The Iowa Highways Photo Gallery

Odds 'n' Ends (western Iowa)

Audubon County
	These emblems are on street signs in Kimballton, a community known for its Danish heritage.

Carroll County
	The divide between the Missouri and Mississippi River drainage basins is noted at a roadside park off US 30 east of Arcadia.
	A close-up shot of the plaque on the boulder in the above photo.
	This sign in Arcadia notes that the now-former IA 285 is the town's designated truck route. After IA 285 was decommissioned, the bottom half of the sign was cut off and replaced with a standard County Road M68 marker and bent left arrow assembly.

Cass County
	Overhead signage is present on US 71 at the interchange with I-80 northeast of Atlantic. No control cities are present on these signs.

Cherokee County
	This "fork" sign is on IA 3 east of Cherokee, at the point where it splits from its old alignment (the former IA 977) and heads northwest toward US 59. By mid-2007 the wooden sign was replaced with a metal freeway-style sign, as the second photo shows. (First photograph by Jeff Morrison)
	Overhead button copy signage is also present at the US 59/IA 3 junction in Cherokee, as these two sign bridges show. Most of these signs had been replaced by mid-2006. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	These signs, photographed June 25, 2006, are facing south on US 59. The left two signs are new, as evidenced by the larger initial letter in the directions. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)

Clay County
	While US 18 and US 71 go through Spencer together, County Roads B19 and M50 are signed as an "East Beltway" around the city. The first sign was photographed along US 18; the second is along B19 just east of US 71.
	Signage at the US 18/71 split heading north. US 71 continues as an expressway toward the Spirit Lake area.

Crawford County
	This green sign is on westbound US 30 in Denison, noting the upcoming junction with US 59 and IA 141. Nothing unusual here, but...
	...closer to the intersection, there are freeway-style overhead signs even though this "pseudo-interchange" is entirely at-grade. Note that IA 39 is also indicated here, even though its south end is a half mile to the north.
	US 59 and IA 141 share about half a mile with US 30, but note that US 30 and IA 141 are signed in opposite directions. The only other multiplex in Iowa to be signed in three different directions is the US 30/151/218 triplex in Cedar Rapids.
	More overhead signs appear as US 30 splits from US 59 and IA 141, which stay together for seven more miles.
	This sign is visible heading north on US 59 approaching the junction with US 30, as the back of the overhead signs in the above photo can be found in the background. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)

Dickinson County
	Michael Ehret photographed examples of the three different styles of Adopt-a-Highway signs; these are in Dickinson County, but they're found all over the state. Iowa began its Adopt-a-Highway litter control program in 1989 and many counties and cities have followed suit.

Despite being at an intersection of two state highways, the text on this sign at northbound IA 86 at the junction with IA 9 west of Spirit Lake is in all-uppercase. (Photographed by Michael Ehret)

Emmet County
	This is the junction of IA 4 and IA 9 in Estherville, looking west. Horizontal traffic signals like this one are common throughout the city.

Fremont County
	Signage of the former brief (less than one mile) multiplex of US 275 and IA 333. IA 333 is to the left of US 275 in this case, even though US highways are usually placed on the left-hand side of US/state multiplex assemblies. IA 333 was truncated at US 275 on July 1, 2003, meaning that this sign assembly is gone now. (Photographed by David Backlin)
	Street signage looking west on US 275 at the south junction with IA 2. (Photographed by David Backlin)
	This is the same street sign assembly, looking north on US 275 at the south junction with IA 2. 250th Street is the former IA 42 which ran into Riverton. (Photographed by David Backlin)
	The street signs at the junction of IA 2 and the new Sidney bypass, as of April 2007, misidentify IA 2 as a US highway.
	It's not often that you see cities in three different states on a distance sign, but this sign in Sidney shows the next two cities on US 275 (Hamburg and Rock Port) and the next city on IA 2 (Nebraska City). This sign, which was placed after the Sidney bypass opened, uses the Clearview font as well as the U.S. Postal Service's state abbreviations rather than the traditional "Neb." and "Mo." for Nebraska and Missouri. Another thing to note: while signs like this are common when leaving city limits, this sign was found after the junction with IA 2. A similar sign can be found two miles south of here after the junction with old US 275.
	This sign on southbound I-29 at IA 333 is wider than it should be, but that may be because a spelled-out "County Road J-64" was likely present in IA 333's space before IA 333 was designated in 1980. The sign has been up since July 1973, shortly before this stretch of I-29 opened; this photo was taken in April 2007.
	The Lewis and Clark Trail, which roughly follows the route of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's expedition in 1804, is signed along I-29 in western Iowa.
	McPaul, an unincorporated community in northwest Fremont County, has not appeared on the state transportation map since 1975, but it is signed with a city limit sign and is also signed along I-29 itself. Also, for some reason, the "JCT" banner is also below the I-29 shield in this assembly, where IA 145 ended before it was decommissioned.
	Signs noting the interchange number are usually placed with "JCT" signs along Interstates. Fremont County is an exception, as such signs are placed with the arrows at the first on-ramp instead.

Guthrie County

US 6 may have been rerouted onto I-80, but five communities along the old US 6 — Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart, and Dexter — have placed signs commemorating old US 6 (now County Road F65) as the White Pole Road. The White Pole Road was an early auto trail name for what eventually became US 6. This was photographed at the Adair city limits; the photograph on the right is a blowup of the US 6 shield and White Pole Road sign.

	The Missouri-Mississippi River divide is also signed along IA 44 west of Guthrie Center. Unlike US 30, though, it is actually signed on the highway instead of a roadside park. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	IA 4's south end is at IA 44 in Panora. Who needs any more numbers?

Harrison County
	US 30 and IA 37 are together for only three blocks in Dunlap. But like the US 30/IA 141 multiplex in Denison, US 30 and IA 37 run in opposite directions. This is heading southwest.
	Another view of the "wrong-way" multiplex, looking northeast but heading east... or is that heading west?
	The west end of IA 44 northeast of Logan features an old "ENDS" sign instead of an "END" sign. Even so, the "ENDS" was placed above the IA 44 shield.
	In this July 2008 photo, an "emergency detour" for I-29 was signed along US 30 and the former IA 183 in Missouri Valley. I am not sure of the reason why; emergency detours for I-80 have been posted in Davenport and in Iowa City during construction projects in the past.
	Looking west on US 30 at the interchange with I-29, you can see overhead signs for both highways posted on the overpass. Also note the "Blair Nebraska" on the distance sign at the right at the photo — there is no comma between the city and state names, while "Nebraska" is spelled out when most other signs abbreviate it. The same thing happens on the exit signs for US 30 along I-29.

Lyon County
	The southwesternmost I-90 shield in Minnesota can be found at the Iowa/Minnesota border, one mile east of the point where the Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota state boundaries intersect. Rock County Road 17 turns southward after the state line to become Lyon County Road K16. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)

Mills County
	Street signs in Mills County, like this one just east of I-29, show IA 978 even though the highway is not signed. (See the IA 978 terminus photos page for more photos.) IA 978 was turned over to Mills County in the first half of 2003, so the fate of these signs is uncertain.
	This isn't the best photo I've ever taken, but it's proof that Business US 34 existed in Glenwood (as signed from US 275).
	These signs on southbound US 275 in Glenwood were photographed on June 16 by Jeff Morrison; on July 6 he noted that these poles were stripped of their signs, leading him to believe that Business US 34 had been decommissioned along with its secret IA 949 designation.
	US 34's crossing from Nebraska into Iowa is still via this privately-owned toll bridge; this is a view of the toll booth, which is on the Nebraska side. Two other toll bridges exist between Nebraska and Iowa: IA/NE 370 at Bellevue and IA 175/NE 51 at Decatur.
	A side view of the bridge, looking north. This is one of three parallel spans across the Missouri, along with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad bridge (barely visible behind the highway bridge in this photo) and an oil bridge.
	A "State Line" sign is posted on the bridge.
	A brief four-lane segment of US 34 near Glenwood ends just before the I-29 interchange. After US 275 was rerouted onto I-29 north of Glenwood on July 1, 2003, new green signs were placed US 34 (left) and US 275 (right) traffic onto I-29.
	This signage is present where the divided portion of US 34 ends. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)

These large signs are at the same interchange, approaching the southbound I-29 on-ramp (left) and at the on-ramp (right). The first sign is all on one wooden panel.

US 34 and US 59 intersect at a pseudo-interchange near Emerson, where US 59 goes over US 34 and a short road connects the two. Here is a view of signage heading north on US 59. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)

Montgomery County
	These signs are in southwest Iowa, but they can be found throughout the state along roads that are classified as "minimum maintenance" roads. (Photographed by David Backlin)
	Although maps did not show it before 2006, US 34 has a full interchange with US 71 north of Villisca. A US 71 shield is tacked above this green sign.

Osceola County
	Iowa's highest point (1,670 feet above sea level) is Hawkeye Point, located in a farm northeast of Sibley off IA 60. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	This distance sign on northbound IA 60 north of Ashton lists a city (George) that is not on IA 60 before the next city on IA 60 (Sibley); however, George is accessible via County Road A24, the next junction north of the sign.
	A view of westbound County Road A22 at IA 60 east of Sibley, shortly after the bypass opened. (Photographed by Michael Ehret)
	Signage of IA 60's interchange with IA 9 north of Sibley. All signs along the Sibley bypass are in Clearview. (Photographed by Michael Ehret)
	Gore signs along the Sibley bypass also feature a different design than the type normally found in Iowa: instead of an exit number tab above the "EXIT" sign, these signs have the exit number on the same sign, much like gore signs in Illinois. Similar gore signs have popped up throughout the rest of the state whenever an existing gore sign needed to be replaced since about mid-2007. (Photographed by Michael Ehret)

Page County
	Proof that Business US 71 exists in Clarinda. This "BUSINESS" sign is white-on-green instead of the usual black-on-white. (Photographed by David Backlin)
	Not only does US 71 have a business route in Clarinda, but so does IA 2. This sign on the northwest corner of the courthouse square shows both routes. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	Not all "BUSINESS" signs in Clarinda are white-on-green, however; most are the standard black-on-white. Shields tend to vary as well, but the US 71 and IA 2 shields appear to have been in place before the two highways were rerouted around Clarinda.
	Another entry in the "streets named for famous Iowans" department: South 16th Street in Clarinda also bears the name of native son Glenn Miller. (Photographed by David Backlin)

Palo Alto County
	Westbound US 18 makes a sharp turn to the north in Cylinder, noted with this green sign with flashing yellow lights above it.

Plymouth County
	After IA 60 bypassed Seney in late 2006, the sign for the unincorporated town was moved from the old IA 60 to the new route — and the type of arrow sign that is mainly used with directional markers was placed below it.
	Signage for IA 3's interchange with US 75. This was the only way into Le Mars when the bypass opened in late 2006 as the south bypass interchange was not yet finished, so an orange sign directing traffic into Le Mars was placed by the shoulder. Even though the south interchange opened in mid-2007, the orange sign was still up when this photograph was taken on July 1. In September, the Le Mars Sentinel reported that the DOT planned to replace all street names from signs along the bypass with "Le Mars" at the request of city officials but nothing had changed as of July 2008.
	This street sign in Le Mars incorrectly shows IA 3 as US 3, which goes nowhere near Iowa.

Pocahontas County
	Iowa has a "1-2" punch in Van Buren County, and it also has a "3-4 punch" in Pocahontas as IA 3 and IA 4 intersect here. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)

Shelby County
	Des Moines is listed on this distance sign on IA 44 east of Harlan. While IA 44 ends at Grimes, the sign may be a holdover from 44's days as IA 64, which went into Des Moines. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	This sign in Harlan was one of the first spotted signs in Iowa to use Clearview, a new font that the Federal Highway Administration developed for guide signs. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)

Sioux County
	This bridge for the new four-lane IA 60, under construction in mid-2004, is where 10 turns from south to east near Alton. An interchange was not built here. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	This is looking eastbound where IA 60 and 10 split. The gravel 450th Street is ahead, but the interchange serving Alton was built here. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	These signs were changed after the Alton bypass opened. The old IA 60 is now marked as "TO" IA 60, leading to the Alton/Orange City exit, while a new green distance sign was put up here. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	Signage for the Alton/Orange City exit along IA 60. Since the interchange is not with IA 10, it is marked as "TO IA 10" instead — and the initial letter in "TO" is larger, something that is usually reserved for directions on newer signs. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	Facing northeast, this long bridge crosses present IA 60 and the railroad tracks just north of 470th Street. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	Southwest of Alton, the construction actually starts up a bit south of the Sioux/Plymouth county line. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	The completed expressway at the county line in 2006. Note that the Sioux County marker was replaced with a new, larger one. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
	This is the future interchange with 470th Street, two miles south of IA 10. IA 60 splits from the old route just south of here. This gravel road is on a straight line with B58 west of K64. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)