U.S. Route 218

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U.S. Route 218
Length: 319 mi[1] (513 km)
Formed: 1926
South end: US 136 at Keokuk, IA
Major
junctions:		 I-80 at Coralville, IA
US 30 near Cedar Rapids, IA
I-380/US 20 at Waterloo, IA
US 18 at Floyd, IA
I-90 at Austin, MN
North end: I-35 at Owatonna, MN
United States Numbered Highways
Spur of US 18
U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Highway 218 is a spur of U.S. Highway 18. It is one of the original United States Highways of 1926. It is one of the few remaining north-south US routes with an even number.[citation needed] It is a rare route in that it intersects its 'parent', U.S. Highway 18, in the middle of its route, and has always done so.

Contents

[edit] Termini

As of 2005, the highway's northern terminus is in Owatonna, Minnesota at Interstate 35. Its southern terminus is Keokuk, Iowa at U.S. Highway 136, approximately 319 miles (513 km) to the south. Prior to 1938, its southern terminus was at U.S. Highway 30 in southern Benton County, Iowa.

[edit] States Traveresed

Major cities

[edit] Iowa

[edit] Minnesota

[edit] Towns in Mower County served by 218

The following Mower County cities, towns, townships and unincorporated population centers are located on 218 (listed from north to south).

[edit] Towns in Steele County served by 218

The following Steele County cities, towns, townships, and unincorporated population centers are located on 218 (listed from north to south).

[edit] Legal Definition

The Minnesota section of U.S. 218 is defined as Route 40 in Minnesota Statutes ยง 161.114(2).[2]

[edit] Avenue of the Saints segments

U.S. 218 is part of the Avenue of the Saints between Floyd and Cedar Falls, Iowa, and again between Cedar Rapids and a point south of Donnellson, Iowa. North of Mount Pleasant, Iowa the parts of US 218 that follow the Avenue have been completely upgraded to four lanes, with either at-grade intersections or controlled access. When 218 is part of the Avenue of the Saints, it is co-signed with Iowa Highway 27.

[edit] History

In 1913, work on the road that is now U.S. 218 was begun. At this time it was called the Red Ball Route. It was called this because the original route was marked with poles which had red balls, six inches in diameter, mounted on each side. In 1920, the Minnesota portion of the route was designated as Constitutional Route 40, as part of the Babcock Amendment that established the Minnesota trunk highway system.

In Iowa, U.S. 218 was extended from its previous southern terminus, at its intersection with U.S. 30 in Benton County, in 1934 when U.S. Route 161 was split and renamed. The former U.S. 161 had extended from Dubuque, through Cedar Rapids, to Keokuk. After the split, the section of former U.S. 161 from Dubuque to Cedar Rapids extended U.S. 151 south, and the section of U.S. 30 from the former terminus of U.S. 218 to its intersection with the former U.S. 161 in Cedar Rapids, along with the section of former U.S. 161 from Cedar Rapids to Keokuk, extended U.S. 218 south.

[edit] U.S. Route 218 in Pop Culture

Martin Zellar, the lead singer/songwriter of the Austin Minnesota band the Gear Daddies, wrote a song titled "218". The song appears on the Gear Daddies' 1992 album "Can't Have Nothin' Nice".

[edit] References

  1. ^ US Highways.com
  2. ^ [1]Minnesota Codified Laws.
  • "Mill on the Willow: A History of Mower County, Minnesota" by various authors. Library of Congress No. 84-062356
  • Riner, Steve. Minnesota's Constitutional Routes. The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Retrieved on June 1, 2006.

[edit] See also

[edit] External link

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