U.S. Route 30 in Iowa
U.S. Highway 30 is a major east–west U.S. Highway which spans across the state of Iowa. It is the longest primary highway in the state and is maintained by the Iowa Department of Transportation. The route in Iowa begins at the Missouri River crossing at Blair, Nebraska, and ends at the Mississippi River crossing at Clinton, Iowa. Along the way, it serves Denison and Carroll in western Iowa, Boone, Ames, and Marshalltown in central Iowa, and Tama, Cedar Rapids, and DeWitt in eastern Iowa. Cutting across the central portion of the state, US 30 runs within close proximity of the Union Pacific Railroad's Overland Route for its entire length.
US 30 was conceived as a part of the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway in the United States. A route through Iowa was chosen because of the important link between Omaha, Nebraska, and Chicago, Illinois. As the U.S. Highway System came into being in the 1920s, and the Lincoln Highway became US 30, federal money started to pay for paving Iowa's dirt roads. By 1931, the route had been paved across the entire state.
The route of the Lincoln Highway and US 30 has accommodated the changing needs of the traveling public. Early Lincoln Highway travelers were directed into many small towns as the route traveled across the state. Towards the middle of the 20th century, the route was straightened, bypassing most downtown areas and several towns altogether. More recently, long sections of US 30 have been upgraded to a four-lane expressway to accommodate increasing traffic. Since 2006, the highway has been designated an Iowa Heritage Byway by Iowa DOT, the first highway in the state with that distinction.
Route description
US 30 extends from west to east across the central portion of Iowa, with much of the highway traveling through rolling farmland. Small towns dot the entire route, which connects the larger cities of Denison, Ames, Marshalltown, Cedar Rapids, and Clinton. Between Ogden and Mount Vernon, significant portions of the highway have been upgraded to a four-lane freeway.Western Iowa
US 30 enters the western end of Iowa by crossing the Missouri River on the Blair Bridge, located east of the Nebraska town of the same name. Adjacent to the highway bridge is the Union Pacific Railroad's river crossing for the Overland Route. The highway runs roughly parallel to the rail line for its entire run across Iowa. For, traffic moves through the flat Missouri River bottoms, passing DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge on the way to Missouri Valley. At Missouri Valley, it intersects Interstate 29 at a partial cloverleaf interchange. It enters the Boyer River valley through the Loess Hills, a region of wind-deposited silt extending from north of Sioux City to extreme northwestern Missouri. The rolling Loess Hills rise above the roadway while the land in the valley stays relatively flat. US 30 enters Logan and intersects the eastern end of Iowa Highway 127. The highway runs parallel to the Boyer River as well as the Overland Route in a general northeast direction from Logan. east of Logan is the western end of Iowa 44, which extends east to Des Moines.The highway enters Crawford County north of Dunlap in Harrison County. For, US 30 passes through farmland and the small communities of Dow City and Arion. For through Denison, it overlaps US 59 and Iowa 141, which run concurrently through the town. The Iowa DOT refers to routes which overlap other routes as duplicate routes. It follows the East Boyer River through Denison as the Boyer River forks west of the northern intersection with US 59 / Iowa 141. US 30 travels north-northeasterly towards Vail. Between Vail and Westside, the highway ceases following the East Boyer River and heads due east towards Arcadia and Carroll in Carroll County.
At Carroll it intersects US 71 on the western side of the city. Continuing east, the highway goes through the town of Glidden and passes to the north of Ralston, west of the Greene County line. North of Scranton it meets the northern end of Iowa 25. Between Scranton and Jefferson, US 30 crosses the Raccoon River. US 30 crosses Iowa 4 and Iowa 144 on the northern edge of Jefferson and Grand Junction, the latter of the cities named for its location at the junction of the historic Chicago & Northwestern and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroads, now both owned by Union Pacific, respectively. East of Grand Junction, the highway passes over the Overland Route where it stays south of the railroad until Le Grand.
Central Iowa
west of Ogden, US 30 is joined by US 169 from the north. The two highways run concurrently until reaching Ogden, where the road becomes a four-lane expressway. US 169 exits to the south at a partial cloverleaf interchange, while US 30 continues east through Boone County and descends into the Des Moines River valley. It ascends from the valley and travels another to a four-way stop in Boone, which is the last stop along the route until Iowa 1 in Mt. Vernon, though this is now a roundabout. east of Boone, it meets Iowa 17 at a diamond interchange. east of that interchange is a shortcut to northbound Iowa 17.Traffic is filtered into Ames and Iowa State University from US 30 through five interchanges. On the outskirts of Ames are the Lincoln Way interchanges, access to and from Lincoln Way is handled by two half interchanges apart. From the interchanges to the Story County line away, Lincoln Way is designated as Iowa 930, but is never signed as such. The South Dakota Avenue interchange primarily serves the southwestern part of Ames. The University Boulevard exit provides access to the Iowa State University campus and Iowa State Center, ISU's cultural and athletics complex. The Duff Avenue interchange provides access to Ames's east side. US 69 and Interstate 35 Business Loop are designated along Duff Avenue. From Duff to I-35, US 30 is overlapped by the I-35 Business Loop. Between the Duff and Dayton Avenue interchanges, it crosses the South Skunk River. The Dayton Avenue interchange serves hotels and restaurants and is a travel stop for I-35 travelers.
East of the Dayton Avenue interchange is I-35, which connects US 30 to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to the north, and Des Moines to the south. Continuing east, the expressway travels to Nevada, more to the US 65 interchange at Colo, to State Center, and the Iowa 330 interchange on the western edge of Marshalltown. to the east are two half-interchanges with U.S. Route 30 Business. US 30 bypasses Marshalltown approximately south of its business loop. Near Marshalltown Community College, it intersects Iowa 14 at a diamond interchange. The 18th Avenue interchange on the southeastern side of Marshalltown is the eastern end of the business loop. From Marshalltown, it travels to Le Grand, crossing over the Overland Route rail corridor on the west side. It bypasses Le Grand to the north, where it intersects the northern end of Iowa 146 at a diamond interchange. Continuing east, the highway enters Tama County. It rises over a large hill north of Montour and then descends into the Iowa River valley.
East of the Iowa River is the Meskwaki Settlement, which is home to about 800 Meskwaki Native American tribespeople and the Meskwaki Casino and Resort. As it heads into the Tama–Toledo area, the expressway bisects the two communities. Between the two cities, it meets US 63 at a partial cloverleaf interchange. From US 63 it turns to the southeast to skirt Tama's east side. It rejoins the former alignment of the highway east of Tama and heads due east, along section lines in Tama and Benton Counties, and does not enter another town for.
Eastern Iowa
US 30 enters Benton County north of Belle Plaine at an intersection with Iowa 21. It continues east along a section line, passing the communities of Keystone, Van Horne, and Blairstown. southwest of Newhall, or southeast of Van Horne, it meets US 218 and becomes a four-lane road. US 30 and US 218 travel together due east towards Cedar Rapids, passing Norway and Atkins. On the western end of Cedar Rapids, US 30 / US 218 turn to the southeast at the 16th Avenue SW interchange. to the southeast is the Williams Boulevard interchange, where US 151 joins US 30 and US 218. For, US 30 / US 151 / US 218 is a wrong-way concurrency; that is, where two or more routes heading in opposite directions share the same highway. In this instance, US 30 is the main east–west road while US 151 and US 218 are duplicate routes, nominally heading north and south, respectively. At the I-380 interchange, US 218 leaves US 30 / US 151 and joins the Avenue of the Saints highway. East of I-380, US 30 / US 151 serve as a divider between the Lincolnway Village neighborhood to the south and a light industrial district to the north.South of Bertram, the two routes cross the Cedar River before US 151 splits away from US 30 to the north at a trumpet interchange. This interchange is the southern end of Iowa 13. The road dips southeast, ultimately bypassing the cities of Mount Vernon and Lisbon, while converging back into a 2-lane road at the conclusion of the bypass. Over the next, US 30 passes through a small town every. In Cedar County it passes through Mechanicsville, Stanwood, Clarence and Lowden. In Stanwood, it is overlapped by Iowa 38 for. In Clinton County, it passes through Wheatland, Calamus, and Grand Mound before reaching a full cloverleaf interchange with US 61 at DeWitt. US 30 overlaps US 61 for, crossing the Union Pacific Overland Route in the process, and leaves US 61 via a trumpet interchange.
US 30 continues east as an expressway, passing DeWitt to the south. east of DeWitt, it crosses back over to the north side of the Overland Route. West of the Clinton city limits is an interchange with Clinton County Road Z36, which serves Low Moor and as a shortcut to southbound US 67. East of CR Z36, it passes the Clinton Municipal Airport and a large chemical plant. As it approaches Mill Creek Parkway, it descends over in elevation into the flat Mississippi River valley, where it meets US 67. US 30 / US 67 head east along Lincoln Way and ascend onto a plateau, atop which reside stores and restaurants. As they continue east, the two routes split into one-way streets, eastbound Liberty Avenue and westbound Camanche Avenue. The one-way street alignment ends at 11th Avenue South, but quickly begins again as US 30 / US 67 turn to the north onto northbound South Third Street and southbound South Fourth Street. At Eighth Avenue South, US 30 splits away from US 67 and onto the Gateway Bridge and crosses into Illinois.