Iowa Highway 122
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| Iowa Highway 122 |
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| Length: | 13 mi[1] (21 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | December 6, 1999[1] | ||||||||
| West end: | .svg/20px-I-35_(IA).svg.png){kind=small} / I-35/US 18 in Clear Lake |
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| Major junctions: |
 US 65 in Mason City |
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| East end: | East city limits of Mason City | ||||||||
| Counties: | Cerro Gordo | ||||||||
| Major cities: | Clear Lake, Mason City | ||||||||
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Iowa Highway 122 is an east-west route in Cerro Gordo County which connects the county's two largest cities, Clear Lake and Mason City. The length of the highway is 13 miles. Much of the route is constructed as a four-lane expressway with at-grade intersections.
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[edit] Route description
Iowa Highway 122 begins at a diamond interchange with Interstate 35 on the eastern edge of Clear Lake. The road begins as a four-lane divided highway, serving the Mason City Municipal Airport before entering Mason City proper. Between Eisenhower and Jefferson Avenues in Mason City the highway is undivided. This road is the primary east-west artery through Mason City.
At Jefferson Avenue, Iowa 122 separates into a pair of one-way streets, remaining in this configuration through the downtown area. The highway divides again east of Illinois Avenue. Iowa Highway 122's terminus is at the east city limits of Mason City, just beyond North Iowa Area Community College.
Business U.S. Highway 18 is cosigned with Iowa 122 between Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 65.[2]
[edit] History
Prior to 1999, the road currently designated as Highway 122 was a segment of U.S. Route 18. In that year, the state completed work on a new freeway segment of US 18, bypassing Mason City. This bypass was part of the Avenue of the Saints project. The bypassed segment of US 18 was designated as Iowa Highway 122.
Highway 122 originally incorporated all of the bypassed segment of US 18. Highway 122's original eastern terminus was at Rudd, at the junction with Floyd County Road T26. In 2000, a new segment of Highway 122 opened east of Rudd, connecting 122 with 18 directly. In 2001 the segment between Nora Springs and Rudd was turned over to Floyd County and, in 2003, the segment between Mason City and Nora Springs was turned over to Cerro Gordo County.[1]
[edit] Previous highways designated Iowa Highway 122
- From 1924 to 1960, this number was used for a no-longer-designated highway in Davenport.[1]
- From 1963 to 1966, a segment of the highway currently designated Iowa Highway 188 was designated as Iowa Highway 122.[1]
[edit] Notes
Highway 122 passes close by two significant local points of interest: the site of the 1959 plane crash which killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), and the City National Bank Building and Park Inn Hotel, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's few commercial buildings.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Jason Hancock. Highway 122. Iowa Highways. Retrieved on 12 March 2007.
- ^ US 18 in Iowa
