Iowa Highway 48

Iowa Highway 48
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length: 47.919 mi[1] (77.118 km)
Major junctions
South end: US 59 at Shenandoah
  US 34 at Red Oak
North end: US 6 near Lewis
Location
Counties: Page, Montgomery, Cass
Highway system

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

← Iowa 44 Iowa 51 →

Iowa Highway 48 is a 48-mile (77 km) long state highway which runs from north to south in southwest Iowa. It begins at the northern edge of Shenandoah at U.S. Route 59 and ends at U.S. Route 6 near Lewis. The highway has seen few changes since its creation.

Contents

Route description

Iowa Highway 48 begins in Shenandoah at an intersection with U.S. Route 59 (US 59), which serves as the line separating Fremont County and Page County. It heads east for one mile (1.6 km) before turning to the northeast to become parallel to a line of the BNSF Railway.[2] It travels northeast for 6 miles (9.7 km) and turns east shortly after passing through Essex. Three miles (4.8 km) east of Essex, Iowa 48 turns north at an intersection with Page County Road J20 (CR J20).[1]

From CR J20, Iowa 48 heads due north for 12+1⁄2 miles (20 km) to the intersection with US 34 in Red Oak. From Red Oak, Iowa 48 continues due north for 8 miles (13 km) until it turns east to cross the East Nishnabotna River and pass through Elliott before turning back to the north.[3] It then travels north for 6 miles to Griswold, where it intersects Iowa 92. Iowa 48 continues north for 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km), again crossing the East Nishnabotna, until its northern end at U.S. Route 6 west of Lewis.[1]

History

Originally, Iowa Highway 48 was a short highway connecting Shenandoah and Red Oak, roughly along the path the route takes today.[4] By 1952, the route was in its present location and ended at US 6 west of Lewis. Only the original section had been paved at this time.[5] By 1976, the entire highway was paved.[6]

Major intersections

County Location Mile[1] Destinations Notes
Page
 Shenandoah 0.000 US 59  
Montgomery
 Red Oak 23.155 US 34  
Cass
 Griswold 42.172 Iowa 92 (Main Street)  
Lewis 47.919 US 6  
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b c d "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 December 4, 2010. 
  2. ^ Iowa Department of Transportation (July 1, 2008). Iowa State Railroad Map (Map). http://www.iowadotmaps.com/msp/pdf/Rail_Base.pdf. Retrieved December 5, 2010. 
  3. ^ Iowa Department of Transportation (2010). Transportation Map (Map). http://www.iowadotmaps.com/msp/pdf/current/stmapmain.pdf. Retrieved December 5, 2010. 
  4. ^ Rand McNally & Company (1926). Junior Road Map: Western Iowa (Map). http://www.broermapsonline.org/members/NorthAmerica/UnitedStates/NorthCentral/Iowa/unitedstates1926ra_044.html. Retrieved December 5, 2010. 
  5. ^ Iowa State Highway Commission (1952). Iowa State Highway Map (Map). http://www.iowadotmaps.com/msp/historical/pdf/1952_front.pdf. Retrieved December 5, 2010. 
  6. ^ Iowa Department of Transportation (1976). Iowa State Highway Map (Map). http://www.iowadotmaps.com/msp/historical/pdf/1976_front.pdf. Retrieved December 5, 2010.