U.S. Route 18 in Iowa
Route information | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained by Iowa DOT | ||||
Length | 311.750 mi[1] (501.713 km) | |||
Existed | November 11, 1926[2]–present | |||
History | Primary Road 19 from 1920–1926[3] National Parks Pike registered in 1920[4] | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | US 18 near Canton, S.D. | |||
East end | US 18 / WIS 60 at McGregor | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Iowa | |||
Counties | ||||
Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Highway 18 (US 18) is the northernmost east–west
Route description
US 18 begins at the Big Sioux River approximately two miles (3.2 km) east of Canton, South Dakota. It runs easterly through rural Lyon County, in the northwestern corner of the state. At Inwood, it meets Iowa Highway 182 (Iowa 182), which provides access to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, via Iowa 9 and South Dakota Highway 42. US 18 turns south at Inwood and heads into Sioux County. The highway crosses the Rock River on its way toward Rock Valley and Hull. West of Hull, at Perkins, US 18 juts to the south along US 75 before turning east again closer to Hull. The highway continues east toward Sheldon.[5]
As it crosses into
East of Spencer, US 18 passes through
In Hancock County, the route passes through
At the
Heading east again, the route enters Chickasaw County and passes through Bassett on its way to New Hampton. It meets US 63 at a four-lane bypass on the western side of town. The two routes head south for eight miles (13 km), splitting at the mile 196 interchange which is also the eastern end of Iowa 346. The route turns to travel due east through Fredericksburg.[5]
Continuing due east, US 18 does not enter another community for 20 miles (32 km) until it reaches
History
Before it and the rest of the
By 1927, a significant portion of the route was paved, while the remainder was graveled. All of O'Brien County and 80 miles (130 km) between Algona and Charles City were paved.[9] In seven years, the gap between O'Brien County and Algona was finished which created 160 miles (260 km) of continuous pavement. During those same seven years, the route from West Union to the Mississippi River and all of Primary Road No. 59, which included the seven-mile-long (11 km) overlap of US 18 near New Hampton were paved.[10] Primary Road No. 59 is now known as US 63. By the start of World War II, the only remaining section of US 18 that was not paved was an 11-mile (18 km) section west of Rock Valley in Sioux County.[11] That last section would not be completed for another 10 years.[12]
Prior to 1932, the only way vehicles traveling US 18 could cross the Mississippi River was by ferry. That changed in when identical suspension bridges were built to cross the river between
Over the late 1990s, construction began on the Avenue of the Saints corridor near Mason City. A new controlled-access facility was built south of the city east to Rudd.[5] On December 5, 1999, this section of freeway opened and US 18 was realigned onto the new road. The old alignment became Iowa 122. By the end of the next year, the four-lane expressway was extended to Charles City.[15] By 2003, an expressway carrying US 63 was built around New Hampton. US 18 was rerouted onto the expressway and the western end of Iowa 24 was moved to the US 63/US 18 interchange.[16]
Major intersections
County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit[5] | Destinations | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Big Sioux River | 0.000 | 0.000 | US 18 west – Canton | Continuation into South Dakota | ||||
South Dakota–Iowa state line | ||||||||
Lyon | Inwood | 4.992 | 8.034 | Iowa 182 north to Iowa 9 | ||||
Sioux | Lincoln Township | 24.853 | 39.997 | US 75 north – Rock Rapids | Western end of US 75 overlap | |||
25.848 | 41.598 | US 75 south – Sioux Center | Eastern end of US 75 overlap | |||||
Iowa 60 Business south (2nd Avenue) | Western end of Iowa 60 Business overlap | |||||||
44.269 | 71.244 | Iowa 60 Business ends – Worthington, Minn., Sioux City | Eastern end of Iowa 60 Business overlap | |||||
Sanborn | 52.806 | 84.983 | US 59 north – Worthington, Minn. | Western end of US 59 overlap | ||||
Franklin Township | 53.802 | 86.586 | US 59 south – Primghar | Eastern end of US 59 overlap | ||||
US 71 north – Milford | Western end of US 71 overlap | |||||||
81.755 | 131.572 | US 71 south – Storm Lake | Eastern end of US 71 overlap | |||||
Iowa 341 | ||||||||
97.317 | 156.617 | CR N28 – Iowa 314 | ||||||
Emmetsburg Township | 101.306 | 163.036 | Iowa 4 north – Graettinger | Western end of Iowa 4 overlap | ||||
Emmetsburg | 106.075 | 170.711 | Iowa 4 south (Broadway Street) – Pocahontas | Eastern end of Iowa 4 overlap | ||||
Palo Alto–Kossuth county line | Fern Valley–Fairfield– Lotts Creek–Whittemore township quadripoint | 119.698 | 192.635 | Iowa 15 south – West Bend | Western end of Iowa 15 overlap | |||
Kossuth | Lotts Creek–Whittemore township line | 120.687 | 194.227 | Iowa 15 north – Fenton | Eastern end of Iowa 15 overlap | |||
Kossuth–Hancock county line | Wesley–Orthel township line | 143.858 | 231.517 | Iowa 17 south – Corwith | ||||
Iowa 111 | ||||||||
153.185 | 246.527 | Diagonal Street | Former Iowa 424 | |||||
US 69 north – Forest City | Western end of US 69 overlap | |||||||
US 69 south – Belmond | Eastern end of US 69 overlap | |||||||
Cerro Gordo | Clear Lake | 172.233 | 277.182 | N. 8th Street | Former Iowa 107 | |||
175.352– 175.657 | 282.202– 282.693 | 194 | US 18 Bus. east / Iowa 122 east – Mason City | Western end of I-35 / Iowa 27 overlap | ||||
176.204 | 283.573 | 193 | CR B35 (4th Avenue South) | Former Iowa 106 | ||||
Lake Township | 178.210– 179.045 | 286.801– 288.145 | 190 | I-35 south – Des Moines | Eastern end of I-35 overlap | |||
183.163 | 294.772 | 183 | Eisenhower Avenue — Airport | |||||
US 18 Bus. west – Downtown Mason City, Rockwell | ||||||||
Portland Township | 190.460 | 306.516 | 190 | CR S56 (California Avenue) | ||||
Cerro Gordo–Floyd county line | Portland–Rock Grove township line | 195.596 | 314.781 | 195 | CR S70 – Nora Springs | |||
Floyd | Rudd Township | 203.141 | 326.924 | CR B30 – Rudd | Former US 18 | |||
Floyd | 210.282 | 338.416 | US 218 north – Floyd, Osage | Northern end of US 218 overlap | ||||
US 218 Bus. / CR B35 – Charles City | ||||||||
Saint Charles Township | 214.811 | 345.705 | 214 | Iowa 14 – Charles City, Greene | ||||
US 218 Bus. begins | Eastern end of US 218 and Iowa 27 overlaps; southern end of US 218 Business overlap | |||||||
219.311 | 352.947 | Old Highway Road | Former US 218 | |||||
220.238 | 354.439 | US 218 Bus. north / Iowa 14 south | Northern end of US 218 Business overlap | |||||
Iowa 393 | ||||||||
New Hampton | 237.701– 238.049 | 382.543– 383.103 | 204 | US 63 north / Iowa 24 east – New Hampton, Lime Springs | Western end of US 63 overlap | |||
New Hampton Township | 240.338 | 386.787 | 201 | 225th Street – New Hampton | ||||
Dresden Township | 244.457– 244.955 | 393.415– 394.217 | 196 | US 63 south / Iowa 346 west – Nashua, Waterloo | Eastern end of US 63 overlap | |||
Iowa 193 | ||||||||
West Union | 270.469 | 435.278 | Iowa 150 to Iowa 56 / River Bluffs Scenic Byway – Fayette, Calmar | Western end of River Bluffs Scenic Byway overlap | ||||
CR W42 / River Bluffs Scenic Byway | Eastern end of River Bluffs Scenic Byway overlap | |||||||
Clermont | CR B40 / River Bluffs Scenic Byway | Western end of River Bluffs Scenic Byway overlap | ||||||
CR B60 / River Bluffs Scenic Byway | Eastern end of River Bluffs Scenic Byway overlap | |||||||
Clayton |
No major junctions | |||||||
Allamakee | Post Township | 287.042 | 461.949 | US 52 north – Calmar | Western end of US 52 overlap | |||
Postville | 288.106 | 463.662 | Iowa 51 north (N. Lawler Street) | |||||
CR B38 (S. Maple Street) / Driftless Area Scenic Byway | ||||||||
Clayton | Giard Township | 303.396 | 488.269 | US 52 south / River Bluffs Scenic Byway – Guttenberg | Eastern end of US 52 overlap; western end of River Bluffs Scenic Byway overlap | |||
Mississippi River | 311.750 | 501.713 | Marquette–Joliet Bridge; Iowa–Wisconsin state line | |||||
US 18 east / WIS 60 east – Prairie du Chien | Continuation into Wisconsin | |||||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- ^ ESRI shapefile). Ames: Iowa Department of Transportation. April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- .
- ^ Official Auto Trails Map (Map). 1:1,081,344. Rand McNally. 1921. p. 330-331.
- ^ a b "Iowa Registered Routes". Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
- ^ Morrison, Jeff (December 9, 2007). "Iowa termini of US 18". Iowahigwhayends.net. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
- Iowa State Highway Commission. 1919. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Iowa Registered Highway Routes 1914–1925 (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 1986. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa State Highway Commission. 1927. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa State Highway Commission. June 1934. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa State Highway Commission. 1939. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa State Highway Commission. 1950. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Rodenburg, Lucy. "The old Suspension Bridge provided the river crossing from 1932-1974". North Iowa Times. McGregor, Iowa. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 1990. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ "Avenue of the Saints". Iowa Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 2003. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
External links
- The Iowa Highways Page by Jason Hancock
- Twin Suspension Bridges Historic photos of the former river crossing at Marquette by John A. Weeks