Iowa Highway 26 (Iowa 26) 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 ...

that runs from south to north in

Allamakee County, Iowa Allamakee County () is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,061. Its county seat is Waukon. History Allamakee County was formed on February 20, 1847. The derivation of the name is ...

. It begins in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

at an intersection with

Iowa Highway 9 Iowa Highway 9 is the most northern of Iowa's east–west highways, traversing the entire northern tier of counties. It runs from the eastern terminus of South Dakota Highway 42 at the South Dakota border east of Sioux Falls, South Dakota near ...

at the

Black Hawk Bridge __NOTOC__ The Black Hawk Bridge spans the Mississippi River, joining the town of Lansing, in Allamakee County, Iowa, to rural Crawford County, Wisconsin. It is the northernmost Mississippi River bridge in Iowa. Named for Chief Black Hawk, it is p ...

and ends at the Minnesota border at New Albin. It continues into Minnesota as Minnesota State Highway 26 (TH 26). Iowa 26 was created in 1969 in a numbering swap with

Iowa Highway 182 Iowa Highway 182 (Iowa 182) is a state highway in the northwestern corner of Iowa. It begins at U.S. Highway 18 (US 18) in Inwood and ends at Iowa 9 southeast of Larchwood. The highway has been in the primary highway system s ...

. The designation was changed to match TH 26. The highway is the northernmost leg of the

Great River Road The Great River Road is a collection of state and local roads that follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten states of the United States. They are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Miss ...

in Iowa. Most of the highway is designated the Driftless Area Scenic Byway.

Route description

Iowa 26 begins at a

T-intersection A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T ...

with

Iowa 9 Iowa Highway 9 is the most northern of Iowa's east–west highways, traversing the entire northern tier of counties. It runs from the eastern terminus of South Dakota Highway 42 at the South Dakota border east of Sioux Falls, South Dakota near ...

at the foot of the

. As a part of the Drifless Area Scenic Byway and Great River Road, it heads north nestled between the bluffs that tower over the city and homes that line the Mississippi riverfront. After exiting Lansing, the highway draws closer to the river and to the

Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Before its purchase, it was the largest Class II railroad in the United States, operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in ...

. The highway is dotted with houses as it continues north between the river and the bluffs. The bluffs were created during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

when this region of the

midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

was untouched by glaciers. The region is thus called the

Driftless Area The Driftless Area, a topographical and cultural region in the American Midwest, comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois. Never covered by ice during the las ...

, referring to the lack of glacial

drift Drift or Drifts may refer to: Geography * Drift or ford (crossing) of a river * Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States * In Cornwall, England: ** Drift, Cornwall, village ** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village ...

, the material left behind by retreating continental glaciers. south of New Albin, Iowa 26 crosses the

Upper Iowa River The Upper Iowa River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwest of the United States. Its headwaters rise ...

and then intersects County Road A26, which takes the Driftless Area Scenic Byway west to

Iowa 76 Iowa Highway 76 (Iowa 76) is a state highway located in northeastern Iowa, most of which is in Allamakee County. The highway connects McGregor to Eitzen, Minnesota via Waukon. It begins in McGregor at an intersection with U.S. Highway 18; t ...

. Through New Albin, it travels along Railroad Street, referring to the adjacent railroad. Heading northeast, it leaves the city, which is also the state line, crossing into

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

as Trunk Highway 26.

History

Prior to its current designation in 1969, there were two iterations of Iowa Highway 26. The first, Primary Road No. 26, was a short, highway which, in the 1920s, connected Rock Valley to Primary Road No. 19 in northwestern Iowa. The second Iowa 26 was created in the 1930s and served as a connector between U.S. Highway 18 at Inwood and

south of Larchwood. In 1969, the second iteration of Iowa 26 swapped designations with Iowa 182, as to match Minnesota's Trunk Highway 26.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{authority control 026 Transportation in Allamakee County, Iowa 026

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links