July 29, 2009: BGS for the left exit of US 65 NB from I-80 EB. The sign was removed when the I-80/US 65 exit was rebuilt and expanded.
After the Great Renumbering of 1969 ended IA 64’s status as a cross-state highway, Marshalltown did not have a continuous number connection to Des Moines. Now, it looked like it did, because of the diagonal, but IA 330 stopped at US 65. However, Marshalltown remained the destination for the US 65 exit on I-80, even though 65 does not go there. It was reasonable because of the diagonal and because it was a logical place to list it. (Marshalltown is signed on I-80 WB as a supplementary destination on IA 146, although in that case it would work better at IA 224, but then Sully or Lake Red Rock would have to get bumped off.)
The IA 330 designation was officially extended to I-80 at the end of 2012, but shortly after, the sign to Marshalltown disappeared as the DOT began a project to add lanes to I-80 and eliminate one of Iowa’s most prominent left exits. When new signs came up, the listing was for Bondurant and Altoona, not Marshalltown, and there was a reason: The exit for eastbound US 6 wasn’t a separate ramp anymore.
But now, the Marshalltown Times-Republican reports, Marshalltown is back on the BGS for this exit. On long vacations, for me, that sign was a way of saying “almost home” (90 minutes to go after multiple days away), so it’s nice to see the change.
[The management is aware there is no webpage yet for IA 330’s south end at Altoona. The appropriate parties have been notified. — Ed.]