Iowa Highway Ends (etc.)

After years now of talk and work, the Iowa DOT is down to two options for the IA 117/330/US 65 intersection area in Jasper County.

The interchange and J-turn plans now are substantially what they were last time, with the note that the northbound offramps do not include a traffic circle. The J-turn would not substantially affect surrounding land. The interchange would bisect the area between IA 117 and County Road F17 and force the removal of three farmsteads…

…farmsteads owned by a family that has been fighting the Marshalltown diagonal literally for generations.

Surely Cleverly noticed that some time ago, the DOT already extended turn lanes, added intersection warning signs, and dropped the speed limit, but it’s not enough. It is still No. 10 overall, and No. 3 for rural areas, on the state’s “Intersection Safety Improvement Candidate Location” list.

The public meeting will be June 3 in Baxter, and it’s notable for including a formal presentation, which isn’t done very often nowadays. It’s possible the DOT will be fighting its most public eminent-domain battle in some time.

May 28, 2006 (eight[!] years ago tomorrow): North side of Northwood on US 65

Jason Hancock took a long trip in northern and northwestern Iowa on Memorial Day weekend to finish clinching every highway in the state. He mentioned that the mileage sign leaving Northwood, above, has been replaced with a Clearview version that uses the two-letter postal abbreviation for the cities. This is not the first appearance of that in the state, but/and it is widespread enough now that it’s almost certainly a permanent style change.

Note also that the sign, and its replacement, still include Faribault on the bottom line, even though US 65 now ends in Albert Lea. I believe it is the northernmost destination on a non-interstate sign (since the Twin Cities are all over I-35). Northwood is closer to Faribault than Iowa Falls, and just over 100 miles from the Minnesota State Capitol.