Highway Page Updates — 2007 (July-December)

December 29: Exit list updates:

• I-35 central and I-235: The speed limit drop from 65 to 55 MPH has moved back to a point north of the Euclid Avenue exit on I-235.
• I-74: The MARK in Moline is now the i wireless Center (capital letters shown are correct).
• US 20 east: Minor updates to the signaled intersections in Dubuque.
• US 61: Minor corrections to the mile markers in the Maquoketa area.
• US 151: Riverside Gardens City Park is signed for southbound traffic at Business US 151 in Monticello.

December 13: I finally caught up with my Photo Gallery backlog by updating the Des Moines section, replacing seven photos and adding three photos to the I-235 page and replacing ten photos and adding nine to the main Des Moines page.

December 9:

• County maps dated January 1, 2007, are now available at iowadotmaps.com. The unsigned IA 334 (II), IA 340 (II), and IA 460 no longer appear on the maps for their respective counties, implying that they have been decommissioned. Most of IA 434 in Des Moines County is also gone except for a piece in Danville, and I also updated the listing for IA 404 (II).
• Photo Gallery updates:
• I added one photo and replaced three photos on the Ames page.
• I added two photos and replaced one photo, all of which were taken by Jeff Morrison, on the Council Bluffs page.
• I added five photos to the Quad Cities page.
• I added one photo from Clarke County, one photo from Davis County, one photo from Decatur County, one photo from Hamilton County, and one photo from Warren County — all from Jeff Morrison — as well as one photo from Jasper County to the Central Iowa Odds & Ends page.
• I added one photo from Cherokee County, four photos from Osceola County (including three by Michael Ehret), two photos from Plymouth County, and one photo from Pocahontas County (from Jeff Morrison), to the Western Iowa Odds & Ends page.

November 25: I updated the I-80 central and I-80 east exit lists to note two changes that I spotted on my Thanksgiving trip to Davenport: Fun Valley Ski Area (exits 183 & 191) is no longer signed, and the westbound weigh station in Cedar County has closed.

November 19:

• The Ottumwa bypass (US 63) opened today. (News coverage: Ottumwa Courier) With that, a new Business US 63 has been created in Ottumwa while IA 149 has been extended to end at US 34.
• Jeff Morrison drove to Ottumwa today and passed along the exit signage, which I used to update the IA 163/US 63 and US 34 exit lists. He also put up an Ottumwa highway history page, which is linked from the main page and the US 34 and US 63 highway listings.
• Exit 138 on southbound I-35 and westbound I-235 has been changed to Exit 137, matching the exit number used on I-80 for the East Mixmaster interchange.

November 11:

• Jeff Morrison noted that the 1955 and 1957 Highway Commission maps of Sac County show a redundant duplex of IA 4 (I) and IA 175 east of Odebolt. I also replaced the terminus photo link for I-235 with the one on Jeff's site.
• Updates to the exit listings:
• Michael Ehret provided exit information for IA 60 in Sibley, and I extended the list from Sheldon to the Minnesota border.
• Jeff Morrison spotted sign changes on US 30 exit 146, as Elwood Drive in Ames is now University Boulevard.
• With reconstruction on I-235 nearing completion, I removed the construction alert and updated the list to note that the entire route is open to at least six lanes now.

October 31: Michael Ehret and Jeff Morrison both mentioned that the IA 60 bypass of Sibley opened today. (Iowa DOT press release)

October 14:

• Brian McMillin reported Business US 34 in Ottumwa is now signed along Quincy Avenue, but signs along US 34 still point to its original alignment of Albia Road.
• Photo Gallery updates: I replaced seven photos on the Cedar Rapids page, replaced one photo and added two to the Iowa City page, replaced three photos and added seven to the Sioux City page, and replaced one photo and added two to the Lincoln Highway page.

September 30: Two quick exit list updates: I-235 is now at its permanent lane configuration through the downtown area, and there are new signs on southbound I-35 at the East Mixmaster interchange.

September 26: News and updates from contributors:

• Michael Ehret reported that part of the Sibley bypass (IA 60) north of IA 9 opened sometime this month.
• Brian Stains pointed out that an Ottumwa Courier article notes that the US 63 Ottumwa bypass will be open by Thanksgiving.
• Jeff Morrison was in northwest Iowa recently and noted that the former IA 43 followed Heritage Avenue in Ringsted.

September 9:

• Jeff Morrison found out that the tolls on the IA 92 bridge were lifted July 1, 1987, per an article in the Muscatine Journal.
• According to AASHTO's Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering notes, a Business US 61 for Maquoketa was approved in 1998 but is not signed. Also, AASHTO approved Business US 34 in Chariton in 1998, but the route followed Court Avenue to IA 14 instead of all of US 34's original alignment; the only signs for the route are on the standalone segment on Court Avenue.

August 28:

• The East 6th Street/Penn Avenue exit from eastbound I-235 has reopened.
• I added entrance photo links to all remaining US and Interstate highways that did not have them.
• Jeff Morrison has put up a new timeline relating to the history of bridges across the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The Mississippi River bridges photo page and several route listings have been updated to reflect some of his research findings. (I also noted that the Eagle Point Bridge in Dubuque was not "abandoned" in 1969, but US 61 and 151 were merely routed away from the bridge; according to the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, the rerouting took effect on May 14.)

August 22:

• After visiting the Cedar Rapids Public Library last Friday, I found that the US 30/US 218 freeway west of Stoney Point Road opened September 9, 1986 (The Gazette).
• Mark Odor mentioned that the Catfish Bend riverboat casino is no longer signed at US 34 exit 263.

August 12:

• Some research findings from Jeff Morrison, who looked through Highway Commission notes from 1959 through early 1961:
• IA 92 was relocated onto US 275 in Council Bluffs on December 16, 1959.
• IA 122 (I), IA 257, IA 345, and IA 354 were all decommissioned July 1, 1960, as determined by the Commission on June 29.
• IA 416 was originally designated for all bypassed segments of US 20 in Dubuque County on October 21, 1959. IA 418 and IA 420 were not numbered until December 14, 1960, when IA 416 was truncated west of Centralia; the Commission also approved the numbers for IA 417, IA 424, and IA 426 on the same day.
• Speaking of IA 417, the November 2, 1960, meeting minutes included a map that labeled the original segment of IA 297 east of Waterloo — which was still a state-maintained highway at that point — as IA 417.
• More expansion and updates at Freeway Junctions:
• After driving through central Illinois recently, I added new exit lists for I-180 in Illinois and the IL 6/I-474 loop around Peoria while extending the I-74 list eastward to I-155 in order to cover the newly-rebuilt section through Peoria.
• I also updated the I-80 east, I-80 in Illinois, and both US 34 lists.
• Jeff Morrison also pointed out a signage change at I-35 exit 111B.

July 31:

• A quick research finding: US 218 opened to four lanes between IA 22 and County Road G36 on October 19, 1995 (Iowa City Press-Citizen).
• Jeff Morrison pointed out signage changes on US 20 exit 230 and on US 218 at IA 58. Also, Kyle Johnson pointed out that signage at both of the completed exits on US 63 in Ottumwa has changed — note that they've jumped the gun by signing Business US 63 even though the Ottumwa bypass has yet to open. (I also went ahead and added the three interchanges that are currently under construction to the list but will not add a link to the US 34 list until the bypass opens.)

July 8:

• Freeway Junctions updates:
• Freeway Junctions has expanded into eastern Nebraska with complete exit lists for I-680 (now on its own page) and I-480 (on the page where I-680 used to be), as well as new lists for the US 75 North Freeway and Kennedy Freeway in Omaha.
• After a trip through northwest Iowa last weekend, I created a new exit list for US 75 and IA 60 that incorporates the Sioux City bypass (I-129 is on a separate list now) and the bypasses of Le Mars, Alton, and Sheldon. I also updated the I-29 north and US 20 west lists to reflect signage changes spotted on this trip.
• I also updated the I-35 central and I-35 south exit lists to reflect the relocation of the DOT's driver's license and permit center to I-35 exit 89 in Ankeny.
• I also updated the IA 60 route listing to note that Minnesota will be building the last two miles of the four-lane highway in Iowa as part of the Bigelow bypass.

Past updates:

• 2007 (first half)
• 2006 (second half)
• 2006 (first half)
• 2005 (second half)
• 2005 (first half)
• 2004 (second half)
• 2004 (first half)
• 2003 (second half)
• 2003 (first half)
• 2002 (second half)
• 2002 (first half)
• 2001
• 2000

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