Iowa Highway 76 (Iowa 76) 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 ...

located in northeastern Iowa, most of which is in Allamakee County. The highway connects McGregor to

Eitzen, Minnesota Eitzen is a city in Houston County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 243 at the 2010 census. History A post office called Eitzen has been in operation since 1868. A share of the early settlers being natives of Eitzen, Germany, cause ...

via Waukon. It begins in McGregor at an intersection with

U.S. Highway 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 ...

; the first of the route are signed as U.S. Highway 18 Business (US 18 Bus.). It crosses into Minnesota near Eitzen and continues as Trunk Highway 76.

Route description

Iowa Highway 76 begins as U.S. Highway 18 Business at

west of McGregor. The route descends into the Mississippi River valley along the northern border of

Pikes Peak State Park Pikes Peak State Park is a state park of Iowa, US, featuring a bluff overlooking the Upper Mississippi River opposite the confluence of the Wisconsin River. The park is operated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. It is nearly a thousa ...

and then turns into McGregor. Through McGregor, US 18 Bus. heads to the northeast towards the Mississippi River. Along the river, the highway is parallel to the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E Railroad). For one mile (1.6 km), US 18 Bus. travels a narrow strip of land between the river and the bluffs where it passes the

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At Marquette, US 18 Bus. ends at the foot of the

Marquette–Joliet Bridge The Marquette–Joliet Bridge is a bridge crossing the Mississippi River, connecting Marquette, Iowa and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Local residents refer to the bridge as the Prairie Bridge or the Marquette Bridge; both terms are used equally. ...

, which carries US 18 to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. At US 18, Iowa 76 appears for the first time and continues to the north. Between Marquette and the mouth of the Yellow River, Iowa 76 runs parallel to the DM&E Railroad along the western bank of the Mississippi River. It turns inland near

Effigy Mounds National Monument Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves more than 200 prehistoric mounds built by pre-Columbian Mound Builder cultures, mostly in the first millennium CE, during the later part of the Woodland period of pre-Columbian North America. Numerous ...

, turning to the northwest towards Waukon. It passes near the

Yellow River State Forest Yellow River State Forest, (YRSF), is mostly forested land owned by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. It is located in the southeastern corner of Allamakee County, the most northeasterly of Iowa's counties. It is adjacent to the Upper M ...

and through the unincorporated community of Rossville. South of Waukon, Iowa 76 intersects Iowa 9. Eastbound Iowa 9 and northbound Iowa 76 head north together for two miles (3.2 km). At Main Street, the two highways split; Iowa 9 continues north while Iowa 76 heads west for a few blocks before turning north itself. From the western edge of Waukon, it travels north into the rolling hills of the Driftless Area, an area of the Midwestern United States which was untouched by glaciation in the last ice age. The highway descends into the Upper Iowa River valley where it crosses the Upper Iowa and its tributaries, Bear Creek and Waterloo Creek. Iowa 76 follows Waterloo Creek for until they near the unincorporated community of Dorchester. From Dorchester, the highway curves to the east and north, traveling to the Minnesota state line south of Eitzen.

History

Iowa Highway 76 was created in 1969 from a segment of Iowa Highway 13 from Marquette to Minnesota. Iowa 13's northernmost were truncated at a point west of McGregor at its intersection with

U.S. Highway 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 ...

. Iowa 13 overlapped US 52 and US 18 for ; the remaining became Iowa 76. In 1989, Iowa 76 was extended to the south when a new bypass around McGregor was opened. US 18 was moved onto the bypass and the old road became Iowa 76, but was marked as U.S. Highway 18 Business. The only proof of Iowa 76 along US 18 Bus. are small Iowa 76 route markers above the mile markers.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML
End of Iowa 76 and Business US 18 (Clayton Co.)
at Iowa Highway Ends Transportation in Clayton County, Iowa 076 Transportation in Allamakee County, Iowa U.S. Route 18 076