WEST,
BUSINESS
WEST and 
NORTH
at 
and 
WEST End of IA 122 and Business US 18, NORTH End of Business Loop 35: I-35/IA 27 exit 194, Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County
When I-35 opened here in 1975, part of the last segment of the 1956 interstate plan to open in Iowa, US 18 went straight through the interchange. At the end of 1999, the western half of the Avenue of the Saints segment with US 18 opened and the route through Mason City became IA 122. A year and a half later, IA 27 followed. Now, there are so many roads meeting here that not all of them can be included in the signs. The signs themselves have been retrofitted, rearranged and replaced multiple times. Pictures go counterclockwise from 3 o'clock.
Westbound 122/Business 18
Facing west on 122/Business 18 (3/22/03)
Facing west on 122/Business 18, before and after the northbound 35 onramp (5/28/06)
In 2003, the 27 shields were under I-35 (bottom center, top photo). Like signs around Waterloo, this has been changed so 27 gets its own sets. It's a bit misleading to have the 18 arrows as they are on the left assembly because the "left" is the same turn as southbound 35 and 27, which are marked with ahead arrows here. The better solution would be to have a simple ahead arrow under 18, and then after the northbound onramp (right photo), split it into "East 18 <-; West 18 ^".
Facing west on 122/Business 18 (5/28/06 and 9/2/00)
Right photo by Jason Hancock
The photo at right shows this assembly before IA 27, with everything on one pole.
Facing west on 122/Business 18 (9/13/14)
Photo by Jason Hancock
Facing west on 122/Business 18 (9/13/14)
Photo by Jason Hancock
Facing east on 122/Business 18 (3/22/03)
I-35 South
Facing south on 35 (7/26/16)
The business route is only signed in one direction, as most in Iowa are. The resulting clutter prevents Business 18 from being included on the SB signs, although it could have been included on the NB sign. Otherwise, one interstate business route, one US business route, one US highway and one state highway would all be on the BGS!
Eastbound 18/BL 35
Facing east on 18 (7/16/05)
This direction is also the north end of Business Loop I-35 though there is no signage for it.
Facing east on 18 (5/25/14)
Photo by Jason Hancock
Facing east on 18 (5/25/14)
Photo by Jason Hancock
Facing east on 18, which becomes 122 (7/16/05)
Signs on bridge after creation of IA 27 (7/7/11)
Upon closer inspection, we find out why the IA 122 shield isn't a cutout: It's pasted over the US 18 shield! The old one wasn't removed. Similarly, the old position of the I-35 shield is visible under the IA 27 marker.
Facing east on 18 (9/13/14)
Photo by Jason Hancock
Facing east on 18 (7/9/18)
Starting here, to the right of the camera, 7th Avenue North (old US 18) starts a route into Clear Lake and past the Surf Ballroom.
Facing east on 18 (7/26/16)
This interchange is less generic after the signs were replaced simply because of the number of routes involved.
Facing east on 18 (7/26/16)
Facing east on 18 (7/26/16)
Facing east on 122 (7/26/16)
This is on the right side of the road (after going under the bridges) pointing to the northbound onramp.
I-35 North
Facing north on 35 (5/28/06)
BGSs in both directions use mini-shields instead of full-sized ones, because the addition of IA 122 precluded full-size shields with directions on the sign that previously only held a US 18 shield at the top. Notice how the direction tags are on plates and "bolted" onto the signs, and Business 18 is missing.
Facing north on 35 (7/7/11 and 7/9/18)
The new signs for the interchange have been moved onto gantries, but Business 18 wasn't included in either direction.
Page created 5/2/12; last updated 2/24/19