Iowa Highway 51 (Iowa 51) 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-acces ...

that runs from north to south in northeast

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 th ...

. Contained entirely by

Allamakee County 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 is only in length. It begins at U.S. Highway 18 (US 18) and US 52 in

Postville Postville is a village in Allamakee and Clayton counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. It lies near the junction of four counties and at the intersection of U.S. Routes 18 and 52 and Iowa Highway 51, with airport facilities in the neighboring co ...

and ends at

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 ...

near Waukon.

Route description

Iowa 51 begins at the intersection of Tilden and Lawler Streets in

US 18 U.S. Route 18 (US 18) is an east–west U.S. highway in the Midwestern United States. The western terminus is in Orin, Wyoming at an interchange with Interstate 25. Its eastern terminus is in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, US 18 ru ...

and

US 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...

form the southern and western forks of the intersection, Tilden Street continues east, and Iowa 51 begins heading north along Lawler Street through Postville's downtown area. The highway crosses a line of the

Dakota, Minnesota and 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 ...

and leaves Postville heading in an almost directly northward alignment. The only curves along the route come as the highway descends into and then ascends out of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

valley. Between Waukon and Decorah, the route terminates at an intersection with

History

When it was originally designated, Iowa 51 was not a paved highway. The route was fully paved by 1935, with the segment from the

south to Postville being repaved in 1969. Its initial alignment also extended the highway into Waukon, but was shortened to end at an intersection with the old alignment of

Iowa 13 Iowa Highway 13 (Iowa 13) is a north–south highway in eastern Iowa. It has a length of . The southern terminus of Iowa Highway 13 is at U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) south of Bertram and southeast of Cedar Rapids. The northern terminus i ...

(changed 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 ...

in 1969) on December 8, 1924. The highway's alignment again changed in December 1968, when it was truncated to run from Postville to an intersection with Iowa 9, which is the present-day alignment.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML
End of Iowa 51
at Iowa Highway Ends 051 Transportation in Allamakee County, Iowa