US 6 in Iowa

According to ablogtophone, US 6 is a US Highway in the US state of Iowa. The road forms an east-west route through the center of the state, parallel to Interstate 80. The road enters the state from Nebraska at the town of Council Bluffs and then runs through the state capital Des Moines to Davenport on the Illinois border. The road is 515 kilometers long.

Travel directions

US 6 forms an east-west route through central Iowa. US 6 in Nebraska, along with Interstate 480, crosses the Missouri River. Where I-480 ends at the interchange with Interstate 29, US 6 continues through the town of Council Bluffs. The road rises out of the Missouri River valley and then follows a long route through the flat to gently rolling countryside of Iowa. Just outside Council Bluffs, Interstate 80 is crossed for the first time. US 6 then follows a single-lane route through Oakland and Atlantic, where it intersects US 59 and US 71 . After Atlantic a double numbering follows with US 71 to I-80, after which US 6 leads east on I-80.

US 6 near Newton in central Iowa state.

The US 6 then coincides with I-80 for approximately 80 kilometers, until De Soto, just before the capital Des Moines. At De Soto, US 6 exits and follows US 169 a little north, then US 6 heads east again and enters the city of Des Moines. US 6 is a major urban arterial in the western suburbs and suburbs of Des Moines, serving much of its route as 2×2 lanes and intersecting I-35/I-80 in western Des Moines. US 6 then bypasses downtown Des Moines and continues through the northern suburbs of the city. In the eastern suburb of Altoona, US 6 rejoins I-80, after which a second double numbering follows with I-80 as far as Newton, 35 kilometers to the east.

From Newton, US 6 forms a single-lane road quite a short distance parallel to I-80. US 6 passes through a number of smaller towns on the rolling prairie land and then reaches the regional city of Iowa City. US 6 runs right through Iowa City, past downtown, and crosses the Iowa River. East of Iowa City, US 6 again forms a single-lane road across the countryside via West Liberty and Wilton, eventually rejoining I-80.

Then follows the third and last double numbering with I-80 in Iowa, a more than 30 kilometers long route to near Davenport, one of the so-called ‘Quad Cities’ on the border of Iowa and Illinois. US 6 then forms an urban arterial through north Davenport and joins Interstate 74 for the final stretch to the Illinois border, after which the I-74 Bridge crosses the Mississippi River and US 6 continues into Illinois through Moline toward East.

History

US 6 was created in 1926, but then ran only in the eastern United States. In 1932, the route was extended from Erie, Pennsylvania to Greeley, Colorado, crossing Iowa. US 6 has always followed the state’s main east-west route. In 1935, the first bridge over the Mississippi River opened in Davenport, which was doubled in 1959 and has been known as the I-74 Bridge ever since. On November 21, 1966, the Grenville Dodge Memorial Bridge opened at Council Bluffs over the Missouri River, over which I-480 runs. Between 1958 and 1972, US 6 was replaced by parallel Interstate 80. In some cases, US 6 runs directly over US 80, especially west and east of the capitalDesMoines. In 1959 and 1960, I-80 opened between Lorah and De Soto, over which US 6 was routed. In 1960 the section between Wilton and Davenport opened. The section between Des Moines and Newton was opened in 1962.

Traffic intensities

Every day, 50,400 vehicles cross the border into Nebraska on I-480, after which the intensity drops outside Council Bluffs to 3,500 vehicles, later 1,400 to 2,200 vehicles. The section through Des Moines has 10,000 vehicles and 1,000 to 2,000 vehicles parallel to I-80 toward Iowa City. East of Iowa City, intensities drop from 4,600 to 2,000 vehicles. Some 70,500 vehicles cross the Illinois border daily on I-74/US 6.

Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge

According to beautyphoon, the Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge is an arch bridge in the United States, located on the border of the states of Iowa and Wisconsin. The bridge spans the Mississippi River at Dubuque.

Characteristics

The Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge is a standard arch bridge with a total length of 899 meters and a main span of 204 meters. The bridge is 21.3 meters wide, with 2×2 lanes and emergency lanes, essentially freeway profile. The bridge deck is 20 meters above the Mississippi River. The bridge handles traffic from US 61 and US 151 and is the main bridge for through traffic in the city of Dubuque. On the west side, the bridge ends at Hamm Island, a short girder bridge spanning a tributary from the Mississippi to mainland Iowa. On the east side, the bridge also crosses a railway line. The bridge is toll-free.

History

Eagle Point Bridge

The first bridge on the north side of Dubuque was the Eagle Point Bridge, a steel truss bridge for vehicular traffic. The bridge was built in 1901-1902 and a span was modified in 1907. Parts of the bridge originally had a wooden bridge deck, in 1936 the wooden bridges were replaced by steel. The bridge deck was still partly made of wood until 1949. The bridge was a toll road. From 1926, US 61/151 crossed the bridge.

Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge

River crossing traffic at Dubuque continued to increase, but an Interstate Highway has never been constructed in this region, alternatively US 61/151 has been upgraded through the Dubuque region to a 2×2 divided highway, partly with freeway features. Due to the increasing traffic it was also necessary to increase the capacity of the bridge, and for this purpose a new four-lane arch bridge was built in the early 1980s, which was opened on August 21, 1982. The old bridge from 1902 was subsequently demolished in 1983. In the 1990s, the connecting road sections were also widened to 2×2 lanes.

Traffic intensities

Every day 20,600 vehicles cross the bridge.