On July 1, 2003, the Iowa Department of Transportation transferred control of more than 700 miles (1,100 km) of highway to county and local governments in order to save money and to increase operational efficiency. Most of the highways turned over were short spurs connecting small, rural communities and state parks to the highway system.[1]
In 2002, the Road Use Tax Fund Committee, a mix of city, county, and state transportation officials, met to review and recommend changes to Iowa's public road system. The report was necessitated by increasing costs to maintain the highway system and a level of funding that was not keeping up with the rising costs. The committee identified over 700 miles (1,100 km) of state highways which could be turned over to local jurisdictions.[2] Most of the committee's recommendations were accepted and on July 1, 2003, over 600 miles (970 km) of state highways were turned over to the counties or local jurisdictions.[3]
Iowa Highway 15 (Iowa 15) was a short state highway in Van Buren County. It ran from the Missouri state line, where it connected to Route 15 to Iowa 2 in Milton. The highway was in service between January 1, 1969, and July 1, 2003. While it was in service, there were two Iowa 15s in the state; the other was significantly longer and located in the northern part of the state thus avoiding confusion between the two routes.
Iowa Highway 36 (Iowa 36) was a spur route that connected Wall Lake to the primary highway system. It ran from U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) / Iowa 175 south into Wall Lake. It was an original state highway that was in service from July 1, 1920, to July 1, 2003.
Iowa Highway 40 (Iowa 40) was a spur route into Allerton. It began at Iowa 2 west of Corydon and ran south to Allerton. The highway was in service from 1926 to July 1, 2003.
Iowa Highway 41 (Iowa 41) was a spur route into Malvern. It began north of Malvern at an intersection with US 34 and headed south into the town. It crossed a viaduct in the northern part of town in order to let the California Zephyr pass through the town unimpeded. It was an original state highway that was in service from 1920 to July 1, 2003.
Iowa Highway 45 (Iowa 45) was a spur route that headed into Manilla. It began north of Manilla at an intersection with Iowa 141. It headed south parallel to a line of the BNSF Railway, which itself was parallel to the West Nishnabotna River. When the route was created in 1920, it was much longer. It originally consisted of a six-mile-long (9.7 km) segment extending from Primary Road No. 4, later US 59, and the north–south section into Manilla.[4] Iowa 45 was truncated to the north–south portion in 1941, when Iowa 141 was extended south and east from Denison.[5] It was removed from the primary highway system on July 1, 2003.
Iowa Highway 49 (Iowa 49) was an original state highway that ran from Iowa 2 in Bedford to US 34 north of Lenox. Originally, it was a spur route from US 34 south to Lenox. In the 1940s, it was extended south and subsumed Iowa 344, which was a northern spur into Conway from Bedford.[6][7] In the late 1970s, the southern end of Iowa 49 was moved as a result of Iowa 2 bypassing Bedford.
The highway was turned over to Taylor and Adams Counties separately in 2003 after Iowa 49 was identified as part of the 700 miles (1,100 km) of Iowa highways to be turned over to counties in 2002. The Taylor County Board of Supervisors negotiated the transfer of Iowa 49 in two segments and was compensated for the transfer according to Iowa Code §306.8. The Adams County Board of Supervisors did not negotiate for their portion of Iowa 49 and as such, the county was not compensated for the highway in accordance with Iowa Code §306.8b.
Iowa Highway 50 (Iowa 50) was a seven-mile-long (11 km) spur into Lehigh. It began at an intersection with US 169 eight miles (13 km) south of Fort Dodge. It ended in Lehigh a block south of the Des Moines River bridge. It was an original state highway in service from July 1, 1920, to July 1, 2003.
Iowa Highway 55 (Iowa 55) was a spur route into Seymour. It began at an intersection with Iowa 2 east of Promise City and ended at Main Street in Seymour. The highway was in service from 1934 to July 1, 2003.
Iowa Highway 79 (Iowa 79) was a 5.6-mile-long (9.0 km) state highway in Des Moines County. It began at the Henry–Des Moines county line, near the gate to Geode State Park, and traveled due east to an intersection with US 34 in Middletown. The easternmost two and a half miles (4.0 km) of the highway bordered the northern edge of the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant.[8] Iowa 79 became a state highway on July 1, 1980, when the Iowa Department of Transportation assumed jurisdiction of the roadway from the City of Middletown and Des Moines County. The 1980 action was reversed on July 1, 2003.[9]
Iowa Highway 82 (Iowa 82) was a 3.75-mile-long (6.04 km) state highway in Benton County. It began at the city limits of Blairstown and ended at an intersection with US 30. The highway was in service from 1920 to 2003.
Iowa Highway 91 (Iowa 91) was a short state highway in northwestern Iowa. It began at Iowa 9 between Rock Rapids and Little Rock and ended at the Minnesota state line. It continued north as Minnesota State Highway 91. The highway was part of the primary highway system for 23 years; it was designated in 1980 and removed in 2003. After it was turned over, it became County Road L14.
Iowa Highway 94 (Iowa 94) was a former Iowastate highway in Linn County, Iowa. The eastern terminus of the highway was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 1st Avenue near Interstate 380. The northern terminus was at County Road E36 near Palo, Iowa. The highway existed from 1966 until it was turned back in 2003. The portions of the route within Cedar Rapids were turned over to the city, and were identified by their city street names. The rural portion of the route was turned over to Linn County, who today maintain the route as County Road W36.
Iowa Highway 99 (Iowa 99) was a state highway in southeastern Iowa. It began in downtown Burlington and generally followed the course of the Mississippi River north to Wapello. Most of the route was a part of the Great River Road. The highway was designated in 1931 and its course remained unchanged until it was removed from the primary highway system in 2003. It was replaced by County Road X99, though around Burlington, it is sometimes referred to as County Road 99.
Iowa Highway 107 (Iowa 107) was a 32-mile-long (51 km) state highway in north central Iowa. It began south of Alexander at an intersection with Iowa 3 and ended at U.S. Route 18 (US 18) in Clear Lake. The highway was designated in 1920 as a spur route connecting Thornton to US 18, then Primary Road No. 19 (PR& No. 19). After Interstate 35 (I-35) was completed through northern Iowa, Iowa 107's role in the primary highway system began to diminish. Portions of the route were removed from the system altogether. On July 1, 2003, 27+1⁄2 miles (44.3 km) of the route were turned over to Franklin and Cerro Gordo counties. The only remaining segments were 1 mile (1.6 km) and 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) in length, each segment wholly within the city limits of Meservey and Thornton. After it was discovered that the two segments were still being maintained by the Iowa Department of Transportation, the two communities were asked to accept jurisdiction of the segments. The City of Meservey accepted its section in 2010, and the City of Thornton accepted its section on June 30, 2011.
Iowa Highway 113 began at an intersection with Iowa 64 west of Preston. From Iowa 64, the highway headed north for one mile (1.6 km) where it ended at Main Street in Spragueville. Iowa 113 was added to the Iowa highway system in 1938 as a connection between Iowa 64 and Iowa 62.[10] It passed through Springbrook near the midpoint of the route. In 1962, the highway was truncated north of Spragueville. Iowa 113 was turned over to Jackson County on July 1, 2003.[11]
Iowa Highway 115 (Iowa 115) was a short, L-shaped highway in Montgomery County that connected Viking Lake State Park to the primary highway system. The highway began at an intersection with US 34 two miles (3.2 km) east of Stanton. It headed south for approximately one-half mile (800 m) and then turned east for the remainder of the routing.[12] The highway ended at the park's main entrance. It was established on July 1, 1980 and was removed from the primary highway system on July 1, 2003.[13]
Iowa Highway 124 (Iowa 124) was a two-and-a-half-mile (4.0 km) state highway in Calhoun County. It began at an intersection with Iowa 4 near Jolley and headed east. It passed between the twin lakes of the aptly named state park, turned to the north, and ended at the park entrance at the northern lake. The highway was created in 1924 as a one-half-mile (800 m) offshoot of Primary Road No. 17, now Iowa 4, to the state park.[14] In 1946, when Iowa 17 was rerouted to its present location west of the park, Iowa 124 was extended by two miles (3.2 km) as it was routed onto a former section of Iowa 17 that connected to the new roadway.[15] The highway was turned over to Calhoun County on July 1, 2003.[16]
Iowa Highway 133 (Iowa 133) was a one-mile-long (1.6 km) state highway in Nevada. It began at an intersection with US 30 just south of the city and ended at I Street near the Story County administration building. The highway was designated on April 3, 1963 when US 30 was rerouted from its historic Lincoln Highway alignment to a bypass south of the city. It was turned over to the county and city on July 1, 2003.[17]
Iowa Highway 157 (Iowa 157) was a short state highway in Howard County, Iowa. It ran from US 63 to the center of Lime Springs, Iowa. It was turned over to Howard County on July 1, 2003.
Iowa Highway 239 (Iowa 239) was a one-half-mile-long (800 m) state highway in Fremont County. It began at the entrance gate to Waubonsie State Park between Hamburg and Sidney and ended at Iowa 2 north of the park. It was established in 1931 and turned over to Fremont County on July 1, 2003.[18]
Iowa Highway 243 (Iowa 243) was a one-half-mile-long (0.80 km) highway in Sac County that connected Black Hawk Lake State Park to the primary highway system. It began at an intersection with US 71 / Iowa 175 on the edge of Lake City and headed south to the main entrance to the park. The highway was added to the state highway system on August 7, 1980, and removed on July 1, 2003.[19]
On July 1, 2003, fifteen and a half miles (24.9 km) of U.S. Highway 275 (US 275) were removed the state highway system between Glenwood and Council Bluffs. Starting in Glenwood, the highway was rerouted along US 34 west to the interchange with I-29. The highway was then followed I-29 north until he interchange with Iowa 92. From there it continued its original routing west toward Omaha, Nebraska. This section of US 275 was removed from the highway system because it was entirely redundant to I-29. Along the length of US 275 that was removed, no point was further than four miles (6.4 km) away from the Interstate Highway.[20]
Iowa Highway 333 (Iowa 333) was originally a 9-mile-long (14 km) spur route from U.S. Route 59 to Northboro. By the late 1940s, Iowa 333 extended 34 miles (55 km) from U.S. Route 275 to U.S. Route 71 near College Springs.[21] In 1970, all of Iowa 333 west of US 59 was turned over to Fremont County. In 1980, however, Iowa 333 was extended west to Interstate 29 from US 59 and turned over to Fremont and Page County east of US 59. Iowa 333 was 14 miles (23 km) long between 1980 and 2003. On July 1, 2003, nearly 13 miles (21 km) of Iowa 333 east of US 275 was turned over to Fremont County. Most of Iowa 333's former route is known as County Road J64.
Iowa Highway 340 (Iowa 340) connected U.S. Highway 18 Business (US 18 Bus.) in McGregor to Pikes Peak State Park. It was designated in 1936 to connect Pikes Peak State Park to the primary highway system, which it did until it was turned over to Clayton County in 2003. It was turned over along with 700 miles (1,100 km) of other short highways that primarily served local traffic. It was mostly replaced by County Road X56. Aside from a short connector to the state park gate, the route was a part of the Great River Road.
Iowa Highway 384 (Iowa 384) was a short state highway that connected Springbrook State Park to the state highway system. It began at a point seven miles (11 km) north of Guthrie Center along Iowa 25 to the park's main gate. The highway ran parallel to the middle raccoon River. It was designated in 1944, when it replaced Iowa 161.[22] Iowa 384 was turned over to Guthrie County on July 1, 2003.[23]
Iowa Highway 386 (Iowa 386)was a former state highway in Iowa, located entirely in Dubuque County, Iowa north of the city of Dubuque, Iowa. The route for Iowa 386 was designated in 1945. The highway was built as a loop, beginning at U.S. Highway 52 / Iowa 3 about a mile north of Dubuque, and also ending a few miles to the north at another intersection with those two highways near Sageville, Iowa. Iowa 386 provided a route from US 52 / Iowa 3 to the John Deere Dubuque Works plant, and was locally known as John Deere Road.
With the completion of the Northwest Arterial (Iowa 32), Iowa 386 was turned back on July 1, 2003. The route was turned over to Dubuque County, which today maintains the route as County Road D10 and CR Y35.
Iowa Highway 403 (Iowa 403)was a one-half-mile-long (800 m) extension of South Dakota Highway 48 into Iowa. It began over the Big Sioux River and ended at the intersection with Iowa 12 in Akron. The road was transferred from the city of Akron to the state on July 1, 1980, and was turned back over to the city on July 1, 2003.[24]
Iowa Highway 920 (Iowa 920) was the northern half of the section of Iowa 150 that was vacated when it was rerouted over Iowa 101. It began at the same intersection in Benton County west of Walker where Iowa 101 ended. Iowa 920 headed east towards Walker, where the highway skirted the edge of town by curving to the south. The route headed due south along Center Point Road for a few miles until it curved southwest and back to the southeast into Center Point. Through Center Point, the highway was known as Franklin Street.[25] In the southern part of town, where Center Point Road turned south, Iowa 920 ended.
Iowa 920 was identified in Senate File 451 and turned over to local jurisdictions on July 1, 2003. The east–west portion near Walker was replaced by CR D62, while the north–south portion became CR W6E.[26]
Iowa Highway 925 (Iowa 925) was a state highway that was an alternative to Interstate 80 (I-80) between Adair and Dexter. It began at exit 75 along I-80 in Adair and traveled through Casey, Menlo, and Stuart before ending at U.S. Highway 6 (US 6) east of Dexter. The highway was designated in 1981 when US 6 was relocated onto I-80 between Adair and Dexter. It ceased to exist on July 1, 2003, when the Iowa Department of Transportation relinquished control of more than 700 miles (1,100 km) of local highways to county maintenance.[27]
Iowa Highway 927 (Iowa 927) was a state highway that was an alternative to Interstate 80 (I-80) between Wilton and Davenport. It began at in Wilton at the intersection of US 6 / Iowa 38 and 5th Street. It traveled along 5th Street through Wilton and Durant and also just north of Walcott. It ended at an interchange with I-280 and US 6 on the western outskirts of Davenport; the roadway continued east as US 6. The highway was designated in 1981 when US 6 was relocated onto I-80 between Wilton and Davenport. It ceased to exist on July 1, 2003, when the Iowa Department of Transportation relinquished control of more than 700 miles (1,100 km) of local highways to county maintenance.[28]
Iowa Highway 954 (Iowa 954) was a short, unsigned highway south of Maquoketa. It began at the intersection where US 61 turned west to bypass Maquoketa and ended at the city limits. It was created in 1967 when the US 61 bypass was built. Originally, Iowa 954 consisted of the entire former routing of US 61 through Maquoketa. However, in 1976, the route was split into two sections as the portion within the Maquoketa city limits was turned over to the city. In 1984, the northern segment was relinquished to Jackson County. When the two-lane US 61 bypass became a four-lane freeway in the 1990s, the southern end of Iowa 954 shifted a few feet to the east. The highway was turned over to the City of Maquoketa on July 1, 2003.[29]
Iowa Highway 965 (Iowa 965) was designated on June 26, 1985, replacing a relocated segment of U.S. Route 218. With the construction of Interstate 380, an adjoining segment of freeway was built south of Interstate 80 around the west side of Iowa City. When it was finished, US 218 was relocated onto the new segment and onto I-380. In 1994, Iowa 965 was turned over to the city of North Liberty, creating two segments of Iowa 965. On July 1, 2003, the remainder of Iowa 965 in Johnson County was turned over to the county. In 2004, the Linn County section was turned over.
Iowa Highway 967 (Iowa 967) was a very short, unsigned state highway located on the outskirts of Farley. When it was turned over to the city on July 1, 2003, the highway extended from US 20 to the western city limits, a mere 0.037 miles (200 ft; 60 m).[30][31]
Iowa Highway 977 (Iowa 977) was an unsigned state highway along Main Street in Cherokee between US 59 and Iowa 3. It was created on January 29, 1964, after Iowa 3 was relocated around the city. Originally, the highway did not include any part of Main Street within Cherokee, only the portion outside the city limits. In 1980, Iowa DOT extended Iowa 977 by accepting jurisdiction of Main Street from US 59 eastward to the city limits. It was turned over to the city and to Cherokee County on July 1, 2003.[32]
Iowa Highway 978 (Iowa 978) was a short, unsigned highway in Mills County near Pacific Junction. It began at an interchange with I-29 and US 34 south of the town and ended at Iowa 385 east of town. The route was created on November 13, 1974, when US 34 was rerouted onto a new four-lane expressway through Glenwood and onto I-29. The northern half of the abandoned section of US 34 became part of Iowa 385, effectively tripling its length, while the southern half became Iowa 978. The route was turned over to Mills County on July 1, 2003.[33]
Iowa Highway 982 (Iowa 982) was a state highway in Woodbury County that connected Sioux City and Smithland, but, for the most part, did not enter either city. The highway began just inside the eastern city limits of Sioux City and traveled southeast along the edge of the Loess Hills to the western city limits of Smithland. It was created on May 24, 1961, after Iowa 141 was rerouted between Sloan and Smithland. From its designation, Iowa 982 never officially entered either Sioux City or Smithland, ending at the city limits of each city. Though, as Sioux City expanded, portions of the state highway were turned over to the city. Iowa 982 was turned over to Woodbury County on July 1, 2003.[34]
Iowa Highway 985 (Iowa 985) was an unsigned gravel road in Jackson County, south of Bellevue, that provided access to the southern portion of Bellevue State Park. It began at an intersection with US 52 two-thirds mile (1.1 km) north of US 52's intersection with CR Z34. It briefly traveled to the west and then curved north. The park entrance was located just three-tenths mile (480 m) from Iowa 985's northern end at US 52.[35] Due to the close proximity to the Mississippi River, the topography of US 52 at the northern end of Iowa 985 only permitted northbound Iowa 985 traffic to turn onto northbound US 52 and vice versa.[36] Iowa 985 was added to the primary highway system on October 1, 1980, and removed on July 1, 2003.[37]
Iowa Highway 988 (Iowa 988) was a short, unsigned state highway along Mormon Bridge Road in Pottawattamie County. It began as the eastern leg of the interchange of I-29 and I-680 west of Crescent. Immediately east of the interchange, the highway had a level crossing with a line of the Chicago, Central and Pacific Railroad.[38] It then traveled east for two miles (3.2 km) into Crescent, where it ended at Iowa 183. Iowa 988 was added to the primary highway system on November 4, 1975, after Iowa DOT acquired Mormon Trail Road from the North Omaha Bridge Commission and I-680 was routed across the Mormon Bridge. The highway was listed in Senate File 451 and turned over to local control on July 1, 2003.[39]
^Iowa Department of Transportation (2003). State of Iowa Transportation Map(PDF) (Map). Ames: Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
^Road and Reference Atlas (Map) (1947 ed.). 1:1,077,120. Rand McNally & Company. 1947. pp. 42–43.