Iowa Highway 76

Iowa Highway 76
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length:	48.911 mi[1] (78.715 km)
Existed:	1969 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 18 / US 18 Bus. west of McGregor
	US 18 / US 18 Bus. at Marquette Iowa 9 at Waukon
North end:	MN 76 at Eitzen, MN
Location
Counties:	Clayton, Allamakee
Highway system
Iowa Primary Highway System Interstates U.S. Highways State Highways ← US 75 US 77 →

Iowa Highway 76 (Iowa 76) is a state highway located in northeastern Iowa, most of which is in Allamakee County. The 49-mile-long (79 km) highway connects McGregor to Eitzen, Minnesota via Waukon. It begins in McGregor at an intersection with U.S. Route 18; the first 4 ¹⁄₄ miles (6.8 km) of the route are signed as U.S. Route 18 Business (US 18 Bus.). It crosses into Minnesota near Eitzen and continues as Trunk Highway 76.

Route description

Iowa Highway 76 begins as U.S. Route 18 Business at U.S. Route 18 west of McGregor. The route descends into the Mississippi River valley along the northern border of Pikes Peak State Park and then turns into McGregor. Through McGregor, US 18 Bus. heads to the northeast towards the Mississippi River. Along the river, the highway is parallel to the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E Railroad). For one mile (1.6 km), US 18 Bus. travels a narrow strip of land between the river and the bluffs where it passes the Isle of Capri casino.^[1]

Iowa 76, as U.S. Route 18 Business, through McGregor

At Marquette, US 18 Bus. ends at the foot of the Marquette–Joliet Bridge, which carries US 18 to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. At US 18, Iowa 76 appears for the first time and continues to the north. Between Marquette and the mouth of the Yellow River, Iowa 76 runs parallel to the DM&E Railroad along the western bank of the Mississippi River. It turns inland near Effigy Mounds National Monument, turning to the northwest towards Waukon. It passes near the Yellow River State Forest and through the unincorporated community of Rossville.^[2]

South of Waukon, Iowa 76 intersects Iowa 9. Eastbound Iowa 9 and northbound Iowa 76 head north together for two miles (3.2 km). At Main Street, the two highways split; Iowa 9 continues north while Iowa 76 heads west for a few blocks before turning north itself. From the western edge of Waukon, it travels north into the rolling hills of the Driftless Area, an area of the Midwestern United States which was untouched by glaciation in the last Ice Age. The highway descends into the Upper Iowa River valley where it crosses the Upper Iowa and its tributaries, Bear Creek and Waterloo Creek. Iowa 76 follows Waterloo Creek for 2 ¹⁄₂ miles (4.0 km) until they near the unincorporated community of Dorchester. From Dorchester, the highway curves to the east and north, traveling 6 miles (9.7 km) to the Minnesota state line south of Eitzen.^[1]

History

Iowa Highway 76 was created in 1969 from a segment of Iowa Highway 13 from Marquette to Minnesota. Iowa 13's northernmost 55 miles (89 km) were truncated at a point 8 miles (13 km) west of McGregor at its intersection with U.S. Route 52. Iowa 13 overlapped US 52 and US 18 for 11 miles (18 km); the remaining 44 miles (71 km) became Iowa 76.^[3]

In 1989, Iowa 76 was extended 4 ¹⁄₄ miles (6.8 km) to the south when a new bypass around McGregor was opened. US 18 was moved onto the bypass and the old road became Iowa 76, but was marked as U.S. Route 18 Business.^[4] The only proof of Iowa 76 along US 18 Bus. are small Iowa 76 route markers above the mile markers.^[5]

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Clayton	McGregor	0.000	0.000	US 18 / US 18 Bus.	South end of US 18 Bus.
		2.223	3.578	CR X56 (7th Street) / Great River Road south	Former IA 340 south
	Marquette	4.149	6.677	To US 18 / US 18 Bus.	North end of US 18 Bus. Signed south end of IA 76.
Allamakee	Fairview Township	10.716	17.246	CR X52 / Great River Road north	Former IA 364 north
	Waukon	27.250	43.855	Iowa 9 west
		29.255	47.081	Iowa 9 east (Allamakee Street) / CR A52 (East Main Street)
	Eitzen	48.911	78.715	MN 76
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References