NORTH End: Interchange (was intersection), US 151 and E34, near Anamosa, Jones County
Facing north on 1
LGS in above picture
Notice that these signs still show 1 going ahead, though it will end on the other side of the bridge.
Facing north on 1
Closeup of signage
Compare to the view immediately after this interchange's opening:
Facing north on 1 - December 2001
Photo by Jason Hancock
This interchange opened in November 2001. The barricade on the ramp was to keep northbound traffic from using the southbound lane, according to Jason Hancock. This interchange was opened at the same time as the IA 64 interchange, five miles northeast.
Facing south, but heading east, on E34
Photo by Jason Hancock
This signing does have precedent. A green "Junction" sign seems to appear often when the highways on the sign are not on the same road (in this example, 151 is the cross road and 1 continues south). Similar signing appears at the US 65/IA 117/IA 330 intersection and US 18/US 218/IA 14 near Charles City, the latter now including IA 27.
Facing south on 1
LGS in background of above picture
Facing west, but heading south, on 151
Photo by Jason Hancock
Jason writes that this sign was put in February 2002, three months after the interchange opened. It's a new sign, but it's already short something! Highway 1 should have "South" above it. E34 should probably have a "To" above it, because according to the county map E34 comes in from Linn County and only joins old 1 1/2 mile northeast of here, meaning a short segment to the right of the below picture actually doesn't have a designation. ("Spur E34," perhaps.)
Facing south on the 151 southbound offramp
Photo by Jason Hancock
This may be a newer trend in signing - shields at the end of the ramp. Signing at the end of the ramp like this also appears at the interchange with IA 64, constructed at about the same time.
Facing east, but heading north, on 151
Since Iowa City is back to the southwest, I'm surprised that the second city is not Anamosa or Martelle.
Facing east, but heading north, on 151
Facing east, but heading north, on 151
SOUTH End: Stop sign/T intersection, IA 2, Van Buren County
Facing south on 1
Facing south on 1
Facing south on 1
Facing west on 2
Many intersections in Iowa used to have these small grassy medians, but they have generally been removed, replaced with yellow marks on pavement around the left-turn areas (if a left-turn lane has been retained).
Facing west on 2
Facing east on 2
Facing east on 2 / Closeup, five years later
Left photo by Jason Hancock
Rock in northeast corner of intersection
The Old Military Road started at the Missouri border near Mount Sterling. According to a map in Transportation in Iowa: A Historical Summary, the road went through Keosauqua, then northeast to "Washington" (present-day Hillsboro) and Mount Pleasant, then north to Iowa City, then northeast through Anamosa to Dubuque. At the time, this was more or less the western boundary of white settlement in Iowa.
Iowa's state highway "1-2 punch" is near the southeast corner. Here are the identical intersections in other states:
Facing west on LA 2, Vivian LA / Facing north on ND 1, Lakota ND
The following states have a highway 1 and 2 (or the US route of that number) but they do not intersect: Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, and Oklahoma.
I could not find a 1 or 2 on the Rand McNally maps of these states; that's not saying they're not there, it's just that I could not find one or the other (or both). The parentheses indicate the missing highway(s): Arizona (1/2), Arkansas (2), Nevada (1/2), New Jersey (2), Ohio (1), Oregon (1/2), Pennsylvania (2), South Dakota (1/2), Texas (1/2), Utah (1/2), Vermont (1), Washington (1), West Virginia (1), Wisconsin (1), and Wyoming (1/2). I'm suprised I found so many states without a highway 1 or 2, so if I missed it and you know about it please e-mail me. Thanks to Justin Priola for helping clear up CO, NM, and SC.
Pictures by Jason Hancock: Fifth, 12/8/01; sixth, ninth, and tenth, February 2002; 20th, 3/31/02
Pictures by me: First-fourth, seventh, eighth, and eleventh-thirteenth, 4/18/06; 14th-19th, 21st, and 22nd, 6/11/07; 23rd, 12/28/01; 24th, 5/12/07
Page created 12/18/01; last updated 10/1/07
