Iowa Highway 3 (Iowa 3) is a state

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

that runs from east to west across the state of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. It is the longest state highway in Iowa, at long. Iowa 3 begins at the

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

state line where it continues as

South Dakota Highway 50 South Dakota Highway 50 (SD 50) is a state route serving south central and southeast South Dakota. The current alignment begins at the junction of South Dakota Highway 34 at "Lee's Corner" east of Fort Thompson, and ends at the Iowa border near ...

and ends at the Northwest Arterial at the

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

city limits. It is designated the American Veterans Memorial Highway for its entirety. It is located approximately halfway between

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

and Interstate 90.

Route description

Iowa 3 runs for across the northern third of the state, roughly midway between U.S. Route 18 in Iowa, US 18 to the north and U.S. Route 20 in Iowa, US 20 to the south. All of Iowa 3 east of Le Mars, Iowa, Le Mars has been listed on the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. Iowa 3 begins at the Big Sioux River where it continues west into

. Shortly after entering Iowa, the highway intersects Iowa Highway 12, Iowa 12. Iowa 3 traffic turns north onto Iowa 12 and the two highways concurrency (road), travel together toward Akron, Iowa, Akron. There, the two highways split as Iowa 3 heads east toward Le Mars, Iowa, Le Mars where it meets U.S. Route 75 in Iowa, U.S. Highway 75 (US 75) and U.S. Route 75 Business (Le Mars, Iowa), its business route. The highway continues east toward Remsen, Iowa, Remsen and Marcus, Iowa, Marcus where it meets Iowa Highway 140, Iowa 140 and Iowa Highway 143, Iowa 143 in each respective town. At Cherokee, Iowa, Cherokee, the highway intersects U.S. Route 59 in Iowa, US 59 and skirts the northeastern edge of town. North of Aurelia, Iowa, Aurelia, Iowa 3 meets Iowa Highway 7, Iowa 7. Northeast of Truesdale, Iowa, Truesdale, Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 71 in Iowa, US 71. Iowa Highway 3 east of Humboldt

Continuing east, Iowa 3 intersects Iowa Highway 4, Iowa 4 in Pocahontas, Iowa, Pocahontas. Between Pocahontas and Gilmore City, Iowa, Gilmore City, Iowa 3 meets Iowa Highway 15, Iowa 15. Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 169 in Iowa, US 169 in Humboldt, Iowa, Humboldt. East of Humboldt, Iowa 3 is overlapped briefly by Iowa Highway 17, Iowa 17 near Goldfield, Iowa, Goldfield. Iowa 3 overlaps U.S. Route 69 in Iowa, US 69 east of Clarion, Iowa, Clarion. Between Latimer, Iowa, Latimer and Coulter, Iowa, Coulter, Iowa 3 meets Interstate 35 in Iowa, I-35 at a diamond interchange. East of that interchange in Hampton, Iowa, Hampton, Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 65 in Iowa, US 65. At Allison, Iowa, Allison, Iowa 3 is briefly overlapped by Iowa Highway 14, Iowa 14. Iowa 3 meets Iowa Highway 188, Iowa 188 south of Clarksville, Iowa, Clarksville. Waverly iowa

West of Waverly, Iowa, Waverly, Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 218, US 218 / Iowa Highway 27, Iowa 27, the Avenue of the Saints highway, at an interchange. Through Waverly, Iowa 3 is overlapped by U.S. Route 218 Business (Waverly, Iowa), US 218 Business before that route turns south to rejoin US 218. Just north of Denver, Iowa, Denver, Iowa 3 intersects U.S. Route 63 in Iowa, US 63 at a diamond interchange. At Oelwein, Iowa, Oelwein, Iowa 3 overlaps Iowa Highway 150, Iowa 150 before continuing east towards Iowa Highway 187, Iowa 187. From Strawberry Point, Iowa, Strawberry Point to near Edgewood, Iowa, Edgewood, Iowa 3 overlaps Iowa Highway 13, Iowa 13. East of Edgewood, Iowa 3 enters the Driftless Area, where the terrain changes markedly from gently rolling farmland to steep bluffs; the intersection with Iowa 38 is located on the edge of the Driftless Area. At Luxemburg, Iowa, Luxemburg, Iowa 3 meets U.S. Route 52 in Iowa, US 52 and Iowa Highway 136, Iowa 136. The next , from Luxemburg to Sageville, Iowa, Sageville, are particularly curvy because of the terrain. At the city limits between Sageville and

, Iowa 3 ends at the Northwest Arterial, which carried Iowa 32 prior to 2020.

History

;Original Iowa 3 :Now known as Iowa Highway 2; that road was renumbered in 1939 ;Current Iowa 3 (as routed in 1920) :Iowa Primary Road No. 12, No. 12 – Westfield to Akron :Iowa Primary Road No. 27, No. 27 – Akron to Le Mars :Iowa Primary Road No. 5, No. 5 – Le Mars to near Aurelia :Gap between Aurelia and Pocahontas :Iowa Primary Road No. 10, No. 10 – Pocahontas to Strawberry Point :Iowa Primary Road No. 13, No. 13 – Strawberry Point to near Edgewood :Gap between Edgewood and Luxemburg :Iowa Primary Road No. 20, No. 20 – Luxemburg to Dubuque ;Designated Iowa 3 on May 15, 1945 :Extended to SD 50 in 1949 :Overlapped by Iowa 5 until 1969 :Rerouted through Dubuque due to reconstruction of US 61/US 151 ;Dubuque changes :SW Arterial constructed :US 52 rerouted :Iowa 3 ends at NW Arterial This is the second state highway to be designated Iowa 3. The first Iowa Highway 3 (1920–1941), Iowa 3 existed from 1920 to 1941, and was an east–west route across the southern part of Iowa, beginning at Fort Madison, Iowa, Fort Madison and ending at the western border of Iowa near Nebraska City, Nebraska. The current Iowa 3 route was designated in 1945. Originally extending from Iowa Highway 12, Iowa 12 in Akron, Iowa, Akron to Dubuque, Iowa 3 was co-signed with Iowa Highway 5 (former), Iowa 5 from Akron to near Aurelia, Iowa, Aurelia. In 1949, Iowa 3 was extended along Iowa 12 from Akron to its current western end at the Big Sioux River. Prior to the building of a four lane U.S. Route 61 in Iowa, US 61 / U.S. Route 151, US 151, the eastern end of Iowa 3 was at the intersection of Bluff Street and U.S. Route 20, Dodge Street.

Major intersections

References

External links

*{{cite web , last1=Morrison , first1=Jeff , title=End of Iowa 3 , url=http://www.iowahighwayends.net/ends/ia3.html , website=www.iowahighwayends.net State highways in Iowa, 003 Transportation in Dubuque, Iowa Transportation in Franklin County, Iowa