U.S. Route 218

U.S. Highway 218 Business
U.S. Highway 218 Business
Location	Waverly
Length	6.6 mi (10.6 km)
Existed	December 1998–present

U.S. Highway 218 Business
U.S. Highway 218 Business
Location	Mount Pleasant
Existed	2003–present

U.S. Highway 218
U.S. Highway 218
	Wikimedia \| © OpenStreetMap US 218 highlighted in red
Route information
	Auxiliary route of US 18
Length	321.734 mi (517.781 km) Iowa: 274.995 mi (442.562 km); Minn: 46.739 mi (75.219 km);
Existed	1926[citation needed]–present
Major junctions
South end	US 136 at Keokuk, IA
	US 34 at Mount Pleasant, IA; I-80 / I-380 at Coralville, IA; I-380 / US 30 / US 151 in Cedar Rapids, IA; I-380 / US 20 at Waterloo, IA; US 18 at Floyd, IA; I-90 at Austin, MN;
North end	I-35 / US 14 at Owatonna, MN
Location
States	Iowa; Minnesota;
Counties	Iowa Lee; Henry; Washington; Johnson; Linn; Benton; Black Hawk; Bremer; Chickasaw; Floyd; Mitchell; ; Minnesota Mower; Dodge; Steele; ;
Highway system

U.S. Highway 218 (US 218) is an original United States Highway, created in 1926. Although technically a spur of U.S. Route 18, US 218 neither begins nor ends at US 18, but overlaps US 18 for 8 miles (13 km) near Charles City, Iowa. US 218 begins at U.S. Route 136 in downtown Keokuk and ends 319 miles (513 km) away at Interstate 35 and U.S. Route 14 at Owatonna, Minnesota. A large portion of US 218 in Iowa is part of the Avenue of the Saints, which connects St. Louis, Missouri, and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Route description[]

Iowa[]

US 218 begins in downtown Keokuk at an intersection with US 136 and US 61 Business at Main and 7th Streets. The highway heads north along Main Street with US 61 Business. As they exit Keokuk, the business route ends at an intersection with the mainline US 61, which bypasses the city. US 218 and US 61 head north concurrently for a few miles before US 218 exits to the northwest; US 61 follows the Mississippi River north towards Fort Madison. US 218 travels northwest for almost ten miles (16 km) along a two-lane road. As it approaches Donnellson, it meets up with and joins Iowa Highway 27 (Iowa 27), the Avenue of the Saints Highway.

The two highways head north on a four-lane expressway. In Donnellson, they meet Iowa 2 at a diamond interchange. Further north, and east of Houghton, they intersect Iowa 16 at an at-grade intersection. Prior to crossing the Skunk River, the roadway angles to the northeast and a freeway bypass of Mount Pleasant begins. From the east, the highways are joined by US 34 and Iowa 163. The four highways loop around the city's eastern side and begin traversing the northern side when US 34 and Iowa 163 split away to continue bypassing Mount Pleasant; US 218 and Iowa 27 continue north.

Minnesota[]

U.S. 218 enters the state at Lyle, in Mower County. It follows along the east side of the Iowa, Chicago, and Eastern Railroad line as it continues northward through farm fields. Southeast of Austin, U.S. 218 angles northeastward to bypass the city, its former route following County Road 45 into town.^[1]

U.S. 218 passes by the Austin Municipal Airport just before its interchange with Interstate 90. The highway runs concurrent with I-90 for nearly three miles through northern Austin. When U.S. 218 departs from the interstate and turns back north, it becomes a four-lane divided highway for a short distance. After its junction with State Highway 251, the highway angles north-northwestward again following the IC&E rail line, this time on the west side of the tracks.^[1]

The highway enters Dodge County for less than a mile, then reaches Steele County, Blooming Prairie, and an 8-block-long concurrency with State Highway 30. It continues north-northwest after leaving Blooming Prairie, traveling through predominantly agricultural scenery. It passes by Oak Glen Lake before going through the unincorporated community of Bixby.

After passing through the unincorporated community of Pratt, U.S. 218 meets U.S. 14 at a folded diamond interchange. 218 runs westward concurrent with 14, while its historic route through downtown Owatonna continues ahead as County Road 48. After an interchange with County Road 45 (former U.S. 65), 218 and 14 pass by Kaplan's Woods Park and reach Interstate 35, where U.S. 218 ends.

Legally, the Minnesota section of U.S. 218 is defined as Route 40 in Minnesota Statutes § 161.114(2).^[2]

History[]

In 1913, work on the road that is now U.S. 218 was begun. At this time it was called the Red Ball Route. It was called this because the original route was marked with poles which had red balls, six inches (150 mm) in diameter, mounted on each side. In 1920, the Minnesota portion of the route was designated as Constitutional Route 40, as part of the Babcock Amendment that established the Minnesota trunk highway system.

In Iowa, U.S. 218 was extended from its previous southern terminus, at its intersection with U.S. 30 in Benton County, in 1934 when U.S. Highway 161 was split and renamed. The former U.S. 161 had extended from Dubuque, through Cedar Rapids, to Keokuk. After the split, the section of former U.S. 161 from Dubuque to Cedar Rapids extended U.S. 151 south, and the section of U.S. 30 from the former terminus of U.S. 218 to its intersection with the former U.S. 161 in Cedar Rapids, along with the section of former U.S. 161 from Cedar Rapids to Keokuk, extended U.S. 218 south.

In 1965, U.S. 218 was rerouted along bypasses of Austin, Minnesota and Owatonna, Minnesota,^[3]^[4] the latter following a route that would later become the U.S. 14 bypass of that city as well.

Highway 218 was featured in the Bellamy Brothers 1976 song "Highway 2-18 (Hang On To Your Dreams)". It was track A5 on their first album, Bellamy Brothers – Featuring "Let Your Love Flow".

Future[]

The Iowa Department of Transportation has plans to rebuild the AOTS interchange with I-80 and I-380/US 218/Iowa 27 in Coralville. As the Eastern Iowa region has grown, traffic has increased, and the current arrangement of the interchange with its cloverleaf ramps has been deemed unsafe. The Iowa DOT proposes to rebuilt the interchange as a turbine interchange, which will eliminate weaving. The project is scheduled to begin in 2020.^[5]

Major intersections[]

State	County	Location	mi^[6]^[7]	km	Exit^[8]	Destinations	Notes
Iowa	Lee	Keokuk	0.000	0.000		US 136 west / US 61 Bus. south (7th Street) / US 136 east (Main Street)	Southern end of US 61 Business overlap
		Keokuk	3.480	5.601		US 61 south / US 61 Bus. ends	Southern end of US 61 overlap; northern end of US 61 Business
		Montrose Township	9.132	14.697		US 61 north	Northern end of US 61 overlap
		Charleston Township	18.746	30.169	18	Iowa 27 south – St. Louis	Southern end of Iowa 27 overlap; exit 10 on Iowa 27/Ave. of the Saints
		Donnellson	20.673	33.270	19	Iowa 2 – Donnellson, Fort Madison
		Marion Township	30.760	49.503		Iowa 16
	Henry	Mount Pleasant	41.663	67.050	40	255th Street – Mount Pleasant
			43.349	69.763	42	US 34 east / US 218 Bus. / Iowa 163 east – Mount Pleasant, Burlington	Southern end of US 34 overlap; signed as exits 42A (east) and 42B (west)
			45.787– 47.223	73.687– 75.998	45	US 218 Bus. (Iowa 438) to US 34 west / Iowa 163 west – Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa	Northern end of US 34 overlap; US 218 Business only signed southbound
		Olds	55.447	89.233		Iowa 78
	Washington	Oregon Township	67.581	108.761	66	Iowa 92 – Washington, Columbus Junction	Also serves Ainsworth and Cotter
		Oregon Township	70.960	114.199	70	CR G36
		Riverside	81.072	130.473	80	Iowa 22 – Kalona, Lone Tree
	Johnson	Liberty Township	85.534	137.654	85	Hills
			89.708	144.371	89	Riverside Drive, Airport
		Iowa City	91.318	146.962	91	Iowa 1 – Iowa City, Kalona
		Iowa City	93.561	150.572	93	Melrose Avenue – University Heights
		Coralville	96.934	156.000	97 0	I-80 – Davenport, Des Moines I-380 begins	Northbound exit numbers follow mileage of US-218, signed as 97A (eastbound) and 97B (westbound); southbound exit numbers follow mileage of I-380, signed as 0B (westbound) and 0A (eastbound)
		Coralville–North Liberty line			2	Forevergreen Road
		North Liberty	100.980	162.512	4	CR F28 – north Liberty
		Shueyville	107.791	173.473	10	CR F12 – Swisher, Shueyville
	Linn	Cedar Rapids	110.750	178.235	13	Wright Brothers Boulevard SW – Ely, The Eastern Iowa Airport
			113.263	182.279	16A	I-380 north / US 30 east / US 151 north / Iowa 27 north	Northern end of I-380 and Iowa 27 overlaps; southern end of US 30 and US 151 overlaps
			113.596	182.815	252A	6th Street SW	Exit numbers follow US 30
			115.780	186.330	250	Edgewood Road SW
			117.151	188.536	248	US 151 south / US 151 Bus. (Williams Boulevard SW)	Northern end of US 151 overlap
		Clinton Township	119.130– 119.651	191.721– 192.560	246	Iowa 100 / 16th Avenue / 80th Street – Fairfax	Interchange under reconstruction to connect to Iowa 100
	Benton	Eldorado Township	135.239	217.646		US 30 west	End of US 30 overlap
		Vinton	148.199	238.503		Iowa 150 north
		Monroe Township	158.602	255.245		Iowa 8 west
	Black Hawk	Waterloo	179.468	288.826	71	I-380 south / US 20 / Iowa 27 – Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque	Southern end of I-380 overlap; signed 71A (eastbound) and 71B (westbound); exit numbers follow I-380
			180.535	290.543	72	San Marnan Drive	Access to Covenant Medical Center
			181.116	291.478		I-380 ends	Northern end of I-380; exit numbers follow US 218
			182.864– 183.102	294.291– 294.674	181A	US 63 north – Downtown Riverfront, Young Arena, Sullivan Brothers Convention Center	Signed as exit 180 southbound; no northbound entrance, access to Allen Hospital
			183.425	295.194	181B	US 63 south / University Avenue	Signed as exit 181 southbound; no southbound entrance
			184.201– 184.785	296.443– 297.383	182	Fletcher Avenue, Ansborough Avenue
			185.659	298.789	184	Greenhill Road
			187.228	301.314	185	Broadway Street, Airport
		Cedar Falls	189.067	304.274	—	Iowa 27 south / Iowa 57 west / Iowa 58 south – Cedar Falls, Hudson, UNI, UNI-Dome	Southern end of Iowa 27 overlap
		Cedar Falls	190.719	306.932	189	Lone Tree Road
		Washington Township	193.565	311.513	192	CR C57 (W. Cedar–Wapsi Road)	Interchange opened October 2016
	Bremer	Janesville	196.765	316.663	195	CR C50 – Janesville
		Waverly	200.256	322.281	198	US 218 Bus. – Waverly	Access to Waverly Health Center
			204.757	329.524	203	Iowa 3 – Waverly, Shell Rock
			206.757	332.743	205	US 218 Bus. – Waverly Airport
		Plainfield	214.012	344.419	212	Iowa 188 – Plainfield
	Chickasaw	Nashua	221.316	356.174	220	Iowa 346 / CR B60 – Nashua
	Floyd	Charles City	230.538	371.015	218	US 18 east / US 218 Bus. / CR T64 – Charles City, New Hampton	Southern end of US 18 overlap; exit numbers follow US 18
			234.114	376.770	214	Iowa 14 – Charles City, Greene
			236.238	380.188	212	US 218 Bus. / CR B35 – Charles City
		Floyd	238.655	384.078		US 18 west / Iowa 27 north	Northern end of US 18 and Iowa 27 overlaps
	Mitchell	Burr Oak Township	249.987	402.315		Iowa 9 east	Southern end of Iowa 9 overlap
		Osage	253.985	408.749		Iowa 9 west	Northern end of Iowa 9 overlap
		St. Ansgar	265.754	427.690		CR 105
			274.995 0.000	442.562 0.000		Iowa–Minnesota state line
Minnesota	Mower	Austin	12.195	19.626	180B	I-90 east / CSAH 61 – La Crosse	Eastern end of I-90 overlap
			12.478	20.081	180A	Oakland Place	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			13.071	21.036	179	11th Drive NE	Interchange
			13.725	22.088	178B	CR 16 (6th Street NE)	Interchange
			14.347	23.089	178A	CR 45 (4th Street NW)	Interchange
			15.031	24.190	177	I-90 west – Albert Lea	Western end of I-90 overlap
		Lansing Township	20.633	33.206		MN 251 west – Hollandale
	Dodge	No major junctions
	Steele	Blooming Prairie	28.365	45.649		MN 30 east – Hayfield	Southern end of MN 30 overlap
		Blooming Prairie	29.459	47.410		MN 30 west – Ellendale	Northern end of MN 30 overlap
		Owatonna Township	43.717	70.356	—	US 14 east / CSAH 48 – Rochester	Eastern end of US 14 overlap
			45.539	73.288	—	CSAH 45	Former U.S. 65
			46.739	75.219	—	I-35 / US 14 west – Minneapolis, St. Paul, Albert Lea	I-35 exit 40; western end of US 14 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access

Related routes[]

Mount Pleasant business route[]

U.S. Highway 218 Business (US 218 Business) was designated along a former routing of US 218 through Mount Pleasant, the northernmost 0.7 miles (1.1 km) are officially known as Iowa 438. The routing was created as a result of construction of the Avenue of the Saints corridor through Iowa. The new Avenue of the Saints corridor took US 218 / IA 27 and US 34 around the eastern and northern edges of Mount Pleasant. The Iowa 438 section of US 218 Business serves as a connector from southbound US 218 / Iowa 27 to westbound US 34.

Waverly business route[]

US 218 Business in Waverly was designated December 2, 1998, on the old segment of US 218 after it was routed around Waverly. The business route spans 6.6 miles (10.6 km). It intersects Iowa 3 in downtown Waverly and the two routes run concurrently for about 1 mile (1.6 km).^[9] South of Iowa 3, US 218 Business is officially known as Iowa Highway 116. US 218 Business begins at exit 198 of US 218 / IA 27 south of Waverly and ends at exit 205 of US 218 / IA 27.

Charles City business route[]

U.S. Highway 218 Business

Location	Charles City
Existed	2000–present

US 218 Business in Charles City was designated along the old alignment of US 218 in 2000 after the construction of the Avenue of the Saints corridor created a bypass around Charles City. Upon its designation, the route was officially known by two Iowa state highways – Iowa Highway 337 and Iowa Highway 162. Iowa 337 was turned over to local jurisdictions in 2001 and Iowa 162 was turned over in 2006 after US 18 was relocated through Charles City.