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The Leo P. Rooff Expressway
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A freeway sign over a sidewalk? This is toward the end of the at-grade
section of US 218, approaching downtown Waterloo. The sign that previously said "Downtown" in the standard FHWA font was replaced with the sign pictured here in 2006.
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This is looking northward at the point where US 218, known as
the Leo P. Rooff Expressway, splits from northbound Washington Street. (Rooff, who died
in January 2004, was the mayor of Waterloo from 1974 to 1984. As mayor, he participated
in the Interstate Substitution program, which transferred funds meant for an extension
of I-380 into other area road projects. The I-380 extension would have followed the same
route as the Rooff Expressway.)
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And looking the other way, here is where southbound Washington
Street (right) merges into the expressway.
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Overhead signage is visible heading south on US 218 at the intersection with 11th Street, just after the merge.
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By the end of 2006 a series of overhead signs were placed along northbound US 63 approaching US 218. Here's an example, with the John Deere Waterloo Works and Rooff Expressway in the background.
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US 218 at IA 57 and IA 58
US 218, the Leo P. Rooff Expressway in Waterloo, turns westward at the
Broadway Street exit near the airport before intersecting IA 57 and IA 58/27
in Cedar Falls. The interchange is a cloverleaf except for a flyover ramp connecting
northbound US 218 with southbound IA 58/27. (Note that "Cedar Falls" is
in smaller type than the other two control cities; my guess is that the Iowa DOT planned
to put something else on the sign before deciding on "Cedar Falls.")
More photos can be found on Jeff Morrison's
site, as this is a common end for both IA 57 and 58.
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The first big green sign for the interchange used to have two big
markers for IA 58 (south) and US 218 (north), but IA 27 came along. As was
the case in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City areas, some signs were too narrow
to fit regular-sized markers in so the DOT used small markers in their places.
But lo and behold, IA 27 appears under both banners!
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The flyover ramp splits into two directions at this point. IA
58 is a four-lane expressway through Cedar Falls before ending at a simple
diamond interchange with US 20 which actually predates the expressway.
US 218, meanwhile, continues northward as part of the Avenue of the Saints.
(You may be able to make out the shape of the large US 218 marker that
used to be where the small marker is now; it's a slightly brighter green
than the rest of the sign.)
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These signs are on northbound IA 58/27 at the US 218/IA 57 interchange. Two small
shields for US 218 and IA 27 replaced the large US 218 shield on the sign on the left.
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The posted end of IA 58 at the US 218/IA 57 interchange, looking northward. The road continues as US 218.
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These signs are at the end of IA 57, which continues as the Leo P. Rooff
Expressway and US 218. The sign on the right had room for a regular-sized IA 27 marker.
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And just when I thought I'd never see a wide three-digit US highway
shield in Iowa, I found this one at the eastern end of IA 57. They are very
similar to the shields on the big green signs at the upcoming interchange.
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Other Black Hawk County sights
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This sign on westbound US 20 pushes the IA 58 marker to the edge of the sign,
and it also shows IA 27's status as a "second-banana" highway to those already
on the Avenue of the Saints by placing it after IA 58. (Most multiplexes of the
same kind of highway are shown with the lower number first.)
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These signs are present on southbound IA 58/27 approaching US 20. IA 27 joins eastbound US 20 while IA 58 joins westbound US 20. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
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This is a sign arrangement in Cedar Falls at US 20 and IA 58/27, where 27 turns onto 20.
A couple of things to note: (1) The I-380 digits are larger than usual,
and (2) the US 20 westbound sign is different than the kind normally found
in the state (i.e., the eastbound US 20 sign)-- it resembles the markers
with large shields and wider digits that are found in Illinois and other
states.
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Green signs are common where one road is about to intersect two highways. Non-cutout
highway markers, though, are not. This sign is on Butterfield Road in Hudson, a blacktop
that becomes the IA 58 expressway after crossing US 20 (which, at this interchange, straddles
the city limits of Cedar Falls and Hudson).
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A couple of oddities are present on this distance sign east of US 63 on US 20.
First, the distances are out of order; Dubuque is on the first line but cities that
are further away are usually listed below the city that is closest to the sign.
And second, Dysart isn't even close to US 20! (However, it is accessible via IA 21,
which is the next exit.)
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In late 2004 new tenth-mile markers like these were installed on I-380, US 20, and US 218 in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. These markers are in a different style than the tenth-mile markers in Des Moines and other areas. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
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In 2001 the Cedar Falls city council voted to rename Waterloo Road "Veteran's
Parkway", but they later decided to back off on that plan. As a compromise, signs like
this were put up intermittently on Waterloo Road.
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Is it IA 27/58 or IA 58/27? These assemblies on Waterloo Road at the interchange with the expressway show two different orders. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
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This horizontal signal display existed on IA 57 west of Hudson Road in Cedar Falls in March 2005. (Photographed by Jeff Morrison)
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