Iowa Highway 3

Iowa Highway 3
American Veterans Memorial Highway
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length: 326.163 mi[1] (524.908 km)
Major junctions
West end: SD 50 west of Westfield
 

US 75 at Le Mars
US 71 near Truesdale
US 169 at Humboldt
I-35 near Latimer
US 218 / Iowa 27 at Waverly
US 63 near Denver

US 52 / Iowa 136 at Luxemburg
East end: US 52 / US 61 / US 151 at Dubuque
Location
Counties: Plymouth, Cherokee, Buena Vista, Pocahontas, Humboldt, Wright, Franklin, Butler, Bremer, Fayette, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque
Highway system

Iowa Primary Highway System
Interstates • U.S. Highways • State Highways

Iowa 2 Iowa 4

Iowa Highway 3 is a state highway that runs from east to west across the state of Iowa. Highway 3 is the longest state highway in Iowa, at 327.81 miles (527.56 km) long. Iowa 3 begins at the South Dakota state line where it continues as South Dakota Highway 50 and ends at an interchange with U.S. Route 61 / U.S. Route 151. It is designated the American Veterans Memorial Highway for its entirety. It is located approximately halfway between Interstate 80 and Interstate 90.

Contents

Route description

Iowa Highway 3 begins at the Big Sioux River where it continues west into South Dakota as South Dakota Highway 50. 1.5 miles (2.4 km) into Iowa, Iowa 3 intersects and overlaps Iowa Highway 12 for 5 miles (8.0 km). At Akron, Iowa 3 turns east towards Le Mars. At Le Mars, Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 75 and, for 1 mile (1.6 km), is overlapped by U.S. Route 75 Business. Iowa 3 continues east towards Remsen and Marcus meeting Iowa Highway 140 and Iowa Highway 143 in each respective town. At Cherokee, Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 59 and skirts the northeastern edge of town. East of Cherokee, Iowa 3 formerly intersected the unsigned Iowa Highway 977, which served as a shortcut to southbound US 59 for westbound Iowa 3 traffic. North of Aurelia, Iowa 3 meets Iowa Highway 7. Northeast of Truesdale, Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 71. 25 miles (40 km) east of Truesdale, Iowa 3 intersects Iowa Highway 4 in Pocahontas. Between Pocahontas and Gilmore City, Iowa 3 meets Iowa Highway 15. Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 169 in Humboldt.[2]

East of Humboldt, Iowa Highway 3 is overlapped for 3 miles (4.8 km) by Iowa Highway 17 near Goldfield. Iowa 3 overlaps U.S. Route 69 for 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Clarion. Near Latimer and Coulter, Iowa 3 meets Interstate 35 at a diamond interchange. 10 miles (16 km) east of the I-35 interchange, Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 65 in Hampton. At Allison, Iowa 3 is briefly overlapped by Iowa Highway 14. Iowa 3 meets Iowa Highway 188 south of Clarksville. West of Waverly, Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 218 / Iowa Highway 27, the Avenue of the Saints, at an interchange. For 1 mile (1.6 km), Iowa 3 is overlapped by U.S. Route 218 Business before US 218 Bus. turns south as the unsigned Iowa Highway 116. 7 miles (11 km) to the east, Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 63. At Oelwein, Iowa 3 overlaps Iowa Highway 150 for 3 miles (4.8 km) before continuing east towards Iowa Highway 187. From Strawberry Point to near Edgewood, Iowa 3 overlaps Iowa Highway 13.[2]

East of Edgewood, Iowa Higwhay 3 enters the Driftless Area, where the terrain changes markedly from gently rolling farmland to steep bluffs. Iowa 3 meets Iowa Highway 38 on the edge of the Driftless Area. At Luxemburg, Iowa 3 meets U.S. Route 52, with which Iowa 3 continues for the rest of its length, and Iowa Highway 136. The next 22 miles (35 km), from Luxemburg to Sageville, are particularly curvy because the routes enter completely into the Driftless Area. At Sageville, US 52 / Iowa 3 meet Iowa Highway 32, Dubuque's Northwest Arterial. US 52 / Iowa 3 enter Dubuque along Central Avenue, which becomes a one-way street paired with White Street near downtown. US 52 and Iowa 3 turn onto another pair of one-way streets, East 9th Street and East 11th Street for a few blocks before meeting U.S. Route 61 / U.S. Route 151. US 52 continues south with US 61 / US 151, while Iowa 3 ends at this interchange.[2]

History

This is the second state highway to be designated Iowa Highway 3. The first Iowa Highway 3 existed from 1920 to 1941, and was an east–west route across the southern part of Iowa, beginning at Fort Madison and ending at the western border of Iowa near Nebraska City, Nebraska. The current Iowa Highway 3 route was designated in 1945.

Originally extending from Iowa Highway 12 in Akron to Dubuque, Iowa 3 was co-signed with Iowa Highway 5 from Akron to near Aurelia.[3] In 1949, Iowa 3 was extended along Iowa 12 from Akron to its current western end at the Big Sioux River.[4]

Prior to the building of a four lane U.S. Route 61 / U.S. Route 151, the eastern terminus of Iowa Highway 3 was at the intersection of Bluff Street and U.S. Route 20, Dodge Street.

Major intersections

County Location Mile[1] Destinations Notes
Union
    SD 50 west Continuation into South Dakota
Big Sioux River
0.000 IowaSouth Dakota state line
Plymouth
Westfield Township 1.476 Iowa 12 south (Portland Street) West end of Iowa 12 overlap
Akron 6.211 Iowa 12 north (Loess Hills Scenic Byway) East end of Iowa 12 overlap
America Township 26.164
US 75 / US 75 Bus.
West end of US 75 Bus. overlap.
Le Mars 27.617
US 75 Bus. (5th Avenue West)
East end of US 75 Bus. overlap.
Remsen 38.985 Iowa 140 south / CR L14 north
Cherokee
Marcus 47.009 Iowa 143 north (Ames Avenue) / CR L36 south (D Avenue)
Cherokee Township 60.432 US 59 (2nd Street)
Afton Township 66.477 Iowa 7 east
Buena Vista
ScottLincoln
township line
81.506 US 71
Pocahontas
Pocahontas 106.203 Iowa 4 (West 7th Street)
Garfield–Lake
township line
113.202 Iowa 15 north / CR N65 south
Humboldt
Humboldt 129.201 US 169 (13th Street)
HumboldtWright
county line
Lake–Liberty
township line
142.211 Iowa 17 north West end of Iowa 17 overlap
Wright
Goldfield 145.068 Iowa 17 south (Locust Street) East end of Iowa 17 overlap
Grant–Lincoln
township line
159.222 US 69 south West end of US 69 overlap
Grant–Iowa
township line
161.112 US 69 north East end of US 69 overlap
Franklin
Scott Township 172.297 I-35
Hampton 182.290 US 65 (4th Street East)
Butler
Allison 202.526 Iowa 14 north West end of Iowa 14 overlap
203.531 Iowa 14 south East end of Iowa 14 overlap
Butler Township 210.021 Iowa 188 north
Bremer
Washington Township 217.393 US 218 / Iowa 27
Waverly 219.887
US 218 Bus. north (20th Street West)
West end of US 218 Bus. overlap
220.878
US 218 Bus. south (Easton Avenue)
East end of US 218 Bus. overlap
Jefferson Township 228.174 US 63
Fayette
Jefferson Township 249.741 Iowa 150 north West end of Iowa 150 overlap
Oelwein 252.270 Iowa 150 south (1st Avenue East) East end of Iowa 150 overlap
Putnam Township 266.114 Iowa 187
Clayton
Strawberry Point 272.846 Iowa 13 north (Elkader Street) West end of Iowa 13 overlap
ClaytonDubuque
county line
LodomilloHoney Creek
township line
277.588 Iowa 13 south East end of Iowa 13 overlap
Delaware
Elk Township 284.178 Iowa 38 south
Dubuque
Luxemburg 300.420 US 52 north / Iowa 136 south (Andre Street) West end of US 52 overlap
Dubuque 323.102 Iowa 32 south (Northwest Arterial)
326.163 US 52 south / US 61 / US 151 Eastern terminus; east end of US 52 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
     Concurrency terminus     Closed/Former     Incomplete access     Unopened

References

  1. ^ a b "2010 Volume of Traffic on the Primary Road System of Iowa" (PDF). Iowa Department of Transportation. January 1, 2010. http://www.iowadotmaps.com/trafbook/trafbook2010.pdf. Retrieved January 10, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c Iowa Department of Transportation (1 March 2009). Transportation Map (Map). 1:570,240 (2009 ed.). 
  3. ^ Rand McNally & Company (1947). Road and Reference Atlas (Map). 1:1,077,120 (1947 ed.). pp. 42–43. 
  4. ^ Hancock, Jason (2009-08-30). "Iowa Highways: 1 to 9". The Iowa Highways Page. http://iowahighways.home.mchsi.com/highways/iowa1-9.html#3a. Retrieved 6 December 2009.