Draft:U.S. Route 69 in Iowa

U.S. Highway 69
US 69 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length	227.257 mi (365.735 km)
Tourist routes	Jefferson Highway Heritage Byway
Major junctions
South end	US 69 south of Lamoni, Iowa
Major intersections	US 34 in Osceola US 65 near Indianola I-235 in Des Moines US 6 in Des Moines I-35 / I-80 in Des Moines US 30 in Ames US 20 near Blairsburg US 18 at Garner
North end	US 69 at Emmons, Minn.
Location
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Counties	Decatur Clarke Warren Polk Story Hamilton Wright Hancock Winnebago Worth
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Iowa Primary Highway System Interstate US State Secondary Byways
← Iowa 68 → Iowa 70

Route description

US 69 begins its journey into Iowa on a two-lane road that follows Missouri–Iowa state line. The two states' departments of transportation split maintenance of the road at roughly the midpoint of the border road. At the terminals of the western half of an interchange with I-35 that also sits on the state line, US 69 turns north and fully enters Iowa. The highway passes several farms and enters Lamoni, where it turns to the east and passes through the downtown area. After another interchange with I-35, it eventually turns to the northeast and goes through Davis City.

At Leon, there is a short overlap with Iowa 2. The highway then runs due north for several miles, only curving to the northwest near Van Wert; it also passes about two miles (3.2 km) the west of Weldon. Through here, the roadway closely parallels I-35. As it enters Osceola, the road follows the terrain to the east before straightening out again. It meets US 34 south of the downtown area. It passes the Clarke County courthouse and Osceola station, which as of 2024, is the closest Amtrak station to the Des Moines metropolitan area.

Further north, it meets County Road R35, which was previously Iowa 152. As it continues northward, the roadway moves farther east gaining separation from the Interstate Highway. Near Lake Ahquabi State Park, US 69 is joined by US 65 from the east. The two highways head north toward Indianola. There, they meet Iowa 92 and also pass Simpson College. North of Indianola, the road becomes a divided highway. It passes Summerset State Park before entering the Des Moines city limits. At a cloverleaf interchange with the Des Moines Bypass, which carries Iowa 5, US 65 splits away to follow the bypass around the east side of the metro area.

The highway takes a reverse curve to the west that leads it to Army Post Road, which is a former alignment of Iowa 5. North of here, US 69 follows SE 14th Street, an undivided four- or five-lane road, as it passes several big-box retailers and chain restaurants. Shortly after crossing the Des Moines River, the highway rises over East Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and the Iowa Interstate Railroad. After landing on a bluff, the highway splits into a one-way couplet with northbound traffic on E. 15th Street and southbound on E. 14th Street. On this section, US 69 passes within blocks of the Iowa State Capitol. After an interchange with I-235, the two directions of roadway end their couplet and rejoin at University Avenue. That intersection also marks the western end of Iowa 163. It passes Grand View University before meeting US 6.

Between here and the interchange with I-35 / I-80, E. 14th Street is the dividing line between a residential area to the west and light industrial to the east. Surrounding the interchange are amenities one would expect along an Interstate Highway, hotels, restaurants, and gas stations. The residential–industrial divide continues north for several miles until the roadway enters Ankeny. Near the intersection with Iowa 160 is the main campus of Des Moines Area Community College. Through Ankeny, US 69 is called Ankeny Boulevard and it passes through a dense retail area. North of NE 36th Street, the suburban sprawl ends and US 69 becomes a two-lane road again. The highway passes Alleman to the east and then meets Iowa 210 south of Huxley. The road curves through the town and then after several miles it widens two four lanes again as it enters Ames.

Through South Ames, US 69 follows Duff Avenue. It passes the Ames Municipal Airport shortly before an interchange with the US 30 freeway. At Lincoln Way, the route turns to the west. This short east–west section is located just south of downtown Ames; Union Pacific's Overland Route runs between. At Grand Avenue, US 69 turns to the north again. The headquarters of the Iowa Department of Transportation lie to the southwest. The road takes an underpass beneath the railroad tracks and goes through a residential area. It passes a mall, several big-box stores, and Ada Hayden Heritage Park before leaving Ames.

US 69 near Blairsburg

Once again on a two-lane road, it continues past Gilbert to the west and Story City to the east. Near Randall, it jogs one mile (1.6 km) to the west and then curves around Little Wall Lake. Just north of the lake is the southern intersection with Iowa 175. The two routes continue along US 69's path north for about one and three-quarters miles (2.8 km) until Jewell, when Iowa 175 turns to the east toward Ellsworth. North of Jewell, US 69 follows a due-north path for nearly ten miles (16 km) when it meets U.S. Route 20 in Iowa south of Blairsburg.

Closer to Blairsburg, US 69 has an odd intersection with CR D25 necessitated by US 69 being a section line road and CR D25 being a correction line. The intersection is shaped like two Y intersections that each terminate at CR D25, the east–west road. The eastern leg of the southern wye and the western leg of the northern wye form a continuous road for US 69. After which, it heads due north for 18 miles (29 km) through the prairie pothole region of Iowa. Northwest of Galt and east of Clarion it is overlapped by Iowa 3 for two miles (3.2 km).

North of Iowa 3, US 69 has another long stretch of due-north highway, this time however, it passes through Belmond and Goodell and to the west of Klemme before entering Garner. At Belmond, the roadway lies just yards from the confluence of the eastern and western branches of the Iowa River; the highway runs closer to the eastern branch and crosses it near Klemme. At Garner, US 69 overlaps US 18 for just over one mile (1.6 km). Following a ten-mile (16 km) stretch in whish it crosses the East Branch Iowa River two more times, US 69 enters Forest City where it passes the Winnebago Industries headquarters. It crosses the Winnebago River and intersects Iowa 9, which joins from the east. The two highways exit Forest City and go through Leland before Iowa 9 heads west. It later curves to the east and heads toward Lake Mills. There near the downtown area, it meets CR 105, which was formerly Iowa 105 and is now the only county road in Iowa to not carry an alphanumeric route number. Past Lake Mills, the highway heads to the north-northeast and finally leaves the state, entering Minnesota at Emmons.

History

• Auto trails

Jefferson Highway

Further information: Jefferson Highway

Jefferson Highway
Existed	1910–1925

Primary Road No. 1
Existed	1920–1926

• Jefferson Highway to Des Moines
• Jefferson Highway became No. 1

Wilson Highway

Wilson

Primary Road No. 15
Existed	1920–1935

• Wilson Highway to Minnesota
• Wilson Highway became No. 15

U.S. Highway origins

• • Originally ended at Leon, US 65 continued north — ISHC bulletin
  • Extended 1934ish to US 65 jct south of Indianonla as of 12/01/1934 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63106783/us-renumbers-iowa-highways/
  • Extended 1935ish to Minnesota https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77311515/new-highway-no-69-okd/

Upgrades

• • E. 14th Street viaduct in DSM built 1937ish, US 65/69 rerouted from Indianola Avenue to E. 14th Street
  • Iowa 88 opened (now Iowa 330) 1937 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77313220/new-shortcut-from-dm-to-cedar-rapids/
  • Paving completed north of DSM in 1940, two nearly equal routes from DSM to Twin Cities https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77314249/choice-of-highway-to-the-twin-cities/
  • Proposal to remove traffic off Indianola Road in 1941 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77314673/proposed-new-paving/

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Decatur	Fayette Township	0.000	0.000	US 69 south – Eagleville	Continuation into Missouri
		1.250	2.012	I-35 – Des Moines, Kansas City	I-35 interchange straddles the Missouri–Iowa state line
	Lamoni	7.159	11.521	I-35 – Des Moines, Kansas City
	Leon	19.457	31.313	Iowa 2 west – Mount Ayr	Southern end of Iowa 2 overlap
		20.142	32.415	Iowa 2 east – Corydon	Northern end of Iowa 2 overlap
	Franklin Township	29.532	47.527	CR J14 – Van Wert	Former Iowa 258
Decatur–Clarke county line	Franklin–Green Bay township line	31.509	50.709	CR J12 – Weldon	Former Iowa 266
Clarke	Osceola	40.701	65.502	US 34 – Creston, Chariton
		42.712	68.738	CR R35 to I-35	Former Iowa 152
Warren	White Oak Township	64.088	103.140	US 65 south – Lucas CR G58 – Lake Ahquabi State Park	Southern end of US 65 overlap; former Iowa 349
	Indianola	69.154	111.293	Iowa 92 – Winterset, Knoxville
	Des Moines	79.275– 79.625	127.581– 128.144	US 65 north / Iowa 5 – Norwalk, Knoxville, Mason City	Northern end of US 65 overlap
Polk		81.732	131.535	Army Post Road	Former Iowa 5
		86.637	139.429	I-235
		87.004	140.019	Iowa 163 east (E. University Avenue)
		88.881	143.040	US 6 (E. Euclid Avenue)
		90.412	145.504	I-35 / I-80 – Council Bluffs, Davenport, Kansas City, Minneapolis
	Ankeny	94.069	151.389	Iowa 160 (Oralabor Road)
	Lincoln Township	100.171	161.210	NE 126 Avenue	Former Iowa 87
Story	Palestine Township	106.138	170.813	Iowa 210 – Slater, Cambridge
	Ames	115.105	185.244	I-35 Business Loop south / US 30 – Nevada, Boone	Southern end of I-35 Business Loop overlap
		117.650	189.339	I-35 Business Loop north (13th Street)	Northern end of I-35 Business Loop overlap
	Lafayette Township	126.769	204.015	CR E18 – Roland	Former Iowa 221
Hamilton	Ellsworth Township	131.547– 131.833	211.704– 212.165	CR D65 – Randall	Former Iowa 383
		135.586	218.205	Iowa 175 west – Stanhope	Southern end of Iowa 175 overlap
	Jewell	137.323	221.000	Iowa 175 east – Ellsworth	Northern end of Iowa 175 overlap
	Liberty Township	147.129	236.781	US 20 – Fort Dodge, Waterloo
	Blairsburg	148.554– 148.815	239.074– 239.495	CR D25 – Williams, Webster City	Former US 20
Wright	Lincoln Township	162.205	261.044	CR C54 – Dows	Former Iowa 72
		164.205	264.262	CR R59 – Galt	Former Iowa 262
	Lincoln–Grant township line	166.665	268.221	Iowa 3 west – Clarion	Southern end of Iowa 3 overlap
	Grant–Iowa township line	168.573	271.292	Iowa 3 east – Hampton	Northern end of Iowa 3 overlap
Hancock	Liberty–Ell township line	186.589	300.286	168th Street – Klemme	Former Iowa 179
	Garner	193.080	310.732	US 18 east – Clear Lake	Southern end of US 18 overlap
	Garfield Township	194.403– 194.575	312.861– 313.138	US 18 west – Britt	Northern end of US 18 overlap
Winnebago	Forest City	205.910	331.380	Iowa 9 east – Fertile, Manly	Southern end of Iowa 9 overlap
	Newton Township	212.905	342.637	Iowa 9 west – Thompson, Buffalo Center	Northern end of Iowa 9 overlap
	Lake Mills	221.174	355.945	CR 105 to I-35	Former Iowa 105
Worth	Silver Lake Township	227.257	365.735	US 69 north – Albert Lea	Continuation into Minnesota
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

External links

• Morrison, Jeff. "Iowa termini of US 69". www.iowahighwayends.net.