The Iowa Highways Photo Gallery
Council Bluffs area
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Note: Mills County photos that were previously featured here are now on the Western Iowa Odds & Ends page.
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US 275, which runs through the south side of Council Bluffs, was frequently missigned as IA 275, as this sign from mid-2003 shows. Many of those IA 275 signs were replaced by mid-2006, including this one near the interchange with I-29. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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This sign gantry is visible in the above photo. By mid-2006 these signs had been taken down, as the interchange — which had a loop ramp from southbound I-29 from that prevented access to northbound US 275 — was reconfigured to allow access to northbound US 275. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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This sign is one of the few, if not the only, IA 275 shields remaining in Council Bluffs as of June 2006. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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These signals are at the off-ramp from eastbound I-29/80 at the South Expressway, just south of IA 192's south end. After crossing the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks, the ramp becomes 30th Avenue. The lane sign to the right of the center lane signal changes from a straight arrow to right-turn-only whenever trains block the road ahead. |
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A close-up of the two signals on the left. (The sign reads, "CENTER LANE TURN RIGHT WHEN TRAIN PRESENT.") |
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This light at the same intersection is for traffic from 30th Avenue heading toward the on-ramp to eastbound I-29/80. It's hard to tell from this angle, but there is a sign showing I-29 south and I-80 east markers on a blue background. |
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Close-up of the I-29/I-80 sign in the above photo. |
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Signage where I-29 northbound splits from I-80 westbound. |
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"Fork" signage where I-29 southbound splits from I-80 eastbound. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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Signage for the left exit to I-29 northbound from I-80 eastbound, coming in from Nebraska. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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This gantry on northbound I-29 shows the first advance sign for I-480. The interchange is a left exit. US 6 is also at that interchange, and there is no direct connection to eastbound US 6 from I-29 in either direction. |
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The first I-480 reassurance marker after exiting I-29, followed by a US 6 marker. I-480 is only in Iowa for about three-fourths of a mile. |
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A view of the I-480 bridge from the former Abbott Drive viaduct in Omaha. (Demolition of the viaduct began on January 20, 2003, one day after this photo was taken. Abbott Drive was realigned to make room for the Qwest Center.) A pier from the old Ak-Sar-Ben bridge is present in the middle of the photo. |
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Eastbound on I-480, instead of having a standard Iowa welcome sign, the "WELCOME TO IOWA" message is placed above a sign for US 6. An off-ramp to Dodge Park exists before the interchange with I-29. |
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I-480 ends at the interchange with I-29, less than one mile into Iowa. Additional photos of I-480's east end can be found at on AARoads' I-480 terminus photo page. |
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Underneath the flyover ramps of the I-29/480 interchange, an off-ramp to 2nd Avenue exists for US 6 traffic. East of here, US 6 continues into downtown Council Bluffs. A late-1960s photo of these signs, which included US 30A and US 75 shields in addition to US 6 on the sign on the left, can be found in the Iowa DOT's Historic Photo Collection. |
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Overhead signs exist where US 6 splits from Broadway at the end of the railroad viaduct and turns onto Kanesville Boulevard. Broadway continues into downtown Council Bluffs. |
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This view of the junction of southbound IA 192 and US 6 shows a Loess Hills Scenic Byway marker above IA 192 as well as a trailblazer sign to I-29/80, with the two markers on one sign. West of here, US 6 follows Broadway toward I-480 and downtown Omaha. |
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One of the few remaining gantries with button-copy signs in Iowa, as of mid-2007, exists at the Madison Avenue exit on westbound I-80. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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Signs like this are rarely used in Iowa, as opposed to other states, but this sign on northbound I-29 likely exists because the next exit — IA 192 south — is not open to northbound traffic. |
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Signage for the IA 192 exit, which is accessible from southbound I-29 only. Before 1968, I-29 ended here, and all traffic exited onto what was then US 75 toward downtown Council Bluffs. |
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This sign, photographed in January 2003 but taken down by mid-2006, was on 14th Street in downtown Omaha but I felt it was worth including here. There was overhead signage for US 6, US 75, and two US highway shields with covered numbers. Those shields were for US 73, which hasn't gone through Omaha since US 75 was taken off the I-29 multiplex between Sioux City and Council Bluffs in 1984. |
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Carter Lake is the only Iowa community west of the Missouri River. The boundary between Iowa and Nebraska follows the original path of the Missouri, and after the river changed course in the late 19th century the boundaries were left intact. The only way to get to Carter Lake is through Omaha; there is no direct connection with the rest of Iowa. |
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Carter Lake was mentioned on the sign for the first exit on westbound I-480 entering Omaha in this January 2003 photo. By 2006, however, the sign on the right was replaced to place the Qwest Center Omaha on the primary sign, and Carter Lake is now mentioned on a secondary sign. The I-480 terminus photo page, linked above, has a more recent photo. |
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Go north on Abbott Drive heading out of downtown Omaha, and an IA 165 marker, an Iowa-style city limits sign, and an Iowa welcome sign were visible in January 2003. (About a minute later, you're back in Nebraska with no signage whatsoever.) Why is the sign so far back from the road? Even though Abbott Drive was realigned, the signs were never moved. Compare this with the photo Neil Bratney took in January 2002 on the IA 165 terminus photo page. By 2006 the northbound IA 165 marker had disappeared, and a new sign assembly with the Iowa welcome sign and Carter Lake city limit sign had taken its place closer to the road. Photos can be found on the aforementioned terminus photo page. (There is still a reassurance marker for southbound IA 165 with a similar assembly.) |
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The other entrance into Carter Lake from Omaha is via Locust Street, which was IA 347 before 1986. This sign is looking west just past the intersection with Abbott Drive; more photos can be found at the old IA 347 terminus photo page. |
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In early 2005 many of the small county line signs along Interstates were replaced with larger, more legible signs. Although some signs on I-29 are held up by two posts, the marker for Pottawattamie County along westbound I-80 was put on only one post. |
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A "fork" sign is visible as westbound I-80 approaches I-680. While I-80 is marked as the main route to Council Bluffs and Omaha, I-680 is noted as the route toward North Omaha (which isn't a separate city) and Sioux City, which is accessible via I-29. More photos are on the I-680 terminus photo page. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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Exit signage for the I-80/680 split. The interchange with IA 191/County Road G8L, which has been the south end of IA 191 since July 1, 2003, is visible in the background. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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There's a goof on this sign on eastbound I-680: the county road should be County Road G8L instead of GL8. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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All of the former IA 244 near Neola is visible from this photo, taken about a month before its July 1, 2003, decommissioning. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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Signage for southbound I-29's interchange with I-680 near Loveland is visible from the overpass of the former IA 362, now County Road G12. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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County Road G37 is visible on the sign heading north on I-29 toward the southern interchange with I-680 near Crescent. Before July 1, 2003, the unsigned IA 988 was present on this signs, as photos on the IA 988 terminus photo page show. After IA 988 was decommissioned, the marker and "EAST" direction were stripped off the sign, but a new "EAST" with a larger initial letter was put on the sign when the G37 marker was placed. |
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However, heading south, G37 — and IA 988 before that — are not signed. |
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G37 is not signed for eastbound I-680 traffic either, as this view from eastbound I-680 shows. As this photo was taken around sunset, scars where the "IA 988 EAST" were once present are clearly visible here. |
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These signs, which indicate that both eastbound and westbound I-80 are straight ahead, are on southbound US 59 north of Avoca. They may be placed there to prevent traffic from turning onto the road next to the signs. Also worth noting is that the "80" on both shields is bigger than usual. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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IA 59 hasn't been used since US 59 was commissioned in 1934, but this IA 59 marker exists south of US 6 near Oakland. (Photographed by David Backlin) |
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This assembly shows the correct route marker for US 59. (Photographed by David Backlin) |
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Although I-29 never runs through Nebraska, there's never a lack of trailblazer signage. But lo and behold, this sign in downtown Omaha — like many in the city — have the Iowa state name on them! This is on 14th Street; note the absence of a "TO" in this case. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison) |
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However, this sign in Plattsmouth doesn't. |