Iowa Highway Ends (etc.)

The push by some to get the Des Moines beltway designated an interstate has been met with push-back from farmers, as the Des Moines Register reports. This post’s title alludes to both my preferred name for the beltway and the notion that an Iowa traffic jam consists of 10 cars waiting to pass a tractor. (I was in one last Wednesday!)

If there IS a genuine desire to get interstate status, it would make less sense for IA 435 to be designated now, since the signs would be short-lived. In the meantime, though, the beltway still has two designations, each going the opposite direction.

Sept. 17, 2007: View of the Decatur Toll Bridge from the Nebraska side. Like US 52/IA 64 on the Mississippi River, it has a steel deck.

In a deal similar to ones made in the past for toll bridges spanning the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in Iowa, the IA 175/NE 51 toll bridge will be sold to the states — eventually. The Sioux City Journal has the story.

Currently, it is one of three toll bridges left on Iowa’s western border and the second-oldest by construction date but fourth-oldest by opening date. (It did not open immediately.) In 2008, it carried just under 2000 vehicles daily.

Now that new 20 is open between US 71 and IA 4, a warning to travelers needs to be updated: There is no publicly available restroom, food, or gas within a mile of US 20 between Early and Webster City. There is one stop immediately on US 20 or at an exit between Correctionville and Webster City. There are only four potential rest/food/gas stops within 2 miles of 20 between Webster City and Waterloo.

The entire list of what is available within 2 miles of 20 in the 173 miles between IA 31 and US 63 comes down to this:

• Casey’s on US 59 in Holstein, ½ mile north of US 20
• Casey’s on US 71 in Early, newly built at the interchange (the old one on the south side of town is closed)
• McDonald’s and Phillips 66 (plus two hotels) in Webster City at the interchange
• Pilot Flying J and Boondocks truck stops at the I-35/D25 (old 20) interchange, 1½ miles north
• Casey’s in Wellsburg, 2 miles south
• Gas station/Arby’s/Godfather’s at the IA 14 interchange
• Kwik Star in Dike, .7 miles north (north on T55, turn right on old 20)

The Casey’s in Sac City is 2.3 miles south of 20 on Rolf Avenue and 2.8 miles via the M54 intersection. Services in Fort Dodge are a minimum 3.1 miles away from the US 169 exit. Once you get to US 63, there’s something available at every interchange in Waterloo. Here are the mileages between the stops:

• 32 miles between Correctionville and Early
• 68 miles between Early and Webster City
• 55 miles between Webster City and IA 14
• 18 miles between IA 14 and US 63

Adjust your beverage intake and eating schedule accordingly.

Dignitaries cut the ribbon for new US 20 beside the eastbound lanes near Early, Iowa, Nov. 21, 2012.

Early, Iowa — Early it certainly was, for me anyway, in reaching northwest Iowa to attend my second Highway 20 dedication ceremony. I got there just in time to see this, which turned out to be the only thing done outside besides the national anthem because it was too windy to hear everyone speak. This turned out to be a blessing because there were many speakers.

“We have been looking forward to this day for decades,” US Highway 20 Corridor Association president Shirley Phillips said after everyone regrouped at the Early United Methodist Church. U.S. Rep. Steve King, Gov. Terry Branstad, and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds followed with their own remarks.

“What you see out here is a much safer road,” DOT director Paul Trombino said. That safety was appreciated by the next speaker, Iowa Highway Commissioner Charese Yanney. She has a personal reason for wanting to see US 20 expanded to four lanes: she lost a family member in an accident at the US 20/59 intersection near Holstein. Her father started lobbying for a change, and that area was four-laned in 1962, far before nearly the entire rest of the route.

Other speakers included contractors and longtime advocates. Buck Boekelman brought M&Ms to meetings, signifying the need to complete the road between Moville and Moorland. Long before that, he expanded the view of US 20 as “Midwest connector” and promoted an increase in the gas tax.

After the reception, I drove the new route for the first time. Pictures and a trip report will come later.

Story and video at WHO’s website. Also at WOI.