(January 8, 1931-September 2, 1997)
WEST End: Stop sign, IA 330, Jasper County
Facing west on 223
Photo by Jason Hancock
Old photo: Pre-330 expressway
Since Highway 330 is a true diagonal road for most of its length, it gets true diagonal arrows at the intersections.
...Well, it used to. With construction of the expressway, many intersecting roads were reconstructed to end perpendicuar to the four-lane. That means that many if not all of the diagonal arrows have been replaced by boringly straight ones. Accurate, yes, interesting, no. This sign no longer exists. Update: And now, with construction of the 330/65 interchange, the intersection doesn't exist.
Facing west on 223 (12/14/02)
At the far left of this picture is the Adopt-a-Highway sign for 223 that used to stand on the shoulder at the beginning of the route and is now far from it.
Facing northeast, but heading north, on 330 (12/14/02)
Before 1997, this sign was the same as now only without the bracket. Between 1997 and 2002 it had "F17 ^" for no explainable reason. Since this photo was taken, the bracket has been removed. The LGS says "^ Melbourne 13; Baxter 8" with a diagonal right arrow for Baxter, one of the few remaining angled arrows anywhere.
Up the road, behind the LGS (12/14/02)
These two signs are about a yard apart. Really. While the "Jct F17" is in the right place proportional to the actual intersection today, the sign behind it used to hold "330 ^; 223 ->" but now only holds the former sans bracket. The 330 pole has been removed.
Facing east on 223 (12/14/02)
The Adopt-a-Highway sign and the seeded ground give away the old alignment. The intersection is farther left now.
Facing east on 223
Photo by Jason Hancock
Old photo: Pre-330 expressway
The Jasper County PDF map from the DOT shows the road had been given the rural name of Hwy 223, but now it appears to have been changed, according to the rural sign here now. This was the only highway to get treatment like this until the Second Great Decommissioning. This sign used to be attached to the first F17 sign, but as you can see in the previous shot it's no longer there.
Facing east on F17 (9/3/06)
This is interesting: Two LGSs with absolutely nothing in common. I assume the first sign was put up by the DOT when the intersection was reconstructed in 2002, and the other one by Jasper County.
Old WEST End: Station St., Baxter, Jasper County
Facing north, but heading west, on 223 (7/24/19)
As a spur, 223 ended in downtown Baxter.
Facing south, but heading east, on 223 (7/24/19)
EAST End: Intersection, IA 14, Jasper County
Facing east on 223 (6/5/02)
Photo by Jason Hancock
Facing east on 223, county replacement LGS (7/24/19)
Facing east on 223 (7/7/04)
Facing west, but heading south, on 14 (6/5/02)
Photo by Jason Hancock
Prior to 1949, 14 went north one more mile before turning east. That year, in what has been 14's only large realignment ever, the current route between here and Laurel was paved. East-west traffic does not stop; NB 14 stops here, while SB 14 stops at 224's north end. One can travel the east-west road from 330 to US 63 without stopping.
Signs at intersection (6/5/02)
The previous existence of 223 as a state highway is evident in the nice signage with 14, the Adopt-a-Highway sign, and a "Previously Hwy 223 W" sign that has also disappeared. In mid-2004, signage was a mix of state and county: In Baxter, EB 223 (but not WB) had the state leaving-town LGS, WB 223 (but not EB) had the city limits sign.
Facing southeast-ish (7/7/04)
Jasper County bases its rural street system on Newton's streets. Thus, 14's alignment here runs into West 4th Street in Newton. The county seat's cental position works well; it balances out almost evenly with West 148th vs. East 156th and North 115th vs. South 128th. Polk County, on the other hand, which bases the streets from Des Moines, is heavily tilted to north and east streets.
Facing north on 14 (7/7/04)
Facing north on 14 (7/7/04)
Facing north on 14 (7/7/04)
Facing north on 14 (10/15/10)
Laurel was added to signs at either side of 14's east-west segment in Jasper County in 2010. Why wasn't it there before? Could have been a simple oversight, or the rules were modified.
Last seen: 1997
Before 1980, 223 was a simple spur to Baxter, but now it is gone completely.
Highway 223 was the first of a trio of spurs assigned to Jasper County in 1931: 223, 224, and 225. Today 223 is gone, 224 has been promoted to a full highway, and 225 died in the Second Great Decommissioning.
Page created 12/15/01; last updated 12/21/11 4/20/20