U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) is a
United States Highway
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
that serves eastern
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 ...
. It enters the state from
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
near
Keokuk with
US 136. North of Keokuk, it is
overlapped by
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 ...
for a few miles. It the follows the course of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
past
Montrose and
Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
. It meets
US 34 at
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
. It passes through
Wapello and bypasses
Muscatine and
Blue Grass on its way toward
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 ...
. There, it follows
Interstate 280 (I-280) and
I-80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
around the
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...
. North of Davenport, it follows a
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
north toward
DeWitt where it meets
US 30. The highway continues north through
Maquoketa and reaches the
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
area. There it is joined by
US 151 and briefly by
US 52. The two highways enter the downtown area on an
expressway
Expressway may refer to:
* Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic.
* Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road.
*Expressway, the fictional s ...
. Due to the proximity of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
and railroad tracks that lie between, the routes have an indirect junction with
US 20. The two highways leave the state and enter Wisconsin about north of the
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
–
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
state line.
The route that would become US 61 was organized as a branch of the Burlington Way. Then in 1920, 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 ...
organized the
primary road system, which assigned the branch of the Burlington Way that passed through Davenport and Dubuque a route number:
Primary Road No. 20. Six years later, the
U.S. Highway System
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
was created and most of No. 20 was renumbered US 61. The early U.S. Highways passed through every town within a reasonable distance along the route. Road construction projects that began in the 1950s sought to rebuild and straighten all across the state. As traffic increased in populated areas, the highway commission started building four-lane highways like Kerrigan Road in Dubuque. In the 1970s, work began to widen US 61 to four lanes in rural parts of the state. The freeway section between Davenport and DeWitt opened in 1975. Muscatine was bypassed by a four-lane road in the 1980s. In Dubuque, the aging
Eagle Point Bridge
The Eagle Point Bridge was a very narrow two-lane automobile bridge that connected urban Dubuque, Iowa, and rural Grant County, Wisconsin. It was part of the US 61/US 151 route, and was a toll bridge. After the new Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge was bu ...
was in need of replacement, so US 61 and US 151 traffic was rerouted through
East Dubuque, Illinois
East Dubuque is a city in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,505 at the 2020 census, down from 1,704 in 2010. East Dubuque is located alongside the Mississippi River. Across the river is t ...
, until the
Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge
The Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge is a steel bowstring arch automobile bridge connecting Dubuque, Iowa, with still largely rural Grant County, Wisconsin, over the Mississippi River. It is one of two automobile bridges in the Dubuque area, the other ...
opened in 1982. Shortly thereafter work commenced on connecting the new bridge to Kerrigan Road via downtown Dubuque.
Through the mid-1990s and early-2000s, road construction projects consisted of
twinning existing rural parts of US 61. A bypass of
Maquoketa was built and the four-lane road was extended north from DeWitt to Dubuque by the end of the 1990s. South of Davenport, a four-lane connection to Muscatine was completed while bypassing
Blue Grass. More recently, US 61 was rerouted out of downtown Davenport because a low-clearance railroad bridge had a tendency to get hit by
semi truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...
drivers who misjudged the height of their trucks. In the 2010s, a bypass of Fort Madison opened and twinning projects began again south of Muscatine.
Route description
US 61 and
US 136 begin their courses in Iowa on a bridge over 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 ...
southwest of
Keokuk. Once on land, the highway turns towards the east and US 61 splits away to the north along a bypass.
U.S. Route 61 Business (US 61 Business) continues east with US 136. The bypass ends at
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 ...
, which is also the northern end of the business route. From there, US 61 and US 218
head north together along a four-lane
divided highway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
and past Keokuk's
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
. Near
Montrose, US 218 exits the highway and heads northwest towards
Donnellson. Between Montose and
Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
, the road runs along the western bank of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
. The
Nauvoo Illinois Temple
The Nauvoo Illinois Temple is the 113th dedicated temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is the third such temple that has been built in Illinois (the original Nauvoo Temple and Chicago Illinois Temple bein ...
, which sits atop a hill across the river in
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its historic importance and its ...
, can be seen from US 61. As the highway nears Fort Madison, it moves away from the river in order to bypass the city.
![U](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/U.S._Route_61_in_Iowa_%2814609766762%29_cropped.jpg)
Four interchanges provide access to Fort Madison from the west and north.
Iowa 2, which ends at US 61, and
US 61 Business, which begins here, is the first interchange on the western side of the city. The County Road J40 (CR J40) interchange connects to both downtown Fort Madison to the south and
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
to the northwest. Exits for CR X32 and the back side of US 61 Business, which provide access to the
municipal airport and
Iowa State Penitentiary
The Iowa State Penitentiary (ISP) is an Iowa Department of Corrections maximum security prison for men located in the Lee County, Iowa, community of Fort Madison. This facility should not be confused with the Historical Iowa State Penitentiary, w ...
, respectively, complete Fort Madison's
grade-separated junctions.
Shortly thereafter, the highway turns to the northeast and passes by
Wever, where it meets the eastern end of
Iowa 16 and crosses 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 ...
. The road then turns north and enters the
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
area. The highway roughly separates Burlington to the east and
West Burlington to the west. An interchange with
US 34 and
Iowa 163 is the only
intersection
In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their i ...
with a numbered highway in the Burlington area.
North of Burlington, US 61 heads north and slightly northwest. It passes through
Dodgeville and
Mediapolis. Shortly after crossing into
Louisa County, it meets the eastern end of
Iowa 78 east of
Morning Sun. The highway crosses the
Iowa River
The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and is ...
just north of
Wapello. At
Grandview, US 61 is joined from the west by
Iowa 92
Iowa Highway 92 (Iowa 92) is a state highway that runs from east to west across the state of Iowa. Iowa 92 is long. It begins at the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, where it is a continuation of Nebraska Highway 92. It stretches across ...
.
The highways then continue north then turn to the northeast to descend onto
Muscatine Island Muscatine may refer to:
People
* Charles Muscatine, scholar of medieval literature
* Lissa Muscatine
Places
* Muscatine County, Iowa
* Muscatine, Iowa (County Seat)
* Muscatine, Iowa micropolitan area
Other
* Louisa–Muscatine Community School D ...
, a sandy plain known for growing conditions ideal for melons, particularly
muskmelon
''Cucumis melo'', also known as melon, is a species of ''Cucumis'' that has been developed into many cultivated varieties. The fruit is a pepo. The flesh is either sweet or bland, with or without a musky aroma, and the rind can be smooth (such as ...
s.
On the southwestern edge of Muscatine, US 61 and Iowa 92 turn off of the highway onto a bypass of city.
US 61 Business continues northeasterly from the intersection. The bypass forms a near-180 degree squared arc around the city. Near the halfway mark of the road around Muscatine, the two highways are joined by
Iowa 22
Iowa Highway 22 (Iowa 22) is a west–east state highway that traverses primarily rural areas in east-central Iowa. The highway begins near Thornburg at an intersection with Iowa Highway 21 and ends in southwestern Davenport, at U.S. High ...
. The highway then turns to the east, where it roughly marks the northern city limit. The bypass ends at an intersection with
Iowa 38 and the other end of US 61 Business. There, both Iowa 22 and Iowa 92 follow Iowa 38 toward the city's riverfront.
![US61 South IA92 West Signs (44272121992)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/US61_South_IA92_West_Signs_%2844272121992%29.jpg)
US 61 continues to the northeast along a four-lane expressway; two exits provide access to
Blue Grass. A few miles east of Blue Grass, the highway meets and turns north onto
Interstate 280 (I-280).
US 61 Business, officially known as Iowa 461, continues east into
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 ...
. I-280 and US 61 head north along the western edge of Davenport. At the Kimberly Road exit, they are briefly joined by
US 6. About later, I-280 ends at an interchange with
I-80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
. Westbound US 6 follows westbound I-80 and northbound US 61 follows eastbound I-80. About later, US 61 exits from I-80 and rejoins the northern end of US 61 Business.
Heading north again, US 61 travels along a freeway that passes
Mount Joy and the
Davenport Municipal Airport toward
Eldridge. It descends into a valley and crosses the
Wapsipinicon River
The Wapsipinicon River (, locally known as the Wapsi) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 starting n ...
and into
Clinton County Clinton County may refer to:
*Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States:
**Clinton County, New York
**Clinton County, Ohio
*Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, s ...
. Upon reaching
DeWitt there is a
trumpet interchange
In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...
, which is the southern junction with
US 30. That highway heads eastbound from the interchange toward
Clinton
Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...
and the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
. A little over a mile later (), US 30 exits to the west toward
Grand Mound and
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. ...
; an older alignment of US 30 heads east into DeWitt. The freeway continues due north for a little while; it downgrades to an expressway at an intersection with the former routing of US 61 between DeWitt and
Welton.
The highway heads to the north-northwest as it snakes around Welton and a collection of houses that built along the old roadway. West of
Delmar is an interchange with
Iowa 136. As the highway approaches
Maquoketa, it takes a hard curve to the west and meets
Main Street at a
folded diamond interchange
A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange.
The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also be ...
. It then takes another hard turn back to the north and intersects
Iowa 64
Iowa Highway 64 (Iowa 64) is a state highway that runs through two counties in east central Iowa. It begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 151 (US 151) in Anamosa and ends at the Dale Gardner Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Miss ...
. Shortly thereafter, it crosses the
Maquoketa River
The Maquoketa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 in northeastern Iowa in the United States. I ...
. As it continues north, US 61 passes the
Hurstville Historic District, where
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
was manufactured in
kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...
s which are visible from the highway. The road passes by the unincorporated towns of
Fulton
Fulton may refer to:
People
* Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship
* Fulton (surname)
Given name
* Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer
* Fult ...
and
Otter Creek and through
Zwingle, the latter town lies on the
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name
Places
Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Q ...
–
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
county line.
![About to Cross The Mississippi - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/About_to_Cross_The_Mississippi_-_panoramio.jpg)
Now in Dubuque County for the rest of its journey through Iowa, US 61 still follows a largely due-north course. It passes the
Dubuque Regional Airport
Dubuque Regional Airport is a regional airport located eight miles south of Dubuque, in Dubuque County, Iowa. On U.S. Highway 61, the airport is owned by the city of Dubuque and is operated as a department of the city government. The city coun ...
shortly before descending a long hill and meeting
US 151 at a trumpet interchange. US 151 joins US 61 from the southwest where it leads to
Cascade
Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to:
Science and technology Science
*Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls
* Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex)
* Cascade (grape), a type of fruit
* Bioc ...
and
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. ...
. Shortly thereafter, the two highways come to an interchange with
US 52. The Southwest Arterial expressway opened in 2020. The three highways enter the Dubuque area together and the city begins to build up around the roadway.
US 52, which provides access to the
Mines of Spain
The Mines of Spain State Recreation Area and E. B. Lyons Nature Center is a state park in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. It is near Dubuque, the eleventh-largest city in the state. The park features picnic areas, of walking/hiking trails, ...
and the
Julien Dubuque
Julien Dubuque (January 1762 – 24 March 1810) was a Canadian of Norman origin from the area of Champlain, Quebec who arrived near what now is known as Dubuque, Iowa, which was named after him. He was one of the first European men to settle in t ...
gravesite monument, exits the other two highways on Dubuque's south side. US 61 and US 151 continue north into the heart of Dubuque.
As they descend into Dubuque's
riverfront
A riverfront is a region along a river. Often in larger cities that are traversed or bordered by one or more rivers, the riverfront is lined with marinas, docks, cafes, museums, parks, or minor attractions. Today many riverfronts are a staple o ...
, the
Locust Street
Locust Street is a major historic street in Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. The street is the location of several prominent Philadelphia-based buildings, historic sights, and Tower block, high-rise residential locations. It ...
exit provides direct access to
US 20. Direct access from US 61 / US 151 is not possible due to the location of the
Julien Dubuque Bridge
The Julien Dubuque Bridge is a bridge over the Mississippi River that connects Dubuque, Iowa and East Dubuque, Illinois. The bridge is part of U.S. Route 20 (US 20). It is one of two automobile bridges over the Mississippi in the area (the ...
landing, which is shifted away from the river bank in order to clear a
rail yard
A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
. There are two
stoplight
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic.
Traffic lights ...
s in downtown Dubuque; one of which provides access to an industrial area along the river and the other is the opposite end of the US 20 connector road. The northern intersection is adjacent to downtown Dubuque and also has a connection to the
Port of Dubuque
The Port of Dubuque (also known as the Ice Harbor, 4th Street Peninsula, or the Riverfront) is the section of downtown Dubuque, Iowa that lies immediately adjacent to the Mississippi River. The area was among the first areas settled in what woul ...
, which is otherwise inaccessible from the expressway. From there, the highway elevates over the city while heading to the northeast and curving to the east as it reaches the Mississippi River. It crosses the
Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge
The Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge is a steel bowstring arch automobile bridge connecting Dubuque, Iowa, with still largely rural Grant County, Wisconsin, over the Mississippi River. It is one of two automobile bridges in the Dubuque area, the other ...
and the two highways enter Wisconsin.
History
What is now known as US 61 has been used, under various names, for over 100 years. The route was first organized as a branch of the Burlington Way in 1916 during the
Good Roads Movement
The Good Roads Movement occurred in the United States between the late 1870s and the 1920s. It was the rural dimension of the Progressive movement. A key player was the United States Post Office Department. Once a commitment was made for Rural Fre ...
.
Then it was maintained by as association that solicited donations from people who lived along the route. In 1920, the
Iowa General Assembly
The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repres ...
enacted a primary road bill that shifted maintenance of highways in the state from associations to Iowa's 99 counties. At this time, the
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 ...
-to-
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
branch of the Mississippi Valley Highway, as the Burlington Way as known by then, was designated Primary Road No. 20.
That number between the
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
state line and Dubuque was replaced by US 61 when the
U.S. Highway System
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
was created in 1926.
In 1931, 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 ...
declared Iowa was no longer a
mud road state.
Most highways in the state were either fully paved or
graveled; only a small portion of road in
Louisa County was not yet paved.
The highway commission began projects to modernize the original highways that were paved in the 1930s; in populated area, that meant four-lane roads.
As early as 1958, an 11-member road study committee recommended the construction of a state freeway system not to exceed in length. This freeway system included sections of US 34 between Ottumwa and Burlington.
Ten years later, the Iowa State Highway Commission approved a freeway-expressway system that would complement the
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
under construction. Fuel conservation spurred by the
oil crisis of 1973
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
, increasing inflation, and decreased federal revenues caused the commission to reduce the number of projects undertaken by nearly 50%.
As the
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
was under construction, officials in
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
lamented their city's exclusion from the system. Dubuque was the largest city in Iowa to not have a high-speed connection to an Interstate Highway, even though it was the crossroads of four U.S. Highways:
US 20, which was the only east–west U.S. Highway, and
US 52,
US 151, and US 61. From 1934 to 1967, there were five as
US 67 ended in Dubuque as well. Construction on rural four-lane roads did not begin in earnest until the 1970s when a section of
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
was built between Davenport and
DeWitt. In the early 1980s, following the recommendations of a 27-member task force organized by
Governor Robert D. Ray, the DOT shifted its priorities from expansion of the primary highway system to maintenance of existing highways.
A five-year plan released by the DOT in January 1980 only called for of highway reconstruction across the state. In Lee County alone, $22.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ), allocated in 1978 for five projects, were removed from the 1980 plan. Another $16 million (equivalent to $ million in ) was cut in March 1980 as a result of higher than expected inflation. Larger projects that bypassed cities or built expressways through cities occurred in the 1980s and early 1990s. Through the rest of the 1990s,
twinning of rural parts of US 61 finally connected Dubuque to the
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
.
Burlington Way
The Burlington Way, also known as the Orange and White Way,
[ ] was a
auto trail
The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in ...
that ran from
to
Ely, Minnesota
Ely ( ) is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,268 at the 2020 census.
Located on the Vermilion iron range, Ely once had several iron ore mines. It is an entry point for campers and canoers into the Bou ...
. Through Iowa, the trail entered the state from
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
at
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
and exited 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 ...
near
Cresco; it traveled through eastern Iowa by way of
Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
,
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. ...
and
Oelwein
Oelwein is a city in Fayette County, Iowa, Fayette County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,920 at the time of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, a decrease of 11.5% from the 2000 census. The largest community in Fayette County, ...
. Another unofficial leg of the route began in
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 ...
and traveled through
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
; the two branches converged in Cresco.
The highway was marked on every
telegraph pole
A utility pole is a column or post typically made out of wood used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities, such as electrical cable, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as transformers and street lights. It c ...
along the route with a stripe of orange paint surrounded by 4-inch stripes of white paint.
In early 1917, two men, one of whom designated himself a promoter and the other a supervisor, filled out the registration paperwork with and paid the $5 fee () to 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 ...
in order to have their route recognized by the commission. This application was rejected because the 1913 state law required the route association president and secretary to sign off on the registration, neither of whom did so. The following month the president and secretary re-submitted the application, but it was not immediately processed. The second application called for two roughly parallel routes, one from Burlington to Cresco through Cedar Rapids and another from Davenport to Cresco via Dubuque, to both carry the Burlington Way colors. The highway commission balked at the second application for two reasons. The first was because the southern half of the western leg overlapped the
Red Ball Route
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 ...
, which Burlington Way organizers stated they had support from the Red Ball Route Association. The second, and most contentious reason, was because there were two routes. State officials interpreted the road law to mean that an association could only sponsor one highway. Both sides exchanged letters for months until the conflict was resolved.
The Burlington Way's registration with the Iowa State Highway Commission was made official on December 1, 1917.
[ ] Only the western leg of the route was approved.
At a meeting in
Jacksonville, Illinois
Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,446 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the ...
on February 22, 1919, the executive members Burlington Way Good Roads Association voted to add the eastern Iowa leg of the highway anyway.
At their annual meeting held in September 1919 at
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...
, members of the Burlington Way Good Roads Association voted to change the name of the highway to the Mississippi Valley Highway. Association members sought to make the route more known to travelers by naming the route after the
Mississippi Valley
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
than after
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
, where it crossed the river. The change was made official on October 20, 1919, at another meeting in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. Pursuant to state law at the time, the newly renamed Mississippi Valley Highway had to be re-registered with the highway commission. That registration took place on September 17, 1920.
Not long after, a caravan of Mississippi Valley Highway Association members traveled the length of the road through Iowa on their way to the annual meeting held in
St. Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...
. Prior to the tour, work was done to freshen up the wayfinding paint on poles and to put up signs along the route. Promoters sought to make the road the best marked highway in the country.
Primary roads
In 1919, the
Iowa General Assembly
The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repres ...
passed a bill that created a fund for improving and hard-surfacing nearly of primary roads in the state. The new
primary road system was to connect every city and town with at least 1000 inhabitants. The bill gave Iowa's 99 counties the responsibility for maintaining the roads, which had previously fallen upon road associations that sponsored their respective highways. The new primary roads were assigned route numbers, a trend in other
Midwestern states
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
. Route numbers were painted onto telegraph and telephone poles in order to guide travelers without the need for maps.
[ ] Primary Road No. 20 (No. 20) was the easternmost north–south highway through most of the state.
It was designated along River Drive Boulevard from
Keokuk to
Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
, the Corn Belt Highway from Fort Madison to Burlington, the Mississippi Valley Highway western leg from Burlington to
Muscatine, and the
Great White Way
Broadway () is a road in the U.S. state of New York. Broadway runs from State Street at Bowling Green for through the borough of Manhattan and through the Bronx, exiting north from New York City to run an additional through the Westchester ...
from Muscatine to Davenport.
North of Davenport, No. 20 followed the eastern leg of the Mississippi Valley Highway, which traveled through Dubuque and then traveled northwest toward Cresco.
U.S. Highway origins
![US 61 Iowa 1926](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/US_61_Iowa_1926.svg)
In the mid-1920s, automobile associations continued to sponsor their named routes—there were 64 such named routes in Iowa—on top of the route numbers given by the state highway commission. This proved to be more confusing than helpful to the casual traveler, so in 1924, the
American Association of State Highway Officials
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United St ...
(AASHO, later AASHTO) called for a national system of interstate highways. Of the proposed by AASHO, nearly were allocated to Iowa.
Across the country, support for the system was nearly unanimous among state highway officials and the new national routings and route numbers were assigned in 1925. The Iowa State Highway Commission chose to renumber a few highways as to not have conflicting route numbers along important routes. U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) was designated along Primary Road No. 20 from Keokuk to Dubuque. North of Dubuque,
US 55 was designated along the remainder of No. 20.
Once the
U.S. Highway System
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
was established, the automobile association-sponsored roads gradually disappeared.
Upon designation, the only rural portions of US 61 that were
paved
Pavement may refer to:
* Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering
* Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways
** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface
* Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway alo ...
were from the
Muscatine–
Scott
Scott may refer to:
Places Canada
* Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec
* Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380
* Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...
county line near
Buffalo through Davenport to
DeWitt and from
Key West
Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...
to Dubuque. In 1930, the Iowa State Highway Commission spent $64 million (equivalent to $ in dollars) across the state on road works projects. On the back of the 1931 state highway map, the commission declared that Iowa was no longer a
mud road state.
Along US 61, only the section between
Letts and
Mediapolis had yet to be paved; that section was a
gravel road
A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the Unite ...
.
By the end of 1932, the entire highway was paved.
Early upgrades
Work began in the 1950s to modernize Iowa's highway system, mostly by straightening and widening the original highways built in the 1930s.
In
Des Moines County
Des Moines County is located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 38,910. The county seat and largest city is Burlington, Iowa, Burlington. It is one of Iowa's two original counties alo ...
, work began to move US 61 out of downtown
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
and onto Roosevelt Avenue in 1955. The new road connected to a wider section of US 61 at
Spring Grove that traveled to
Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
. Widening work was also progressing from Burlington north to
Grandview. The completed project created a continuous highway from Fort Madison to
Muscatine. In 1957, the Iowa State Highway Commission began work on a project to extend River Drive in western Davenport to the intersection of
Iowa 22
Iowa Highway 22 (Iowa 22) is a west–east state highway that traverses primarily rural areas in east-central Iowa. The highway begins near Thornburg at an intersection with Iowa Highway 21 and ends in southwestern Davenport, at U.S. High ...
and US 61. It was to be a four-lane
divided highway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
with lanes. An interchange was planned for the intersection with Iowa 22. As work progressed on River Drive, another contract was let to improve and widen Iowa 22 from the new River Drive interchange to
Blue Grass. Work had already finished on improving the road from Blue Grass to Muscatine the year before. Upon completion of the project, US 61 and Iowa 22 switched routes between Muscatine and Davenport; US 61 now traveled along the improved highway.
In
Lee County, ISHC engineers proposed relocating US 61 to the west and away from the river between
Montrose and Fort Madison in April 1956. Local leaders countered with a proposal to utilize and upgrade the present highway by bypassing Montrose slightly and reworking a series of curves outside of Fort Madison. The commission favored the western route because it meant only building one railroad crossing while improving the old route would require two crossings. The western route would also require the state to purchase of
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
through farmland, which the delegation from Lee County strongly opposed. The commission assured the Lee County residents that it would take their concerns into account. When the commission held hearings regarding the relocated highway in October 1956, the western route had been scrapped and the alternative proposed by the Lee County delegation was the preferred route. Paving work between Montrose and Fort Madison was scheduled for 1959. Rubble from the old highway was taken to Montrose and used to construct a
harbor
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
on the Mississippi River. By the end of September 1960, the new road was ready to go. The contractor working on the project reported that only finishing touches needed to be done. After the bypass opened, the state highway commissioned retained parts of the former US 61 in the primary highway system. South of Montrose, it became
Iowa 404; to the north it became the unsigned
Iowa 998.
A bypass of
Keokuk was also considered in early 1957. The highway commission wanted to remove truck traffic from Keokuk's downtown area. Area businessmen felt moving US 61 away from the city center would divert revenue to neighboring states. They were also concerned by the plan to make the bypass
access controlled. The businessmen thought that by limiting where vehicles could enter the bypass, the potential for commerce would also be limited. The local concerns here did not dissuade the highway commission as land for the bypass was purchased in August 1957. The Keokuk bypass opened to traffic in late 1959. The old routing of US 61 through Keokuk remained on the primary highway system. The state highway commission ruled in 1957 that US 61 and US 218 were to follow the bypass around the city meaning maintenance of Main Street would revert to the city. The state reversed their decision in 1959 shortly before the bypass opened and left US 218 on the original routing.
Kerrigan Road
By the 1950s, traffic from the four U.S. Highways that entered Dubuque from the south were creating traffic issues on Rockdale Road. Officials sought to remedy traffic by building a four-lane road from
Key West
Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...
, where US 61 and US 151 met, to the
Julien Dubuque Bridge
The Julien Dubuque Bridge is a bridge over the Mississippi River that connects Dubuque, Iowa and East Dubuque, Illinois. The bridge is part of U.S. Route 20 (US 20). It is one of two automobile bridges over the Mississippi in the area (the ...
approach in downtown Dubuque. Through downtown, Central Avenue and White Street were converted to a
one-way couplet
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities.
Descriptio ...
in 1956. Plans were to have two lanes in each direction, separated by a
dividing strip, carry traffic on a new road to the south and east of Rockdale Road. Some noted that the median would block access to Grandview Park's main entrance to southbound traffic, but that was remedied by building another park entrance off of Grandview Avenue, which was to get a
grade separation
In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tran ...
over the new road. Road grading took place during 1956 and paving occurred through mid-1957. The expanded road opened to traffic on September 26, 1957, after a short program honoring Frank Kerrigan, a state highway commissioner from Dubuque who championed the new road before his death in 1955. The road was named Kerrigan Road in his honor and a memorial plaque was placed at the intersection of Southern Avenue and the new highway.
Between
Maquoketa and
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
, US 61 was a narrow, winding road, only wide, where it was not uncommon for cars to be
stuck behind larger trucks for miles at a time. At
Zwingle, in particular, the road descended a series of hills into the town only to have a narrow bridge at the nadir.
[ ] Plans to straighten US 61 were already in the works when a semi hauling of powdered milk
jackknifed
Jackknifing is the folding of an articulated vehicle so that it resembles the acute angle of a folding pocket knife. If a vehicle towing a trailer skids, the trailer can push the towing vehicle from behind until it spins the vehicle around and ...
and substantially damaged a bridge over Tarecoat Creek near
Otter Creek. Right away the bridge was closed to heavy traffic, but it was closed to all traffic by the next morning. US 61 traffic was detoured from Maquoketa to Dubuque via
Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to:
Placenames
Australia
* Bellevue, Western Australia
* Bellevue Hill, New South Wales
* Bellevue, Queensland
* Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales
Canad ...
.
[ ] The bridge was repaired and reopened to all traffic within two months.
At Dubuque, the new road to Maquoketa connected to Kerrigan Road near Key West. Plans in 1964 called for the four-lane road to be extended south toward the
Dubuque Municipal Airport. An interchange was to be built just north of the airport which would allow US 151 to follow the four-lane road south from Kerrigan Road to the interchange. of highway in Dubuque County were slated to be paved in 1965 while in Jackson County preparations were being made to pave the next year. South of the interchange, US 61 was a two-lane road to Maquoketa.
Climbing lane
Climbing lanes or crawler lanes are a roadway lane design. They allow slower travel for large vehicles, such as large trucks or semi-trailer trucks, ascending a steep grade. Since climbing uphill is difficult for these vehicles, they can travel in ...
s were installed as necessary to allow safe passage around slower traffic. The new road shaved off of the trip between Dubuque and Maquoketa by bypassing small towns and eliminating sharp curves along the way. Travel times between the cities was reduced from 45 minutes to 30 minutes. It opened to traffic on December 11, 1967.
A month after the new road opened, city officials in Maquoketa complained about US 61 motorists running a
four-way stop
An all-way stop – also known as a four-way stop (or three-way stop etc. as appropriate) – is a traffic management system which requires vehicles on all the approaches to a road intersection to stop at the intersection before proceeding throu ...
at the intersection with Iowa 64. Traffic on Iowa 64 carried speed limits of on either side of the crossing while US 61 had a speed limit. Inadequate warning for the upcoming stop and the high speeds leading up to the intersection were the main culprits of the danger. In response, the highway commission placed the stop ahead signs from the intersection and added black-and-white reflectorized boards and red flags to make them more conspicuous.
Freeway construction
The segment of US 61 from Davenport to Dubuque, sometimes labeled "Iowa 561" or "US 561", was to be built up to
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
standards.
Through the early 1970s, the highway commission began buying
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
for the location of the new highway. A bypass around De Witt which consisting of overlapping sections of US 30 and US 61, was open to traffic in November 1975. It was around this time that the highway commission began to scale back highway construction projects. The Iowa Transportation Commission, which became the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) in 1975, received a $15 million grant (equivalent to $ million in ) for improving US 61 between Davenport and DeWitt. The funding was conditional to the state matching $5 million in grant money (equivalent to $ million in ) by September 30, 1980. The Davenport-to-DeWitt project was expected to cost $34 million (equivalent to $ million in ) The Iowa 561 project was not seriously affected by the budgetary constraints of the early 1980s because it was receiving federal matching funds; however, the four-lane extension to Dubuque was put on hiatus. The Iowa 561 freeway was dedicated and opened to traffic on December 1, 1982. After the new highway opened, there remained two segments of the old road–a short section between I-80 and Mount Joy and a longer stretch from Mount Joy to De Witt. The latter road was renamed
Iowa 956 and the former Iowa 960; both of which were
unsigned highway
Road sign along Aurora_to_exit_the_freeway._The_road_at_this_exit_is_officially_designated_Sigurd_and_Aurora,_Utah">Aurora_to_exit_the_freeway._The_road_at_this_exit_is_officially_designated_Utah_State_Route_259">SR 259,_a_short_connector;_h ...
s. Passage of the
Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act
The Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 (Pub. L. 100–17, 101 Stat. 132) is a United States Act of Congress, containing in Title I, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1987.
History
The bill was introduced in House b ...
in 1987 allowed the Iowa DOT to post a speed limit on the new US 61 freeway as it was built to
Interstate Highway standards
Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway to ...
rather than the
national speed limit
A speed limit is the limit of speed allowed by law for road vehicles, usually the maximum speed allowed. Occasionally, there is a minimum speed limit. Advisory speed limits also exist, which are recommended but not mandatory speeds. Speed limit ...
. It also allocated $ (equivalent to $ in dollars) for making US 61 a four-lane highway from Davenport to
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
.
In the early 1980s, the City of Davenport and the Iowa DOT agreed to split a $1.3 million fund (equivalent to $ in dollars) collected from tolls on the
I-74 Bridge
The Interstate 74 Bridge, officially known as the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge, and often called ''The Twin Bridges'', or the ''I-74 Bridge'', are basket-handle, through arch twin bridges that carry Interstate 74 across the Mississippi River a ...
. The fund was established in 1971 to pay for another bridge connecting Davenport and
Rock Island, but it never made it out of planning stages. The plan was to create two multi-lane one-way routes through Davenport starting at the northern city limits by the end of 1983. Southbound traffic would use a newly constructed street for several miles until it merged with Harrison Street just north of 35th Street; northbound traffic would use Brady Street, which had been a two-way, four-lane street. In 1989, the City of Davenport held a contest among
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
students to name the new southbound lanes of US 61. The name Welcome Way was chosen from 400 submissions because it was the street that welcomed motorists from I-80.
Muscatine bypass
In Muscatine, the fiscal crunch of the 1970s and early 1980s kept a project to re-route US 61 around the city on a semi-permanent delay. DOT officials promised the project would happen, but a lack of funding prevented the project from beginning. In addition to inflationary pressures, the DOT cited the financial woes were compounded by increased use of
gasohol
Several common ethanol fuel mixtures are in use around the world. The use of pure hydrous or anhydrous ethanol in internal combustion engines (ICEs) is only possible if the engines are designed or modified for that purpose, and used only in autom ...
, which was exempt from
fuel taxes
A fuel tax (also known as a petrol, gasoline or gas tax, or as a fuel duty) is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation. Fuels used to power agricultural ...
, and the failures of the
Milwaukee Road
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States fr ...
and
Rock Island Line
"Rock Island Line" is an American folk song. Ostensibly about the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it appeared as a folk song as early as 1929. The first recorded performance of "Rock Island Line" was by inmates of the Arkansas Cummins ...
. One final delay in the project was its location. The creation of Fuller Park in the 1970s on the western side of the city forced DOT planners to move the proposed highway's path farther west. The planned roadway was to split a farm near Fuller Park in half, the owners of which sought to again move the roadway away from their farm. DOT and city officials counter-argued that further delays would beget more delays and the project may never happen. But it was ultimately decided to continue with the plan that divided the farm.
The project was divided into two segments. As the road was going to have distinct north–south and east–west sections, there was a natural split point for the two sections. Grading work began on the north–south section in 1982 and paving was scheduled to occur the next year. Mother Nature, however, had other plans and many days of work in 1982 were lost to rain. The weather delays pushed back the construction timeline enough that only a few weeks of grading work remained on the entire route at the end of 1983. Paving work occurred through mid-1984, but was temporarily halted by rains in October. The project finally opened to traffic on December 13, 1984, at a final cost of $ (equivalent to $ in ).
US 61 and US 151 in Illinois
In May 1969, the US 61 and US 151 were routed off of the
Eagle Point Bridge
The Eagle Point Bridge was a very narrow two-lane automobile bridge that connected urban Dubuque, Iowa, and rural Grant County, Wisconsin. It was part of the US 61/US 151 route, and was a toll bridge. After the new Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge was bu ...
in
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
. Bridge inspectors discovered that the main spans of the bridge were not as structurally strong as they should have been. The bridge's weight limit was reduced from , which effectively banned all
semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer ...
traffic. Furthermore, the 1970 Wisconsin state highway map did not show the bridge at all and the Iowa highway map only listed it as a
toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road. ...
. The bridge company and local police asked Iowa and Wisconsin highway commissioners to reconsider their decisions to remove highway signage from the bridge. Public confidence in the strength of the bridge waned after the U.S. Highways were removed.
Instead of traveling through downtown Dubuque via Central Avenue, White Street, and Rhomberg Avenue to the Eagle Point Bridge, US 61 and US 151 turned east onto Dodge Street and followed US 20 across the
Julien Dubuque Bridge
The Julien Dubuque Bridge is a bridge over the Mississippi River that connects Dubuque, Iowa and East Dubuque, Illinois. The bridge is part of U.S. Route 20 (US 20). It is one of two automobile bridges over the Mississippi in the area (the ...
into
East Dubuque. Immediately upon landing on the Illinois side of the river, the two highways exited US 20 and followed Wisconsin Avenue and
Illinois Route 35
Illinois Route 35 (IL 35) is a connector road between U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in East Dubuque and Highway 35 at the Wisconsin state line. It is currently the shortest state highway in Illinois, a stark contrast to the highway north of the state l ...
north into Wisconsin. The two highways traveled in Illinois. Upon opening of the new bridge in 1982, they were pulled out of Illinois and back through Dubuque to the Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge. The new bridge entered Wisconsin about north of the Illinois–Wisconsin state line. After the new bridge opened in August 1982, the Eagle Point Bridge was closed. It was later mostly demolished with explosives in December 1982. The former alignment of US 61 along E. 20th Street and Rhomberg Avenue remained in the state highway system long after the demolition of the Eagle Point Bridge. A DOT review of maintenance agreements in 1992 led officials to discover that the state still owned the former US 61, then known as the unsigned Iowa 924. Ownership of the former highway was transferred to the City of Dubuque effective March 9, 1993.
Fort Madison bypass delayed
Through Fort Madison, the highway followed narrow city streets and a few 90-degree turns. Near the old
Iowa State Penitentiary
The Iowa State Penitentiary (ISP) is an Iowa Department of Corrections maximum security prison for men located in the Lee County, Iowa, community of Fort Madison. This facility should not be confused with the Historical Iowa State Penitentiary, w ...
, there was a steep hill that ended at a three-way stop with a connection to the
Fort Madison Toll Bridge
The Fort Madison Toll Bridge (also known as the Santa Fe Swing Span Bridge for the old Santa Fe Railway) is a tolled, double-decked swinging truss bridge over the Mississippi River that connects Fort Madison, Iowa, and unincorporated Niota, Illino ...
. In the late 1960s and again in the early 1970s, the highway commission proposed widening US 61 through the city. The commission presented number of alternatives, most of which routed the highway through the southwestern portion of the city closer to the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
. To city leaders, this was the best option for serving the needs of businesses and local traffic. To residents of the zone through which the highway would pass, mainly African- and Mexican-Americans who were shunted to that part of town by discriminatory means, the plans represented continued discrimination. Over thirty percent of the residents who would be displaced by the highway were minorities, while minorities represented less than ten percent of Fort Madison's total population.
Based on the success of
highway revolts
Highway revolts (also freeway revolts, expressway revolts, or road protests) are organized protests against the planning or construction of highways, freeways, expressways, and other civil engineering projects that favor vehicles.
Many freeway re ...
in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and elsewhere, residents of southwestern Fort Madison decided to fight back against the project. They enlisted the help of a
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...
(NAACP) lawyer, who quickly charged that the project was in violation of Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
, which prohibits discrimination in programs that receive federal funding. Local NAACP leader Virginia Harper led the opposition against the highway relocation; she organized Fort Madison residents who would not be displaced by the highway and non-residents alike. In May 1974, the
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
(FHWA) found that the relocation project indeed violated the Civil Rights Act and not eligible for federal funding. The City of Fort Madison and the ISHC did not agree and continued planning. Harper appealed to the
United States Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Office of Civil Rights and was one of the members of the opposition at arbitration hearings in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, in October 1974. Lawyers from the USDOT and ISHC agreed to settle the issue in March 1976 if the USDOT dropped the discrimination charge and the highway commission renounced its plans for relocating US 61. After the dispute was settled,
President Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
sent a letter to the mayor of Fort Madison that expressed relief toward the settlement.
Dubuque connections
![U](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/U.S._Route_52_in_Iowa_%2829012930610%29.jpg)
The new US 61 / US 151 bridge and its connection into Wisconsin were built as a four-lane freeway. In anticipation for future road works, the Iowa side of the bridge
ended abruptly, and traffic was routed on and off of the bridge on entrance and exit ramps connecting to E. 16th Street and Kerper Boulevard. There was congressional support for completing the connection to Kerrigan Road; $ (equivalent to $ in ) was earmarked by the U.S. Senate in 1984. There was confusion among Iowa and USDOT officials about which agency would pay for a bridge across the Peosta Channel, which flowed between mainland Dubuque and City Island.
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley and
U.S. Representative Tom Tauke announced that
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole had approved a $ grant to pay most of the bridge's $ price tag (equivalent to $ and $ in , respectively). During construction of the bridge, seven collapsed into Peosta Channel because of worker error. The girders were not properly secured into place and the collapse occurred due to normal expansion in the heat.
Planning for the connection to Kerrigan Road began shortly after the
Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge
The Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge is a steel bowstring arch automobile bridge connecting Dubuque, Iowa, with still largely rural Grant County, Wisconsin, over the Mississippi River. It is one of two automobile bridges in the Dubuque area, the other ...
opened in 1982. The design of the road was particularly difficult because DOT officials wanted to minimize disruption to downtown and rail infrastructures and because of the proximity of the
Ice Harbor along the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
. It was determined that a direct connection to
US 20 was not possible feasible, but it would be possible to relocate the railroad tracks to make room for the new highway. This design allowed for downtown access without dumping a large volume of traffic into the central business district.
By 1988, the Iowa DOT and two railroads,
Soo Line Railroad
The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sa ...
and
Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad (Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad) is part of the Illinois Central Railroad (IC), which is owned by the Canadian National Railway (CN) through the Grand Trunk Corporation. Operationally, the Chicago Cent ...
had agreed in principley to the design of the combined railway; they only had to work out the details of the project. The mayor of Dubuque, James Brady, perceived the talks as moving too slowly, so he offered to shave his beard if talks were completed by July 4, 1988. The sides did not come together in time and Mayor Brady kept his beard.
An
elevated highway An elevated highway is a controlled-access highway that is raised above grade for its entire length. Elevation is usually constructed as viaducts, typically a long pier bridge. Technically, the entire highway is a single bridge.
Reason to const ...
was chosen for the segment between downtown and the Mississippi River bridge for a number of factors. DOT engineers factored in the effect of the highway on stormwater collection and determined raising the highway would have the least detrimental effect. Additionally, heavy metals and
coal tar
Coal tar is a thick dark liquid which is a by-product of the production of coke and coal gas from coal. It is a type of creosote. It has both medical and industrial uses. Medicinally it is a topical medication applied to skin to treat psoriasi ...
found in the industrial land beneath the highway could be cleaned up without disrupting traffic on the highway.
Deck replacement on the
Julien Dubuque Bridge
The Julien Dubuque Bridge is a bridge over the Mississippi River that connects Dubuque, Iowa and East Dubuque, Illinois. The bridge is part of U.S. Route 20 (US 20). It is one of two automobile bridges over the Mississippi in the area (the ...
that carries
US 20 into
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
for most of 1991 added another wrinkle to the construction project. The bridge was closed and its traffic was rerouted onto US 61 / US 151 between Locust Street and into
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, thence south on
Wisconsin Highway 35
State Trunk Highway 35 (STH-35, WIS 35) is a Wisconsin state highway running north–south across western Wisconsin. It is 412.15 miles in length, and is the longest state highway in Wisconsin. Portions of WIS 35 are part of the ...
and
Illinois Route 35
Illinois Route 35 (IL 35) is a connector road between U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in East Dubuque and Highway 35 at the Wisconsin state line. It is currently the shortest state highway in Illinois, a stark contrast to the highway north of the state l ...
into
East Dubuque, Illinois
East Dubuque is a city in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,505 at the 2020 census, down from 1,704 in 2010. East Dubuque is located alongside the Mississippi River. Across the river is t ...
.
Building the connection to Kerrigan Road were part of a wave of downtown renewal projects. New museums and recently legalized
riverboat gambling
A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to en ...
were some of the new attractions to Dubuque's downtown. The southern segment of the downtown project, from Grandview Avenue to the at-grade intersections, opened on January 28, 1991. All told, the expressway project in Dubuque totaled over $ (equivalent to $ in ).
As sections were completed, the Locust Street connector became
Iowa 946 officially and streets that had carried US 61 and US 151 during construction were given back to the City of Dubuque on March 1, 1993.
Four-lane construction
Road construction in the 1990s and early 2000s consisted of
twinning the existing two-lane road. In 1992, the Iowa DOT announced $173 million was allocated for highway projects across the state, $50 million of which was planned for widening US 61 (equivalent to $ and $, respectively, in ). Revenue from the federal government was less than expected, so by the end of 1995 some projects, including segments of US 61 were pushed back. The
National Highway System Designation Act of 1995
The National Highway System (NHS) is a network of strategic highways within the United States, including the Interstate Highway System and other roads serving major airports, ports, military bases, rail or truck terminals, railway stations, pip ...
repealed the and allowed four lane rural roads to be without being built to freeway standard. The act also reinstated federal highway funding that had been reduced since passing of the
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA, pronounced ''Ice-Tea'') is a United States federal law that posed a major change to transportation planning and policy, as the first U.S. federal legislation on the subject in ...
. In 1998, the state highway commission scheduled $2 billion (equivalent to $ in ) for road works projects over the next five years. Construction projects along US 61 focused on three main areas:
Keokuk to
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
,
Muscatine to
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 ...
, and
De Witt to
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
. While the US 61 project was not considered a priority project by the DOT, it did receive scheduled funding for completion by 2004.
One of the first segments of US 61 to be twinned in this round of construction was the section overlapped by
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 ...
near
Keokuk.
Governor Terry Branstad publicly stated his support for not delaying certain highway projects, a list of which included US 61 from
Montrose to Fort Madison, while the DOT faced budget shortfalls. Near
Wever pottery fragments and arrowheads, signs of a
Native American settlement, were found by crews
surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
for the expansion project. As segments of four-lane highway were opened to traffic, as the between Fort Madison and Burlington did in August 1997, speed limits were raised from . Aside from the bypass of Fort Madison, the four-lane road was complete between Keokuk and Burlington in 2001.
In
Clinton County Clinton County may refer to:
*Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States:
**Clinton County, New York
**Clinton County, Ohio
*Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, s ...
, the freeway section of US 61 ended north of the
US 30 interchange near
De Witt. The DOT began planning a continuation of the freeway that ended northwest of
De Witt to
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
in the late 1980s. The of roadway between De Witt and
Maquoketa was expected to utilize existing right-of-way and have straighter curves than the two-lane road. North of
Welton, construction was delayed for a few months when crews discovered that bridges over Deep Creek were off course and had to be rebuilt. The two spans were 25 percent complete when the error was discovered. By the end of January 1997, four laning was completed between De Witt and Maquoketa.
Road construction north of Maquoketa was split into two projects – one in
Jackson County and the other in
Dubuque County
Dubuque County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,266, making it the eighth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Dubuque. The county is named for Julien Dubuque, the first Eur ...
. Both projects were scheduled to be complete by the end of 1996. Near
Fulton
Fulton may refer to:
People
* Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship
* Fulton (surname)
Given name
* Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer
* Fult ...
, the Iowa DOT and a local family had a disagreement on the
fair market value
The fair market value of property is the price at which it would change hands between a willing and informed buyer and seller. The term is used throughout the Internal Revenue Code, as well as in bankruptcy laws, in many state laws, and by several ...
of along US 61. The disagreement led to the
condemnation of the property and the family's eviction.
Construction past
Hurstville
Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...
,
Zwingle, and the
Dubuque Regional Airport
Dubuque Regional Airport is a regional airport located eight miles south of Dubuque, in Dubuque County, Iowa. On U.S. Highway 61, the airport is owned by the city of Dubuque and is operated as a department of the city government. The city coun ...
continued for the next two years. Finally,
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
had a four-lane link to the
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
.
Between Blue Grass and Muscatine, the highway was garnering a deadly reputation. From mid-1999 to mid-2000, seven people died along a stretch of two-lane highway between the two cities. Through Blue Grass, accidents were reduced by adding a
center turn lane
A reversible lane (British English: tidal flow) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, by having overhead traffic lights and li ...
. Construction was not quite complete when local and DOT officials dedicated the new lanes on October 19, 2000. Road work was also happening south of Muscatine. of new road was being built from the bypass southwest to the
Louisa–
Muscatine county line. Louisa County was largely cut out from any discussions of widening US 61 because of a relative lack of civic participation.
Davenport realignment
![Truck Eating Bridge (Davenport, Iowa)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Truck_Eating_Bridge_%28Davenport%2C_Iowa%29.jpg)
In 2010, in large part due to a pair of railroad bridges each with an in downtown Davenport, US 61 through Davenport was moved to Interstates 80 and 280. Between 1984 and 1990, there were 83 incidents involving vehicles at the Harrison Street bridge; most of which involved large trucks that misjudged the heights of their trailers. A study was conducted in 1991 to judge the viability of raising or replacing the bridge. Ten years later, DOT officials sought $ (equivalent to $ in ) to permanently fix the rail line while some city officials thought the low bridge kept out a significant amount of truck traffic from downtown Davenport. Instead, an electronic
vehicle height detection system was installed several blocks ahead of the bridge. The cost of the detection system was $ (equivalent to $ in ).
In 2010, Iowa DOT officials proposed rerouting US 61 out of downtown Davenport and along the Interstate Highways that surrounded the area:
I-80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
and
I-280 Interstate 280 may refer to multiple highways, all of which are or were related to Interstate 80:
* Interstate 280 (California), a north–south freeway running from San Jose to San Francisco
* Interstate 280 (Iowa–Illinois), part of the beltway ...
. The change was approved by
AASHTO on May 28, 2010. Signage was changed in late 2011 and the old route through Davenport was redesignated as a
business route
A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...
. The IowaDOT inventories the route as
Iowa 461. Despite removing US 61 away from the low bridges, trucks continue to misjudge their heights and strike the bridge.
Fort Madison construction at last
![US61 South - Exit 24 - CR X32 Fort Madison (41149623270)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/US61_South_-_Exit_24_-_CR_X32_Fort_Madison_%2841149623270%29.jpg)
The Iowa DOT began anew its preparations for a bypass of Fort Madison in the late 1990s. This time, the road was to be built as a four-lane highway around the city. Only two routes were under consideration; the commission chose what was called the "far north alternative", though no timetable for construction was given at the time. Work had been scheduled to commence in 2004, but the highway commission's five-year plan in 2002 pushed the work back to 2007. During the lapse between the
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
and
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
highway bills, the Iowa DOT did not schedule any major projects, though it did make small right-of-way purchases which gave hope to local leaders that the project would come soon. Finally, in 2005, highway commissioners scheduled the Fort Madison project to begin in 2009. The 2005 highway bill
earmarked $4.72 million (equivalent to $ in ) for the bypass. The DOT originally expected the project to cost around $45 million, but adjusted that figure up to $92 million in their 2006 five-year plan (equivalent to $ and $ in ).
Plans originally called for an interchange at the former
Iowa 103, but it was scrapped to save money. Officials in Fort Madison and
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
entered into an agreement with the
Lee County Board of Supervisors
A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...
to pay for the interchange. The project was bolstered by $358.2 million (equivalent to $ in ) designated to the state from the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
.
[ It was expected in early 2010 that all grading and bridge work would be completed by year's end so paving could occur in 2011. The bypass opened on November 28, 2011, at a cost of $25 million (equivalent to $ million in ).] Like in Davenport, the old route became a business route
A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...
. Its official designation was Iowa 961, but it only lasted for two years. When Iowa 961 was given to the city of Fort Madison, Iowa 2, which had followed US 61 to the three-way stop at the foot of the toll bridge, was also truncated back to the new interchange at the western end of town. As part of the bypass project, the Iowa DOT agreed to rehabilitate the former routing of US 61 so long as the city assumed maintenance of the roadway.
Recent developments
In the mid-2010s the process of four-laning US 61 between Muscatine and Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
began again. The expressway stopped near the Muscatine– Louisa county line, which left a gap to Burlington. Officials noted that traffic accidents were four times higher on the two-lane stretch which saw about 900 trucks daily, on average. Plans were to extend the four lanes south about and build two interchanges: one that would serve a high school that abutted the highway and another to mark the southern end of the Iowa 92
Iowa Highway 92 (Iowa 92) is a state highway that runs from east to west across the state of Iowa. Iowa 92 is long. It begins at the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, where it is a continuation of Nebraska Highway 92. It stretches across ...
overlapping. Officials broke ground
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...
in Louisa County on April 10, 2015. The extended expressway opened on November 30, 2017.
Plans to complete the missing section of four-lane highway are underway. The highway will be reconstructed along most of the current path and interchanges will be built at Mediapolis and Wapello. The design of the road around Wapello angered some city and county officials. They wanted two interchanges, one north of town and the other south, for both safety and economic reasons. The local Iowa DOT engineer only included the northern interchange in plans.
Updated plans a few months later added median U‑turn crossovers in lieu of a second interchange. The current Iowa DOT five-year plan allocates approximately $100 million for completion of the four-lane project through 2025.
Major intersections
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=61, statebefore=Missouri, state=Iowa, stateafter=Wisconsin
61
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 ...
Transportation in Lee County, Iowa
Transportation in Des Moines County, Iowa
Transportation in Louisa County, Iowa
Transportation in Muscatine County, Iowa
Transportation in Scott County, Iowa
Transportation in Clinton County, Iowa
Transportation in Jackson County, Iowa
Transportation in Dubuque County, Iowa
Keokuk, Iowa
Burlington, Iowa micropolitan area
Muscatine, Iowa micropolitan area
Transportation in Davenport, Iowa
Maquoketa, Iowa
Transportation in Dubuque, Iowa