U.S. Route 59 in Iowa

U.S. Highway 59 (US 59) is a United States Highway that transverses the western third of Iowa. It begins at the Missouri state line southwest of Northboro and travels north in a zigzag pattern through Shenandoah, Avoca, Denison, and Cherokee. It ends at the Minnesota state line east of Bigelow, Minnesota. The highway was designated in 1934, though a concerted effort of community officials along today's route sought to bring a U.S. Highway to their cities for several years prior to US 59's creation.

U.S. Highway 59 marker

U.S. Highway 59

US 59 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length215.191 mi[1] (346.316 km)
Existed1934 (1934)–present
Major junctions
South end US 59 near Northboro
Major intersections
North end US 59 near Bigelow, Minn.
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIowa
Counties
Highway system
Iowa 58 Iowa 60

Route description

US 59 enters the state in southeastern Fremont County in southwest Iowa. It heads north for about ten miles (16 km) when it eases to the east and aligns with the Fremont–Page county line. Along that line, the highway enters Shenandoah where it meets Iowa 2 on the southern end of the town and Iowa 48 on the northern end. The road continues north along the county boundary, only ducking back into Fremont County shortly before entering Mills County. The highway heads due north until it reaches Emerson. There, the highway bears slightly to the west and crosses US 34. There is a one-quadrant interchange that joins US 59 and US 34 as the two routes do not meet directly.[2][3]

The highway continues north on a straight line to Carson. There, there is a similar interchange with Iowa 92 as there was with US 34, except that these two routes are connected by a two-quadrant interchange. As the road approaches Oakland from the south, it is joined by US 6 from the west. The two routes run together into Oakland and then split as they exit the town's northeast side. The highway roughly follows the course of the West Nishnabotna River from there to Hancock. The highway has a short jog to the east and then returns to its northern course and into Avoca. In Avoca, the highway meets Iowa 83, which heads east toward Walnut and Atlantic. Prior to 2003, Iowa 83 continued west to Minden, but that roadway is now known as County Road G18 (CR G18). On the northern end of town, there is an interchange with I-80.[2][3]

Buildings and structures around Ida Grove have a castle motif

North of I-80, US 59 enters Shelby County and into Harlan. It meets Iowa 44 there on the western side of the city. Continuing north, it meets Iowa 37 a few miles east of Earling. After curving around Defiance, the road enters Crawford County and then meets Iowa 141 from the east. The two routes head north for about seven miles (11 km) until they reach Denison. There, the two routes are overlapped by US 30 for about one-half mile (800 m). Near the Boyer River, Iowa 39 intersects the two highways. Just beyond the city limits of Denison, Iowa 141 splits off to the west as US 59 remains on a northwestern vector.[2][3]

South of Schleswig, the highway straightens out to the north and stays in that direction until it reaches Iowa 175 east of Ida Grove. As the highways enter Ida Grove, there is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) manmade lake featuring a half-scale replica of HMS Bounty. The ship was commissioned by Ida Grove resident Byron Godbersen (1925–2003), who owned a manufacturing business in Ida Grove. Godbersen also built a few buildings and structures in a castle motif in order to stoke pride in the community.[4] US 59 splits away from Iowa 175 on the outskirts of Ida Grove and heads north to US 20 near Holstein. The two roads overlap each other for about a mile before US 59 turns to the north once again.[2][3]

North of Holstein, the highway continues north, intersecting Iowa 31 roughly at the midway point between US 20 and Cherokee. Just after crossing the Little Sioux River in downtown Cherokee, US 59 meets Main Street. Prior to 2003, Main Street east of US 59 was an unsigned highway that connected to Iowa 3 east of the city. On the northern edge of Cherokee lies a direct intersection with Iowa 3. North of Cherokee, the road winds until it reaches Larrabee, but then it straightens out again. Near Sutherland, the highway meets Iowa 10, which joins from the east. US 59 turns west onto Iowa 10; shortly thereafter, the roadway turns to the north and Iowa 10 splits off to the west. US 59 continues north through Primghar and on to US 18 at Sanborn. After a brief overlap of US 18, US 59 heads due north on a straight line for all but the last mile of its time in the state. It enters Osceola County near Melvin and intersects Iowa 9 just north of Allendorf. Just before the Minnesota state line, the roadway curves to the west slightly due to line up with section lines in Minnesota.[3] US 59 enters Minnesota about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of where Iowa 60 crosses the state line. The two roads join up and continue north to Worthington, Minnesota.[2]

History

In 1985, the Iowa Department of Transportation catalogued named auto trails and published a map showing the paths of the most famous trails in the state. The vast majority of the current or historical routing of US 59 was not utilized by an auto trail.[5] In 1919, the Iowa General Assembly passed a bill that created a fund for improving and hard-surfacing nearly 6,300 miles (10,100 km) of primary roads in the state. The primary road system was to connect every city and town with at least 1000 inhabitants.[6] The bill gave Iowa's 99 counties the responsibility for maintaining the roads, which had previously fallen upon road associations that sponsored their respective highways.[7] The new primary roads were assigned route numbers, a trend seen in other Midwestern states. Route numbers were painted onto telegraph and telephone poles in order to guide travelers without the need for maps.[8]

Until the creation of Iowa Highway 73 in 1934, there was no one route that corresponded to US 59 today. Prior to that highway, the roadway was signed Iowa 4 from Hastings to Denison and then Iowa 21 north of Denison. Primary Road No. 4, which originally extended from the Missouri state line to Minnesota, had its northern end truncated at US 20 between Schaller and Early upon creation of the U.S. Highway System in 1926. US 71 followed the path of No. 4 from Early to Minnesota. Upon the creation of US 275 in 1931, the southern end of Iowa 4 was shifted east about 15 miles (24 km). The new routing absorbed part of Iowa 48 from the Missouri state line to Shenandoah. Iowa 73 itself was created as a result of efforts of communities along the route banding together to create the Highway 73 Commission, which promoted the idea to get U.S. Highway 73 routed through their communities. In 1931, the northern end of US 73 was at Nebraska City, Nebraska. The Highway 73 Commission sought to have US 73 routed across the Missouri River into Iowa, east to Sidney, and then north through Iowa, ultimately ending at Lake of the Woods on the Canada–United States border.[9]

In early 1934, in order to attract the attention of the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) who would decide the routing of US 73, the Iowa State Highway Commission and the Minnesota Department of Highways jointly designated the path they desired to be named US 73 as Highway 73 in each state.[lower-alpha 1] The number 73 was chosen because it fit the U.S. Highway numbering grid by lying between US 71 and US 75. There was already a Iowa 73 in east-central Iowa; that route was renumbered Iowa 212. Iowa 4 from Missouri to Denison and all of Iowa 21 became the new Iowa 73.[12][13] At an AASHO meeting in November 1934, officials approved a new U.S. Highway along the Highway 73 corridor, though not with that number.[14] An extension of US 73 was approved, but on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River north to Sioux City. In Kansas, there were two suffixed branches of US 73, US 73E and US 73W. These branches were replaced by US 69 and US 59, respectively. US 59 was chosen to be routed along the Highway 73 corridor through Iowa and to Lake of the Woods.[15]

Though the Iowa State Highway Commission had declared Iowa to be "out of the mud,"[16] when US 59 was designated, it was mostly a gravel road. Only 55 of 230 miles (89 of 370 km), mostly between Avoca and Denison, were paved and 21 miles (34 km) between Shenandoah and Emerson was an unimproved dirt road.[17] Paving was completed in piecemeal fashion and finally completed in 1960.[18][19] The only major change to the route in recent years occurred in 1971 when a 15-mile (24 km) section between Harlan and Defiance was shifted west by one mile (1.6 km).[20]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
FremontLocust Grove Township0.0000.000
US 59 south Tarkio
Continuation into Missouri
1.1701.883 CR J64 Northboro, Hamburg, College SpringsFormer Iowa 333
FremontPage
county line
Shenandoah11.20418.031 Iowa 2 Sidney, Clarinda
13.21121.261
Iowa 48 north
MonroePierce
township line
20.007–
20.267
32.198–
32.617
CR J18 ImogeneFormer Iowa 184
Fremont
No major junctions
MillsIndian Creek Township31.34750.448
To US 34 Red Oak, Glenwood
One-quadrant interchange
Anderson Township39.32363.284 CR H12 HendersonFormer Iowa 244
PottawattamieMacedonia Township42.54768.473 CR G66 MacedoniaFormer Iowa 362
Carson Township45.29472.894 Iowa 92 Carson, GriswoldTwo-quadrant interchange
Belknap Township49.18379.152
US 6 west Council Bluffs
Southern end of US 6 overlap
Oakland51.59083.026
US 6 east Atlantic
Northern end of US 6 overlap
Avoca64.075103.119

Iowa 83 east / CR G18 west Walnut, Minden
65.542105.480 I-80 Council Bluffs, Des Moines
ShelbyHarlan75.842122.056 Iowa 44 Harlan, Portsmouth
WestphaliaUnion
township line
84.928136.678
Iowa 37 west Earling, Dunlap
CrawfordWashington Township93.992151.265
Iowa 141 east Manilla, Manning
Southern end of Iowa 141 overlap
Denison101.139162.767
US 30 west Dunlap
Southern end of US 30 overlap
101.617163.537
US 30 east Carroll
Northern end of US 30 overlap
102.231164.525
Iowa 39 north Odebolt
DenisonGoodrich
township line
104.225167.734
Iowa 141 west Charter Oak
Northern end of Iowa 141 overlap
IdaCorwinBlaine
township line
125.321201.685
Iowa 175 east Odebolt
Southern end of Iowa 175 overlap
Corwin Township128.973207.562
Iowa 175 west Battle Creek
Northern end of Iowa 175 overlap
LoganGriggs
township line
137.839221.830
US 20 east Sac City
Southern end of US 20 overlap
Holstein139.206224.030
US 20 west Moville
Northern end of US 20 overlap
CherokeeSilver Township150.335241.941
Iowa 31 south Quimby
Cherokee158.337254.819Main StreetFormer Iowa 977
159.904257.341 Iowa 3 Marcus, Pocahontas
O'BrienLiberty Township172.062276.907 CR B60 CalumetFormer Iowa 388
173.563279.323
Iowa 10 east Sutherland
Southern end of Iowa 10 overlap
UnionLiberty
township line
178.437287.167
Iowa 10 west Paullina
Northern end of Iowa 10 overlap
FranklinLincoln
township line
192.444309.709
US 18 east Spencer
Southern end of US 18 overlap
Sanborn193.440311.312
US 18 west Sanborn
Northern end of US 18 overlap
OsceolaGoewey Township200.444322.583 CR A48 MelvinFormer Iowa 313
East HolmanWilson
township line
210.472338.722 Iowa 9 Ocheyedan, Little Rock
Wilson Township215.191346.316
US 59 north Worthington
Continuation into Minnesota
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Notes

  1. Comparison of 1933 and 1934 state highway maps in Minnesota and Iowa.[10][11][12][13]

References

  1. "Road Network (Portal)" (ESRI shapefile). Ames: Iowa Department of Transportation. April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  2. Google (November 9, 2020). "U.S. Highway 59 in Iowa" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  3. Iowa Department of Transportation (January 1, 2020). Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Approx. 1:570,240. Cartography by Iowa Department of Transportation. Ames. §§ C2–D8. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  4. "Castles – Ida Grove". idagroveia.com. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  5. Iowa Department of Transportation (1986). Iowa Registered Highway Routes 1914–1925 (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  6. "Iowa's new road law provides pay-as-you-go plan for improving and hardsurfacing 6,278 miles of highway". Service Bulletin Supplement March–April 1919. Iowa State Highway Commission. VII (3–4): 3. 1919. Retrieved May 15, 2016 via Google Books.
  7. "Iowa Registered Routes". Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  8. "Iowa primary roads to be marked with official standard symbol and number July 12 to 17". Service Bulletin May–June 1920. Iowa State Highway Commission. VIII (5–6): 3. 1920. Retrieved May 15, 2016 via Google Books.
  9. "Cherokee Wants to Be on Highway 73". Sioux County Index. Hull, Iowa. July 31, 1931. p. 2. Retrieved November 10, 2020 via Newspaperarchive.com. open access
  10. 1933 Map of Trunk Highway System (Map). Cartography by McGill–Warner Company. Minnesota Highway Department. April 1, 1933. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  11. 1934 Map of Trunk Highway System (Map). Cartography by McGill–Warner Company. Minnesota Highway Department. May 1, 1934. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  12. Iowa State Highway Commission (January 1934). State of Iowa Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Ames: Iowa State Highway Commission. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  13. Iowa State Highway Commission (August 1934). State of Iowa Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Ames: Iowa State Highway Commission. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  14. "National Road Through Iowa". Sioux City Journal. November 23, 1934. p. 4. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  15. U.S. Route Numbering Committee (1935). "U.S. Route Numbering Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 252. Retrieved November 10, 2020 via Wikimedia Commons.
  16. Iowa State Highway Commission (1931). State of Iowa Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Ames: Iowa State Highway Commission. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  17. Iowa State Highway Commission (1935). State of Iowa Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Ames: Iowa State Highway Commission. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  18. Iowa State Highway Commission (1960). State of Iowa Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Ames: Iowa State Highway Commission. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  19. Iowa State Highway Commission (1961). State of Iowa Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Ames: Iowa State Highway Commission. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  20. U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee (June 21, 1971). "U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 8. Retrieved November 10, 2020 via Wikimedia Commons.
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