Sept. 3, 2006: This sign’s days may be numbered.
New BGSs in both directions on I-80 at Exit 142 include IA 330. They read “West 6/North 65/North 330, Bondurant/Altoona”. In all likelihood, this means that IA 330 is going to be extended down the diagonal to the interstate. No signs have changed at the 65/117/330 intersection as of Thanksgiving.
This is not entirely unexpected, nor is it misguided. As it is, the fact the through route is two different numbers escapes the mind of most travelers. Marking IA 330 all the way down to I-80 is a common map mistake. I mentioned the possibility of this happening when IA 163 was extended all the way down to Burlington — which, for the record, I still disagree with.
The extension is actually a link to the past. The diagonal’s whole length was originally built as IA 88, then was incorporated into a cross-state IA 64. The part northeast of US 65 became IA 330 in the Great Renumbering of 1969.
Oct. 31, 2007: Seeing Marshalltown on the exit sign here after long vacations always told me “You’re almost home.” The left exit ramp closed Nov. 7, 2010.
The ironic part of all of this? Because eastbound Exit 142 is now only one ramp, instead of split, Marshalltown is no longer listed as a destination. The inclusion of Marshalltown in the first place was an artifact of IA 64, because US 65 does not go to Marshalltown (and, since 1989, neither does IA 330).
In one sense, the DOT is conforming to a common mistake. In another sense, it’s a change to benefit travelers who get told to “take the diagonal” or “take 330” when in Altoona. Either way, it strengthens the Des Moines-Marshalltown connection, which was the goal of the diagonal and then the four-lane in the first place.