Iowa Highway 2 (Iowa 2) is a 251-mile-long (404 km) state highway which runs across the southernmost tier of counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. At no point along its route is Iowa 2 more than 15 miles (24 km) from the Missouri state line, except for a small section near its eastern terminus. Iowa 2 stretches across the entire state; from the Missouri River near Nebraska City, Nebraska, to U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) at Fort Madison. Prior to becoming a primary highway, the route was known as the Waubonsie Trail.

Iowa Highway 2 marker

Iowa Highway 2

Map
Iowa 2 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length251.376 mi[1] (404.550 km)
Major junctions
West end N-2 at Nebraska City, NE
Major intersections
East end US 61 at Fort Madison
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIowa
Counties
Highway system
Iowa 1 Iowa 3

Route description edit

 
US 71 has a concurrency with Iowa 2 near Clarinda.

Iowa Highway 2 begins at the Nebraska City Bridge just east of Nebraska City, Nebraska. It goes northeast and then east as an expressway until meeting Interstate 29. It then continues east as a two-lane highway until meeting U.S. Highway 275 and turning north. It continues north, bypassing Sidney with U.S. 275, and turning east of Sidney. It goes east and meets U.S. 59 at Shenandoah and then U.S. 71 at Clarinda, which is served with Business Route 2. It continues east through New Market and meets Iowa Highway 148 at Bedford. After intersecting Iowa Highway 25 east of Bedford, it passes through Benton before beginning an overlap with U.S. Highway 169 through Mount Ayr. After passing through Kellerton, Iowa 2 intersects Interstate 35 at Decatur City.

Iowa Highway 2 continues east through Decatur City and meets U.S. Highway 69 in Leon. It continues east and intersects U.S. Highway 65 before entering Corydon, where it intersects Iowa Highway 14. After passing through Promise City, it goes through Centerville, where it intersects Iowa Highway 5. It later intersects Iowa Highway 202 near Moulton and then begins a concurrency with U.S. Highway 63 which ends in Bloomfield.

 
Iowa 2 in Lee County

After Bloomfield, Iowa Highway 2 turns southeasterly to pass through Pulaski, Milton, and Cantril, then turns briefly northeast. It turns east, intersects Iowa Highway 1 south of Keosauqua, then turns southeast towards Farmington. At Farmington, Iowa 2 meets Iowa Highway 81 and crosses the Des Moines River. It continues east and meets U.S. Highway 218 and Iowa Highway 27 at Donnellson. From there, it then meets U.S. Highway 61 and ends on the west side of Fort Madison.

Clarinda business loop edit

 

 

Iowa Highway 2 Business

LocationClarinda

Iowa Highway 2 Business begins at the western edge of Clarinda on an old alignment of Iowa 2. It follows State Street east into Clarinda. At 16th Street (Glenn Miller Avenue), IA 2 Bus. heads south until its junction with US 71 Business. Both routes follow Washington Street east towards US 71. Iowa 2 Business follows US 71 south to IA 2 to complete the business loop.

History edit

The current Iowa Highway 2 was designated in 1920 as Primary Road No. 3 (PR No. 3). The 285-mile-long (459 km) route connected Nebraska City, Nebraska, to Burlington. PR No. 3 was overlaid upon the Waubonsie Trail from the Missouri River to Fort Madison. From Fort Madison, it overlapped the Mississippi Valley Scenic Highway, a precursor to the Great River Road.[2] In 1941, the route had been renumbered Iowa 2 and the section between Fort Madison and Burlington was no longer part of the route.[3]

The segment west of Interstate 29 was constructed as an expressway in 1986 with the plan of connecting Lincoln, Nebraska with Interstate 29 using a divided highway.

In late 2013, the Fort Madison city council accepted the jurisdiction of Iowa 2 within the city limits, which eliminated the last 5.8 miles (9.3 km) from the route.[4][5]

Major intersections edit

CountyLocationmi[6]kmDestinationsNotes
Missouri River0.0000.000 
 
N-2 west – Nebraska City, Lincoln
Continuation into Nebraska
Nebraska City Bridge
FremontBenton Township3.1315.039  I-29 (Exit 10) – Council Bluffs, Kansas City
Washington Township8.59113.826  CR L48 – Waubonsie State ParkFormer Iowa 239
WashingtonSidney
township line
10.50116.900 
 
  US 275 south / CR J46 – Hamburg, Riverton
Western end of US 275 overlap; former Iowa 42
Sidney Township15.22224.497 
 
US 275 north (Illinois Street) – Sidney, Tabor
Eastern end of US 275 overlap
FremontPage
county line
Shenandoah27.99745.057  US 59 – Shenandoah, Tarkio, Mo.
PageClarinda45.01372.441 
 
 
Iowa 2 Business east (State Street)
46.80975.332 
 
 
 
US 71 south (Glenn Miller Avenue) / US 71 Bus. – Maryville, Mo.
Western end of US 71 overlap
Nodaway Township48.54378.122 
 
 
 
 
US 71 north / Iowa 2 Business west – Villisca
Eastern end of US 71 overlap
TaylorBedford65.650105.653 
 
Iowa 148 north – Corning
Western end of Iowa 148 overlap
65.873106.012 
 
Iowa 148 south (Madison Avenue)
Eastern end of Iowa 148 overlap
Bedford Township66.658107.276  CR N44 – SharpsburgFormer Iowa 49
TaylorRinggold
county line
GayBenton
township line
79.265127.565  CR P14 – BlocktonFormer Iowa 25
81.759131.578 
 
Iowa 25 north – Clearfield
RinggoldWaubonsie Township89.239143.616  CR P33 – DiagonalFormer Iowa 66
Rice Township92.315148.567 
 
US 169 south – Grant City, Mo.
Western end of US 169 overlap
Mount Ayr94.753152.490 
 
US 169 north (Cleveland Street) – Winterset
Eastern end of US 169 overlap
DecaturGrand River Township109.123175.616  CR R15 – Grand RiverFormer Iowa 294
Decatur Township115.118185.264  I-35 – Des Moines, Kansas City
Leon119.578192.442 
 
US 69 south (Lorraine Street) – Lamoni
Western end of US 69 overlap
120.263193.545 
 
US 69 north (Church Street) / Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail – Osceola
Eastern end of US 69 overlap
High Point Township128.635207.018  CR R69 – Garden GroveFormer Iowa 204
WayneClay Township133.626215.050  US 65 – Humeston, Princeton, Mo.
Benton Township140.221225.664Liberty RoadFormer Iowa 2
140.705226.443  CR S26 – AllertonFormer Iowa 40
Corydon143.218230.487 
 
Iowa 14 north – Chariton
Corydon Township147.907238.033Liberty RoadFormer Iowa 2
South Fork Township153.421246.907  CR S60 – SeymourFormer Iowa 55
AppanooseCenterville167.215269.106  Iowa 5 (18th Street) – Cincinnati, Albia
Washington Township176.411283.906  CR T61 – UnionvilleFormer Iowa 369
177.787286.120 
 
Iowa 202 south – Moulton
DavisWest Grove Township186.787300.605 
 
US 63 south – Lancaster, Mo.
Western end of US 63 overlap
Bloomfield191.818308.701 
 
US 63 north (Washington Street) – Ottumwa
Eastern end of US 63 overlap
Van BurenMilton207.088333.276  CR V56 – Memphis, Mo.Former Iowa 15
Des MoinesVernon
township line
219.134352.662 
 
Iowa 1 north – Keosauqua
Bonaparte Township226.581–
226.807
364.647–
365.010
  CR W40 – BonaparteFormer Iowa 79
Farmington Township231.208372.093 
 
Iowa 81 south – Kahoka, Mo.
LeeDonnellson242.289389.926Main StreetFormer US 218
242.728390.633  
 
US 218 / Iowa 27 – Keokuk, Mount Pleasant
Fort Madison251.322–
251.633
404.464–
404.964
  
 
 
US 61 / US 61 Bus. begins (Avenue O) / Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail – Keokuk, Burlington
Road continues as US 61 Business
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References edit

  1. ^ 2012 Volume of Traffic on the Primary Road System of Iowa (PDF) (Report). Iowa Department of Transportation. January 1, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  2. ^ Official Auto Trails Map (Map). 1:1,081,344. Rand McNally. 1921. p. 330-331.
  3. ^ Road and Reference Atlas (Map). 1:1,077,120. Rand McNally & Company. 1947. p. 42–43.
  4. ^ "City Council Minutes" (PDF). City of Fort Madison. October 1, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  5. ^ Iowa Transportation Commission (November 12, 2013). "Commission Meeting Minutes" (PDF). Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  6. ^ "Road Network (Portal)" (ESRI shapefile). Ames: Iowa Department of Transportation. April 9, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.

External links edit

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