Highway Page Updates — 2019
December 7: Dan Drackley pointed out that IA 191 now ends at I-880 instead of I-680. I fixed that.
November 24:
- According to the I-880 Wikipedia article, the 511ia.org traffic cameras, and a November 11 e-mail from Travis Halm, I-880 is now signed in the field and exits along the former I-680 segment have been renumbered. (At this time signage has not been removed from the I-29/680 overlap, but the Iowa DOT did let me know via Facebook that the I-680 signs along I-29 will be taken down eventually.) A new I-880 exit list has been posted, while related updates have been made to the I-29 south, I-29 north, and I-80 west lists.
- Meanwhile, in eastern Iowa, the US 30 bypass of Mount Vernon/Lisbon opened on November 22 (coverage: The Gazette). The highway and exit listings have been updated based on online signing plans (though in the case of the latter, the speed limit has not been moved since work will continue on both ends of the bypass through next spring). East of Lisbon, the Iowa DOT recently released a planning study that recommends upgrading US 30 from there to De Witt as a "super-2" instead of a four-lane expressway. This idea is facing local opposition (coverage: Clinton Herald, September 26).
- Also, the interchange between IA 27/58 and Viking Road opened November 10 (coverage: Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier), removing one of the traffic signals from the Avenue of the Saints.
November 2:
- Although I-880 is still not signed in the field yet, I have added it to the Table of Active State Highways.
- Jeff Morrison has done some research on the multiple routings of IA 333 and how its uncertain routing in the late 1940s ended up creating Iowa's first 900-series highway, IA 999. His findings are being posted to his blog this week, but I have updated the IA 333 listing and linked to a map that he created.
October 27:
- This year's Missouri River flooding has resulted in a new Interstate designation. Due to confusion relating to road closures during the floods, I-680 between I-29 and I-80 became I-880 on October 15 (Iowa DOT press release), which also drops I-680's duplication with I-29. Re-signing is expected to be finished by the end of November. Exit lists will be updated once I receive confirmation of signing changes and new exit numbers.
- In addition to the creation of I-880, the applications submitted to and approved by AASHTO for their fall 2019 meeting stated that US 6 actually follows the express lanes of I-80, not the local lanes as I previously thought. The I-80 west exit list has been updated to reflect this.
- Per the Sioux City Journal of December 16, 1959, IA 12 was signed at the original US 20/77 cloverleaf interchange (but I-29 wasn't yet), so the extension of IA 12 into downtown Sioux City coincided with the opening of the relocated segment on October 10.
- Other exit list updates based on recent travels:
- I-35 central: The rest areas north of Ankeny now contain truck inspection stations in both directions.
- I-129: The speed limit through Nebraska is 65 MPH instead of 60.
- I-380: The Forevergreen Road exit opened in late September per this Gazette article.
- US 20 west: The Webster City airport is now signed at Exit 136 in both directions (it was previously signed at Exit 140 for westbound traffic).
- US 75/IA 60: The West Branch of the Floyd River is now signed north of Merrill.
- Also, with reconstruction of the I-80/I-380/US 218 interchange underway, I have added construction alerts and links to the Iowa DOT's I-80/380 project page from the I-80 central, I-80 east, I-380, and US 218 south lists.
September 11:
- The Submarine Veterans Memorial Highway is now signed through Des Moines; based on this July 2017 article in the Marshalltown Times-Republican, it runs from the State Capitol Complex to the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown. Its route is noted on the Scenic and Historic Routes page.
- The ramp from I-80 Express west to I-29 north in Council Bluffs opened September 6.
- In preparation for the opening of the long-awaited flyover ramp from I-35 north to US 30 west in Ames tomorrow, new secondary signs for Iowa State University have been put up at I-35 exit 111.
August 26:
- Signs for the Jefferson Highway Heritage Byway have appeared in northern Iowa, and I was able to get a photo of a marker to post to the Scenic and Historic Routes page when I was in the area earlier this month.
- The eastbound lanes of the I-29/I-80 dual divided freeway in Council Bluffs opened August 19. (News coverage: KETV, WOWT). I have updated the I-80 west exit list based on the latest information I could obtain through news coverage and this YouTube video from BigRigTravels taken on August 24. The ramp from southbound I-29 to eastbound I-80 is closed through this fall, and I have not received word on whether the ramp to I-29 north from express I-80 west has opened yet. In the meantime, it appears that widening of I-80 between US 75 and 13th Street in Omaha is also finished based on the BigRigTravels video linked from here, so I have updated the I-80 Nebraska list to reflect that.
- Other exit list updates:
- I-35 south: Construction has begun on a northbound-only exit for Meredith Drive in Urbandale that will be completed by the fall of 2020.
- IA 5 Des Moines: The now-closed Iowa Center for Higher Education has been removed from signs at Exit 97.
June 15:
- Some new updates based on the latest Iowa DOT five-year plan:
- A new interchange at US 218 in Floyd is programmed for 2022.
- Six-laning of I-35 from Ankeny to Huxley is scheduled for completion by 2024, and six-laning of I-80 from Iowa City to West Branch is programmed for 2023. Reconstruction of the I-80/380 interchange is also programmed for completion in 2023.
- US 30 expressway paving between Tama/Toledo and Cedar Rapids is expected to be finished by 2023.
- A replacement for the Black Hawk Bridge (IA 9) in Lansing is programmed for 2024.
- Grading of US 61 around Mediapolis is expected to begin in 2024.
- Grading of a US 63 northern bypass of Oskaloosa is also programmed for 2024.
- Exit list updates:
- On the subject of the Southwest Arterial, Jeff Morrison confirmed from the Iowa DOT that IA 136 will not be truncated when US 52 is rerouted, to avoid having to change mailing addresses of those living along IA 136.
April 21:
- The westbound express lanes of the I-80 dual divided freeway opened March 27. (News coverage: KETV, Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil) Based on what I have seen, only two lanes have opened, but there will be three express lanes when all is said and done. The eastbound express lanes are expected to open this fall.
- With help from this video from Big Rig Travels on YouTube (this video from April 7 was shot along most of westbound I-80 in Iowa in real time; the trip through Council Bluffs starts about 5:05:00 in), I have updated the I-80 west exit list to reflect the new lane configuration. At this time it does not appear that the connection from I-29 north has opened yet, so no changes have been made to the I-29 list.
- Some recent findings from Jeff Morrison, who pointed out that April 19 marked 100 years since Iowa passed the Primary Road Act:
- US 59: The segment between present-day County Road C44 and the Cherokee/Ida county like was paved in 1940 (Cherokee Chronicle-Times, September 6, 1940)
- US 65: The original segment south of Leon was not part of IA 1 (I) — that actually became US 69.
- US 71: A minor alignment change south of Milford in 1939 replaced what was the only paved segment of US 71 when it was designated in 1926, so I gave it a mention under the paving history. Jeff mentions it in this blog post related to an upcoming resurfacing of this segment.
- IA 10: The paving west of Marathon actually occurred in 1941 (Storm Lake Register, February 18, 1941)
- IA 17 (I): Before 1926 its original end was in Spirit Lake instead of Estherville. It shared a segment of IA 9 along the way.
- IA 24 (I): In early 1921, the Cass County Board of Supervisors requested that the highway be routed away from Lewis so that the north-south IA 100 (I) could become an east-west highway east of Griswold (Griswold American, January 20, 1921). Lewis eventually was put back on the primary road system, but not until IA 2 (I) was extended westward on December 1, 1928.
- IA 31: The diagonalization between Quimby and US 59 occurred in 1950 (Cherokee Daily Times, June 5, 1950)
- IA 62: Until 1921, it went through Fulton instead of Andrew.
- IA 152: The Iowa DOT map of Clarke County shows a leftover, yet unsigned, segment between the ramps of I-35. This is the only map that shows it, though, as their Osceola map does not show it.
March 18: I have added a construction alert to the I-74 Quad Cities list, as work on the new I-74 bridge is affecting traffic starting this week.
January 30: Some small exit list updates based on what I've seen on Google Street View:
- I-29 north: County Roads K25 and D51 are now signed at Exits 134 and 135, respectively. I've also updated exits 147 through 148 in downtown Sioux City.
- US 20/75/IA 60: Cone Park in Sioux City is now signed at US 20 exit 1.
- Avenue of the Saints north: "Historic Downtown Cedar Falls" is now signed at the Waterloo Road/18th Street exit.
January 18:
- Jeff Morrison has launched a highway chronology page for Burlington. I have added links from the main page and all associated highway listings.
- Exit list updates:
- US 20 east: Per the construction plans for Project NHSX-032-1(44)--3H-31 on the Iowa DOT's Document Library, the future US 20/future US 52 (Southwest Arterial) interchange that is currently under construction will be signed as Exit 314. (I haven't seen any signing plans online for the rest of the Southwest Arterial.)
- IA 27/58: Construction of the interchange with Viking Road in Cedar Falls is also underway.
- US 218/IA 27 south: Oakland Mills State Park is now signed as the "Oakland Mills Park and Nature Center".
- I've also dropped the dual mile markers from the I-35/80 section of the I-35 south exit list.
Past updates:
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© 2019 by Jason Hancock