Highway Page Updates — 2023
December 26: Exit list updates from recent travels:
- I-35 central and US 30 central: The listed destinations for Iowa State University have been changed at Exits 111B and 146 respectively.
- I-80 east: Six-laning of I-80 in the Iowa City area has been completed to about mile marker 251, just east of the newly-reconstructed Herbert Hoover Highway interchange.
December 7: According to this Iowa DOT press release, the US 18, US 218, and IA 27 interchange in Floyd was scheduled to open November 21. (I have not seen any further news coverage since then.) The highway listings and Avenue of the Saints north exit list have been updated.
November 5:
- In July, I noticed that the IA 165 markers in Carter Lake were taken down again. However, per the current Pottawattamie County map, it was not decommissioned, so I noted in the route listing that it's not always signed. (The signs were previously reported missing in 2008.)
- Jeff Morrison found a construction document related to IA 357 in the Iowa DOT's document library, which shows that its predecessor IA 25 followed North and Division Streets in Blockton before its 1938 extension. Its previous route through Blockton became IA 357.
October 1:
- Mark Odor reports that Iowa Wesleyan University, which closed earlier this year, is no longer signed along US 34 and (presumably) US 218/IA 27.
- Also, Scott Onson reported in the AARoads Forum that the 65 MPH speed limit along US 61 north has been extended northward to the Southwest Arterial exit. (Scott has also posted photos of the old and new signs, as they had yet to be replaced when I was last in the area back in April.)
September 5:
- According to this Iowa DOT press release, the interchange with US 30 and IA 21 also opened August 30.
- I asked a question on the AARoads Forum about the status of the US 61/151 exit numbering in Dubuque, the contract for which was let over a year ago, and received a response that the exit numbers are indeed posted. I have updated the US 61 north exit list to reflect that.
August 30:
- According to the Iowa DOT's I-80/380 Systems Interchange Facebook page, the last new ramps at that interchange (I-80 west to US 218/IA 27 south and US 218/IA 27 north to I-80 west) both opened today. Even though work is still going on in the area, I've updated the I-80 central, I-80 east, I-380, and Avenue of the Saints south exit lists with the permanent speed limits and lane configurations while removing the construction alerts. I also updated the I-80, I-380, and US 218 highway listings.
- Of the many YouTube videos covering the August 27 explosion of the last towers of the old I-74 bridge, this video from the Quad-City Times showed a signing change along the current I-74 in the background: 7th Avenue is now signed on eastbound I-74 along with 6th Avenue, and the arena in downtown Moline is now signed by its latest name, Vibrant Arena.
August 15:
July 31: Exit list updates based on recent travel through western Iowa and eastern Nebraska:
- I-29 north: Snyder Bend Park and Browns Lake Bigelow Park are now signed at Exit 134.
- I-80 Nebraska: The former Ralston Arena at Exit 449 is now signed under its current name, Liberty First Credit Union Arena.
- I-129: The main exit signs at Exit 1A in Nebraska no longer show any destinations for southbound US 75/77. The Fairgrounds are now shown on advance signs approaching the interchange, so I have decided to list it as a secondary destination.
- US 75/IA 60: Downtown Sioux City is now a listed destination at Exit 4B.
- US 275/6 Nebraska: Exits around Fremont, including the new interchange with southbound US 77, have been updated to reflect the recent opening of the US 77 south bypass of Fremont.
July 23:
- Updates based on the 2024-2028 state transportation plan:
- I-35/I-80/I-235: Replacement of the two left exits of the East Mixmaster interchange is underway through 2027. Ramp replacement at the West Mixmaster interchange is also programmed for 2027 and 2028 (Des Moines Register article with map here)
- Also for I-80, widening from Iowa City to West Branch will wrap up by 2025, while work on the new Mississippi River bridge at Le Claire is programmed to begin in 2028.
- I-380: Widening from US 30 to Swisher is programmed for 2025.
- US 30: Paving for a new interchange at 610th Street west of Nevada is programmed for 2028.
- US 61: Paving of the Mediapolis bypass is programmed for 2025.
- US 63: Paving of the northwest bypass of Oskaloosa is programmed for 2027.
- US 151: Paving of the interchange with County Road X20 in Swisher is programmed for 2028.
- IA 27/IA 58: Construction of the interchange at Greenhill Road has been pushed back to 2028.
- Exit list updates based on a recent trip through Illinois:
- I-80 central: As the reconstruction of exit 182 (IA 146) has wrapped up, Marshalltown is no longer signed as a secondary destination.
- I-80 east and I-80 Illinois: The Green River crossing at mile marker 7 and the Little Vermilion River crossing at mile marker 77 are now posted.
- I-88: Signs for Exit 36 have recently been updated in both directions.
June 22: Another opening to report: Per Michael Gillson and news reports (KCRG), the I-380/Tower Terrace Road interchange opened today.
June 21: According to Facebook posts from the Des Moines County Sheriff's Office and the Mediapolis News, the four-lane segment of US 61 between a point south of Mediapolis and the previous end of the four-lane segment north of Burlington opened yesterday.
June 3:
- With help from Jeff Morrison (who recently drove the entire byway) and Street View, I have updated the Jefferson Highway Scenic Byway route listing to better list which segments are signed in the field.
- Two exit list updates, both on the I-35 south list:
- The Mid-American Energy Company RecPlex and the yet-to-open new campus of Des Moines University are now signed at Exit 69.
- Johnston is now signed as the main destination at I-35/80 Exit 129, with Camp Dodge being moved to a secondary destination.
May 3:
- The Iowa DOT has updated primary route descriptions in some areas, including Pottawattamie County. The listings for IA 192 and US 6 through Council Bluffs were updated to note when the transfers of jurisdiction took effect and when signs were updated.
- Also, while in the area this past weekend, I updated speed limits on US 20 entering Dubuque and US 30 entering Benton County.
February 25:
- Lots of new research findings from Jeff Morrison, mostly based on documentation from the Iowa DOT construction document library:
- IA 6 (I): A new paved segment west of Marshalltown was added in 1924.
- IA 14 was straightened between Allison and Parkersburg in 1930, while the 1936 paving moved the route in Greene a block to the west. (On that note, I found that the current western bypass of Greene was open by November 1967, per the Greene Recorder archives on newspapers.com.)
- US 30: The aforementioned paved segment of the Lincoln Highway near Marshalltown excluded the railroad crossing near Linn Creek, which would not be paved until 1930. The gap in question appeared on the 1926 and 1927 state maps.
- Also, the realignment away from Omaha and Council Bluffs to IA 130 (II) took effect in August 1930, per the Blair (NE) Pilot-Tribune of August 16.
- US 34: While maps showed it as continuously paved by the end of 1930, a short segment at a railroad crossing in Lucas would not be paved until mid-1931, per the Osceola Sentinel (8/28/1930) and Chariton Leader (6/30/1931). This has been added as a parenthetical note to the 1930 paving history listing.
- US 55: Paving history from 1926 to 1932 in Dubuque County has been updated (per the Cascade Pioneer and Highway Commission construction documents),
- IA 101 and IA 40 (I): A short paved segment was added to the original paved segment of IA 101 in Vinton by the end of 1921. At the same time, the paving extended southward to the intersection of IA 40 (I) and present-day 63rd Street south of Vinton; the rest of US 218 from there to US 30 was paved in 1927.
- IA 202 (I) was straightened when it was paved in 1967, per the Cedar Valley Daily Times of 8/30/1967.
- Highways of Cedar Rapids: The straightened US 30 segment through the Lincoln Heights area opened November 4, 1931 (Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette and Republican, 11/6/1931).
- Highways of Des Moines: IA 7 (I) and later IA 64 followed a segment of present-day NW 59th Court in Johnston from 1925 to 1958 as a way to avoid two railroad crossings that existed at the time.
- The Jefferson Highway Heritage Byway segment off US 69 in southern Warren County is really signed as a loop, with the mainline segment following US 69.
- I have also updated speed limits and lane configurations on I-380 near North Liberty after being in the area last weekend.
January 30:
- There hasn't been a lot to update lately, but this month marks 25 years since this site has gone online. Thanks to all of you for your support and contributions over this past quarter-century.
- In addition to adding the 25th anniversary banner, which will be up throughout 2023, I've also tweaked the introductory message on the title page to mention that the site focuses on the evolution of Iowa's numbered highway system.
- It's been a while since I mentioned any updates to the Photo Gallery, but I did recently catch up on my photo backlog up through the end of 2022, replacing multiple existing photos and adding some new ones.
- According to a story in the Omaha World-Herald from February 9, 1974, the changing of signs along I-80N to I-680 (the present-day I-880) occurred earlier that month.
Past updates:
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