Iowa Highway 16 (Iowa 16) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

running from west to east in southeastern

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 ...

. The highway has a length of . The western terminus of Iowa Highway 16 is at an intersection with

U.S. Highway 34 U.S. Route 34 (US 34) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from north-central Colorado to the western suburbs of Chicago. Through Rocky Mountain National Park it is known as the Trail Ridge Road where it reaches elevation ...

(US 34) between

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and

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

. The eastern terminus is located at Wever at an intersection with US 61.

Route description

Iowa 16 begins at an interchange with US 34 east of

Wapello County Wapello County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,437. The county seat is Ottumwa. The county was formed on February 17, 1843, and named for Wapello, a Meskwaki chief. Wapello County ...

. It heads south along a two-lane road where it passes the campus of Cardinal School District. The highway jogs to the east and then back to the south before it arrives in Eldon. Upon entering Eldon, the road turns to the southeast in order to follow the course of the

Des Moines River The Des Moines River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately long from its farther headwaters.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Na ...

; the roadway runs roughly parallel to the river until

Selma Selma may refer to: Places * Selma, Algeria *Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada *Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons United States: *Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches *Selma, Arkansas *Selma, Cal ...

. On the east side of Eldon, tourists are directed to the

American Gothic House The ''American Gothic'' House, also known as the Dibble House, is a house in Eldon, Iowa, designed in the Carpenter Gothic style with a distinctive upper window.painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

by Iowa artist

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891 February 12, 1942) was an American painter and representative of Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for '' American Gothic'' (193 ...

. Southeast of Eldon, the road clips the northeastern corner of

Davis County Davis County is or was the name of the following counties in the United States: *Davis County, Iowa, named in honor of Garrett Davis, a Congressman from Kentucky *Davis County, Utah, named for Daniel C. Davis, captain in the Mormon Battalion *Cass ...

as it runs through the river's floodplain to Selma. Now in Van Buren County, it passes a quarry and then turns to the east. The highway meets Iowa 98 north of Douds. The road goes through a series of curves that take it further south until it straightens out near the northern intersection with

Iowa 1 Iowa Highway 1 (Iowa 1) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Iowa that extends from Keosauqua to Anamosa. It travels nearly , mainly through rich farmland and small communities. Iowa 1 provides an important link to Iowa City and ...

. The two highways briefly

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between

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and Keosauqua; Iowa 16 turns off of Iowa 1 to continue east. Once it enters Lee County, the highway takes a sharp curve to the south and then another sharp curve to the east. It runs due east through

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and then meets the four-lane US 218 /

Iowa 27 The Avenue of the Saints is a highway in the Midwestern United States that connects St. Louis, Missouri and St. Paul, Minnesota. Route description Missouri The southern end of the Avenue of the Saints is at exit 28A of Interstate 64 (I‑64) ...

, the Avenue of the Saints highway, at an at-grade intersection. The road continues its general east-and-south path through

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. The highway ends at an intersection with US 61 between Wever and the

Skunk River The Skunk River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. Geography The Skunk River rises in two branches, the South Skunk ( long) and the North Skunk ( long).U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography ...

History

The current version of Iowa Highway 16 is the second occurrence of the route number in the state; the route number first occurred on a highway that was decommissioned in 1930 and ran between the Minnesota and Missouri state lines.

Major intersections

References

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