Iowa Highway 330

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iowa Highway 330

Length:

33 mi^[1] (53 km)

West end:

US 65/IA 117 near Mingo

Major
junctions:

US 30 near Marshalltown

East end:

IA 14 near Albion

Counties:

Jasper, Story, Marshall

Major cities:

Albion

Iowa State Highways
< IA 316		IA 333 >

A 33-mile-long state highway in central Iowa, Iowa Highway 330 runs northeasterly from near Mingo in Jasper County past Albion, to just north of Marshalltown in Marshall County.[1] Originally the two-lane, unpaved Iowa Highway 88 in the 1930s, and later Iowa Highway 64 until 1969, Highway 330 is now a four-lane divided expressway along much of its length. The non-expressway sections are, or will be, super two highways.

As an unusual (and originally underutilized) "diagonal" highway in a strongly grid-based region, a persistent rumor claims that the highway was originally run through as a pork barrel project for the personal benefit of a Marshall County state legislator who wanted a quicker route to the Iowa General Assembly.

The highway was originally designated as Highway 330 and paved in the late 1940s. Before then, it was called Iowa 88 and was largely unpaved. In 1969 the route was extended southward to its current terminus. In 1989, it was re-routed to bypass Marshalltown. In 2002, the twenty miles between U.S. 65 and U.S. 30 were upgraded to expressway status.

The highway, in conjunction with U.S. 65, Iowa Highway 14 and U.S. 20, is commonly used as a connector between Des Moines and the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area.