Iowa Highway 8 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 in east central

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 ...

. Highway 8 is a short state highway in Iowa, at only long. Iowa 8 begins at an intersection with

U.S. Highway 63 U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south United States Highway primarily in the Midwestern and Southern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 (I-20) in Ruston, Louisiana; the northern terminus is at US ...

in Traer and ends at an intersection with

U.S. Highway 218 U.S. Highway 218 (US 218) is an original United States Highway that was created in 1926. Although technically a spur of U.S. Route 18, US 18, US 218 neither begins nor ends at US 18, but overlaps US 18 for near Charles C ...

northwest of

Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

. The route has largely remained the same since its designation.

Route description

Iowa 8 begins in downtown Traer at an intersection with US 63. As it exits the small community, it turns to the southeast and then again to the east, forming a long S curve. Through Tama County, the highway travels over a plain with farmland on either side of the road. west of Dysart, the road is intersected by Iowa 21, which joins Iowa 8 from the north. For the next , the two highways run together until they reach the eastern limits of Dysart, which is also the Tama–Benton county line. Now in Benton County, the Iowa 8 continues due east. The final of the route are much hillier than the preceding . The highway ends at the midpoint of a 90-degree turn along

US 218 U.S. Highway 218 (US 218) is an original United States Highway that was created in 1926. Although technically a spur of US 18, US 218 neither begins nor ends at US 18, but overlaps US 18 for near Charles City, Iowa. US ...

northwest of

History

Prior to becoming a primary highway, Iowa 8's route was a part of the Diagonal Trail, which connected Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Danville, Illinois. Through Iowa, it passed through

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality * Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...

Iowa Falls Iowa Falls is a city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. Iowa Falls is the home of Ellsworth Community College. It is also a regional transportation center, located along U.S. Routes 20 and 65 and the Canadian National and Union Pacific Rai ...

, Spencer, and Spirit Lake. The Diagonal Trail was registered with the

Iowa State Highway Commission The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is the government organization in the U.S. state of Iowa responsible for the organization, construction, and maintenance of the primary highway system. Located in Ames, Iowa, DOT is also responsi ...

on December 4, 1918. When the primary highway system was created, a portion of the Diagonal Trail was assigned Primary Road No. 58. This portion of Primary Road No. 58 (which was truncated) was renumbered Iowa 8 in the

1926 Iowa highway renumbering In late 1925, the Iowa State Highway Commission, now known as the Iowa Department of Transportation, announced plans to renumber several state highways. The changes to the highway system were a result of the creation of the United States Numbered ...

. Since its designation, the route mostly has remained unchanged. Two sharp curves east of Traer were eliminated for a straighter route with one more-gradual curve.

Major intersections

References

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008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...