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Highway Page Updates — 2020

December 11: Some exit list updates:

I-35 south: There are now eight lanes of through traffic along the newly-constructed "Urban Loop" segment of I-35/80 between Douglas Avenue and 86th Street in Urbandale.
I-35 central: As of today, the six-lane segment now runs northward from the I-80 split to the 36th Street exit in Ankeny.
I-80 east: Mark Odor reported that Xtream Arena is now signed at Exit 244 in Coralville.
US 20 east and US 61 north: While IA 32 and US 52/IA 3 signs still have not been removed from Dubuque city streets as of the end of November, Scott Onson posted some photos to the Mid-America Roads Facebook group showing that US 52/IA 3 have been removed from the 9th/11th Street exit on US 61. Meanwhile, only US 61 and 151 now appear on signs approaching the US 20/Locust Street junction, leaving lots of green space where US 52 and IA 3 were.
US 61 Fort Madison: While I haven't been in the area lately, Wilson Lake is signed at Exit 18 and Pollmiller Park is signed at Exit 22 according to Iowa DOT signing plans from the February 2019 contract letting.

November 15:

The Iowa-bound span of the I-74/US 6 between Bettendorf and Moline opened the evening of November 12. (KWQC did a live Facebook video of the bridge's opening, and here's additional coverage from WQAD and WHBF.) It's carrying only three lanes of Iowa-bound traffic for now, but traffic in both directions will use the Iowa-bound span by the end of this year. The Illinois-bound span is on track for completion by the end of 2021, and the old bridges will be demolished in 2022.
Michael Gillson reported that the intersection of US 151 and 62nd Street/Cherokee Drive in Marion now has traffic signals.

November 2: The Meredith Drive half-interchange and the flyover ramp from northbound I-35/80 to IA 141 both opened October 16 (coverage: KCCI). These are now noted on the I-35 south exit list.

October 12:

It's not often that I get updates on route designation changes straight from the source, but a recent email I received from the Iowa DOT District 3 office stated that the unsigned portion of IA 12 in Sioux City now follows Virginia Street between I-29 and Gordon Drive after the state took over that segment of Virginia on July 1. The segment of Gordon Drive between Pearl Street and Virginia Street is now designated as unsigned IA 812 (that is not a typo; their reasoning is that IA 412 and 912 had already been used during the past half-century). Rather than create a separate listing, I have mentioned this under the IA 12 listing. Also, while eastbound Business US 20 traffic has to use Virginia Street to re-access Gordon Drive as a result of the I-29 reconstruction, there currently hasn't been any changes to the official routing of Business 20.
Meanwhile, Jeff Morrison received confirmation from the Iowa DOT District 6 office that the US 30 interchange with US 218 opened September 4, one day before I drove by it. While cleanup from the August derecho remains higher priority, they also mentioned that signs for IA 32 and IA 3 in Dubuque should be taken down by the end of 2020, although Richard Stimmel recently let me know that signs were unchanged as of early October. Please let me know if you are in the Dubuque area and see any signing changes.
Per a Waterloo Courier article discovered by Kaiser Strien, the four-lane US 63 in northern Black Hawk County opened August 5, 1988.
An AARoads forum user recently posted a link to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' (AASHTO) Route Numbering Document Archive, which contains nearly 100 years' worth of documentation — meeting agendas and meetings, correspondence, and route numbering applications. Many of the meeting minutes in the archive have been posted to Wikimedia Commons as well. While there is a lot of Iowa-related material to go through, I did make these immediate updates:

The changeover from US 163 to IA 163 took effect January 1, 1938.
An attempt to create an Alternate US 6 between Dexter and I-35/80 via Adel after US 6 was relocated in 1958 was denied by AASHO in 1959. (US 6 was put back on the original route in 1966.)

September 9:

The interchange with US 30 and US 218 opened sometime before Labor Day weekend, extending the expressway segment westward from US 218 to 22nd Street in Benton County. In addition to updating the highway listing, I've also extended the US 30 east exit list westward to the new US 218 interchange.
During a Labor Day weekend trip in northeast Iowa, I confirmed that the Great River Road actually follows DeKalb Street instead of Schiller Street in Guttenberg. This is noted on the Scenic and Historic Routes page.
Other exit list updates:

I-80 west: According to this BigRigTravels YouTube video starting at about 4:57:00 in, signs at the westbound local/express lane split at I-29 south now give Council Bluffs as the destination for the I-80 local exits. (The video runs westbound, but I assume that signs have changed eastbound at I-29 north as well.)
US 20 central: The Grundy County Fairgrounds is now signed at Exit 208.
US 52 Southwest Arterial: There is a speed limit reduction to 35 MPH just before the roundabout at the US 20 eastbound on-ramp/Chesterfield Road.
US 61 north: The intersection with unsigned IA 946 is now street-signed as the "Locust Street Connector". (On that note, there were no changes to IA 3 or IA 32 as of September 5.)

August 21:

On the drawing boards since 1983 per Encyclopedia Dubuque, the US 52 Southwest Arterial opened Monday, August 17. (News coverage: Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, KCRG-TV, KWWL. There are also YouTube videos of drives heading north mostly sped up and south in real time.)

I have updated the highway listing to reflect its new route along IA 136, US 20, the Arterial, and the opposite direction of US 61/151.
I also added a new exit list for the Southwest Arterial based on the above-linked videos and signing plans from the Iowa DOT document library. (While the recent derecho has delayed opening of the English Mill/North Cascade Road exit on the arterial, I have included it on the exit list anyway.)
While IA 3 will be truncated east of the Northwest Arterial and IA 32 will be decommissioned as the result of a transfer of jurisdiction seven years in the making, I have not received any reports yet of signs being taken down.

Other exit list updates:

I-29 north: Per this story from KCAU, reconstruction through the downtown area is wrapping up. I have removed the construction alert and updated exit list and speed limit data based on online signing plans.
US 20 east: In addition to the Southwest Arterial opening and relocation of US 52, the Iowa DOT major construction projects page notes that a new interchange at Swiss Valley Road is under construction through 2021.
US 151: Per Street View, the speed limit through Springville was reduced to 55 MPH sometime in 2019. While there has been some discussion of an interchange at X20, the intersection of which is now on the exit list, plans have not been finalized and it is not in the current five-year plan.
Avenue of the Saints south: While driving past the I-80/380/218 interchange earlier this month, I noticed that the US 218/I-80 interchange has gore signs for Exits 97A and 97B on northbound US 218.

August 14:

Jeff Morrison recently launched a highway chronology for Clinton. I added links from all appropriate listings.
According to the Iowa DOT's 2021-2025 transportation plan:

Widening of I-80 in West Des Moines is programmed from 2023 through 2025.
Relocation of IA 17 east of Boone, which involves a new railroad viaduct, is programmed for 2022.
Some projects on the current plan, however, are contingent on federal funding as the FAST Act of 2015 is scheduled to expire on September 30. Projects that may be delayed without federal funding include six-laning of I-80 between Iowa City and West Branch (paving of which is currently programmed for 2023), a US 30 bypass of Missouri Valley (2025 and beyond) and in western Benton County (2022-2023), a US 61 expressway in Louisa and Des Moines counties (2024 and beyond), and a US 63 northwest bypass of Oskaloosa (2024 and beyond),

July 5:

Yesterday, I drove through the Omaha/Council Bluffs area to check out I-880 for myself. While I-680 markers have been removed from northbound I-29, they remained up on southbound I-29 as well as on overhead signs. This is noted on their respective highway listings.
I also was finally able to obtain my own photo of the new White Pole Road Scenic Byway marker for the Scenic and Historic Routes page.
According to Jeff Morrison, the diagonalization of IA 6 (I) (the Lincoln Highway) between IA 39 (now 44) and Woodbine did not occur until it was paved in 1928, after the designation of its replacement, US 30.
Exit list updates:

I extended the US 75 Kennedy Freeway list to the end of the newly-extended freeway north of Plattsmouth now that the interchange with US 34 is complete.
In addition, while these lists weren't field checked during this trip, I updated speed limits on the I-480, I-680, US 75 north, and US 275/6 based on recent Street View images.

June 27:

A few research findings by Jeff Morrison:

US 20 was not paved all the way through Fort Dodge in 1930; the segment it shared with US 169 at the time was paved in 1933. His Fort Dodge Highway Chronology page has more information.
IA 2 (I) was paved between Blue Grass and Davenport in 1925. There was a slight alignment change as a result of the paving that is reflected on the 1924 map on the Highways of Davenport and Bettendorf page, which also reflects the fact that Rockingham was a separate city until Davenport annexed it in April 1926.
I also added terminus photo links for IA 244 (I) and IA 362 (I).

Speed limits on I-80 west, I-80 east, US 218 north, and I-380 south have been temporarily reduced to 55 MPH around their mutual interchange per this Iowa DOT document. Even though I usually don't place work zone speed limits on exit lists, I have decided to do so here given the long-term nature of the I-80/380 interchange reconstruction project.

May 10: After reviewing several sources, I have made some updates to exit lists in Council Bluffs. Those sources include AARoads' guide on northbound I-29, which includes new photos from February; two BigRigTravels videos from March 1 (eastbound, start about 8:45:00 in) and April 25 (westbound, start about 8:30:00 in); and the Council Bluffs Interstate System Facebook page.

For simplicity reasons, the local exits in Council Bluffs are no longer included on the I-80 west list. They remain listed on the I-29 south list and internal links on both lists have been updated accordingly.
The split speed limit (65 MPH WB/NB and 55 MPH EB/SB) on the dual divided freeway is correct, as work on the eastbound/southbound lanes is still in progress.
Speaking of speed limits, I-80 through Omaha is posted at 65 MPH throughout.

April 28:

Jeff Morrison passed along some research findings:

In Cedar Rapids, what is now Business US 151 in Marion had two minor alignment changes: one related to a new bridge over Indian Creek in 1947, and one underneath a railroad overpass in 1960. (Part of the old alignment was repurposed into the parking lot of a local used car dealership.) Also, the Red Ball Route (IA 11/40) entered Cedar Rapids from the south via J Street before 1923, but the route within the city limits is unknown at this time.
IA 140 was truncated north of Kingsley on May 29, 1963, but according to the Le Mars Daily Sentinel of September 2, 1966, the Highway Commission agreed to keep the road as a temporary route through the end of 1967. It remained on maps through 1965 and paving was finished in 1966.
The Jefferson Highway Scenic Byway actually follows River Street leaving downtown Iowa Falls.

Exit list updates:

I-80 Illinois: The Soldiers and Sailors Park and Flags of Freedom Memorial in Princeton, IL, is now signed at Exit 56.

February 23: Looking at Waterloo Courier articles on newspapers.com, I discovered that IA 297 (II) was added to the state highway system on August 10, 1939, and was paved a year later.

January 19: As 2020 marks 100 years of numbered highways in Iowa, Jeff Morrison did some research, mostly on the early days of Iowa highways, and passed the following updates along. Most sources are from state maps unless otherwise specified:

IA 1 (I), IA 4 (I), IA 20 (after its northward extension), IA 40 (I), and IA 59 (I) had the same numbers in Minnesota. IA 5 (I), IA 6 (I), IA 7 (I), and IA 8 (I) had the same numbers in Illinois, and IA 19 (I) and IA 28 (I) had the same numbers in Wisconsin.
A small segment of IA 2 (I)/IA 18 (which became US 32 and US 71 respectively) was paved at the beginning of the primary road system. US 71 itself was routed away from downtown Atlantic in 1927.
IA 6 (I) was straightened from the route that is currently signed as part of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway between Logan and Dunlap in 1924.
IA 18 was realigned between Carroll and Templeton in July 1922 (Carroll Times, July 20, 1922).
IA 21 (I) originally used present-day County Roads L56 and C44 south of Cherokee; its realignment also meant the truncation of IA 31. (Cherokee Chief, November 3, 1924)
The reroute of IA 46 (I) away from Templeton in 1933 created IA 236, even though its number was approved two years earlier.
IA 47 (II) was created from a former segment of IA 14 in Allison around 1939 (per the IA 14 official route description).
The 1919 and 1920 state maps, showing the original numbering system, showed a different alignment for IA 51 than was ultimately signed. However, it is unclear if the reroute occurred before IA 51 was marked in mid-1920.
IA 78: Its extension in 1930 not only created a paved segment through Olds, it also created a concurrency with US 161 (and later US 218) through Olds that lasted until 1999.
IA 90 (I) originally ended in Perry instead of Adel.
IA 110 (I) was created after an alignment shift of the first IA 21 away from Larrabee in 1922.
IA 104 and IA 105 both had their numbers assigned on November 20, 1920, and IA 106 and IA 107 were assigned sometime in December. (Highway Commission meeting notes)
IA 140 and IA 141 both had minor alignment shifts in 1928.
IA 148 was diagonalized south of Bedford in 1928.
IA 177 (I) followed two additional city streets in Carson.

January 12:

Most of the I-29 reconstruction in Sioux City was finished by the end of 2019 except for repairs on the bridge over Perry Creek, which was damaged by an October fire. Those repairs will be done in 2020.
I have also updated the I-380 and Avenue of the Saints exit lists to reflect some signing changes that I spotted during the holiday season.

Past updates:

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