Above: Courtesy Michael Summa from 1976, courtesy Lou Corsaro from the modern age.

EB, courtesy Lou Corsaro.


WB in 1979 at the split of the two routes, then somewhere south of Council Bluffs in 1986, both courtesy Michael Summa. So was that sign on IA 192 NB? I-29 SB?


Taken in 1979 by Michael, this sign is old enough to have the tens digits of the 55's patched over, probably over 6's.


The first EB sign once had an IA 244 shield, from back when IA 83 made it out this far and IA 191 didn't end at I-680. The second sign is absurd for labeling the through route as an exit, and has the exit arrow in the wrong place.


I love windmills, and Lou Corsaro obliged. These are EB.


As I-80 was completed, US 6 was moved onto it from Dexter to US 71 at Exit 60, and this Michael Summa sign from 1976 attests to that. The old US 6 crosses I-80 in Adair, and had a much shorter duplex with US 71 east of Atlantic. As a side note, button copy in Iowa only existed in cities.


US 71 NB upon shedding US 6 EB, same location, year, and attribution. Gotta love that cutout! The second photo was snagged from the very back of the first one, and looks like I-80 WEST LEFT (arrow) 500 FT (may not be 500), and US 71 NORTH (arrow). Can't make out button copy-ness or anything else, though it does appear there is another DETOUR WEST IA 44 assembly tacked above the I-80 shield.


EB approaching Des Moines, state shields on a construction sign (notice how pale the orange was), in 1979 courtesy Michael Summa.


EB in the Des Moines area at the southwestern end of the multiplex, same year and attribution. I-80 exits in a looping flyover that replaces the SE loop of what would otherwise be a cloverleaf, while I-235 goes straight, shoots through the city, and goes straight into I-35 NB.


The first photo was taken in 1976, the second in 1979, both again by Michael. They are in the same place, on I-80 WB at the eastern end of the 80/35 duplex. This interchange is a modified cloverleaf, with the NW and SE ramps replaced by left exits. While these two ramps see more traffic than a loop could handle (and one is straight-through I-35 traffic), the design leaves much to be desired. Guess which shield in the second photo doesn't belong. Hint: One of those routes hasn't even begun yet.


I-80 picks up US 65 where it drops off US 6, and then lets 65 go just a mile later around the east side of Des Moines. (That's where the detour shields are, Exit 141.)


The classic first photo was taken in Iowa City in 1976, courtesy Michael Summa. The second one is what eastbound signage currently looks like, courtesy Lou Corsaro. All of the routes are squished together into tiny meaninglessness, the 3-digit routes have no room to expand, and why did NJDOT visit the Exit 239A sign? These should not be considered acceptable.


WB around Davenport to the Exit 290 ramp taking US 61 back off I-80. It was sunrise for the first photo and sunset for the last two. At least the state-name photos by Des Moines came out.


But wait, we already passed Exit 239! This 1976 Michael Summa photo is a testament to the original sequential numbering scheme applied to I-80 in Iowa. It appears that the sign predates the tab.

Onto I-35 and I-80/35

Into Nebraska on I-80
Into Illinois on I-80
Exit 1A to I-29
Onto US 6
Exit 123A to I-235
Exit 239 to US 218/IA 27
Exit 239B to I-380
Onto I-280
Back to Iowa Roads
Back to Roads