 in Iowa. In the late 1930s, the bridge between downtown Omaha and Council Bluffs was co-signed as US 6, US 30A, US 75, US 275, and IA/NE 92 (although US 275 and IA/NE 92 were eventually re-routed onto the South Omaha Bridge).
    For a map of its street alignment in Council Bluffs, see Jeff Morrison's Council Bluffs/Omaha Highway Chronology page.
    US 30A (eastern segment)
    Designated: June 30, 1956
    Decommissioned: December 7, 1966
    Original western terminus: US 30/67 at Clinton
    Original eastern terminus: Illinois state line (Mississippi River); it joined US 30 again east of Fulton, IL
    Counties: Clinton
    Paving history: The entire route was paved at the time of designation.
    Replaced by: IA 136
    The other US 30A was a replacement for US 30 after the Gateway Bridge between Iowa and Illinois was built.

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