U.S. Highway 218 (US 218) is an original

United States Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

that was created in 1926. Although technically a spur of US 18, US 218 neither begins nor ends at US 18, but overlaps US 18 for near

Charles City, Iowa Charles City is a city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Iowa, United States. Charles City is a significant commercial and transportation center for the area. U.S. Route 18 in Iowa, U.S. Routes 18 and U.S. Route 218, 218, Iowa Highway 14, ...

. US 218 begins at U.S. 136 in downtown Keokuk and ends away at

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

(I-35) and US 14 at

Owatonna, Minnesota Owatonna ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,420 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County F ...

. A large portion of US 218 in Iowa is part of the

Avenue of the Saints The Avenue of the Saints is a highway in the Midwestern United States that connects St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Paul, Minnesota. __TOC__ Route description Missouri The southern end of the Avenue of the Saints is at exit 28A on Interstate ...

, which connects

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, and

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

Route description

Iowa

US 218 begins in downtown Keokuk at an intersection with US 136 and US 61 Business (US 61 Bus.) at Main and 7th streets. The highway heads north along Main Street with US 61 Bus. 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 The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

north towards

Fort Madison Fort Madison is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk, Iowa, Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of ...

. US 218 travels northwesterly for almost 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. The two highways head north on a four-lane expressway. In Donnellson, they meet Iowa 2 at a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade separation, grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. ...

. Further north, and east of Houghton, they intersect Iowa 16 at an

at-grade intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections ar ...

. Prior to crossing the Skunk River, the roadway angles to the northeast and a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

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. From Mount Pleasant it continues to the

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

area, which it bypasses to the south and west. The US 218/IA27 concurrency intersects with I-80, and continues north with

I-380 Interstate 380 may refer to: * Interstate 380 (California), a spur from Interstate 280 to U.S. Route 101 and the San Francisco International Airport * Interstate 380 (Iowa), a spur from Interstate 80 that starts in Iowa City and eventually ends ...

towards

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...

. There US 218 diverges from IA 27 and joins the US30/US151 bypass of south Cedar Rapids. US 151 heads south at Exit 248, and the US 30/218 concurrency continues west for 15 miles, where US 30 continues on as a 4 lane highway and US 218 exits north as a rural 2 lane highway. US 218 heads northwest through Vinton, La Porte City, and Washburn before it reaches Waterloo. Route 218 remains a 2 lane highway until it becomes a freeway right before

US 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Highway, United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major ...

and once again joins I-380 for a couple miles to downtown

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

. When I-380 ends, US 218 continues through downtown Waterloo and then to Cedar Falls, where it crosses the Cedar River. It continues northwest as a 4 lane highway through Waverly, Charles City, and Osage until the Minnesota state line.

Minnesota

US 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 Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, US 218 angles northeastward to bypass the city, its former route following County Road 45 (CR 45) into town. US 218 passes by the Austin Municipal Airport just before its interchange with

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

. The highway runs concurrently with I-90 for nearly through northern Austin. When US 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 (MN 251), the highway angles north-northwestward again following the IC&E rail line, this time on the west side of the tracks. The highway enters Dodge County for less than a mile, then reaches Steele County, Blooming Prairie, and an eight-block-long concurrency with MN 30. It continues north-northwesterly 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 Pratt is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: A–F * Abner Pratt (1801–1863), American diplomat, jurist, politician, and lawyer * Al Pratt (baseball) (1847–1937), American baseball player * Andy Pratt (baseball) (bor ...

, US 218 meets US 14 at a folded diamond interchange. US 218 runs westward concurrently with US 14, while its historic route through downtown Owatonna continues ahead as CR 48. After an interchange with CR 45 (former US 65), US 14/US 218 passes by Kaplan's Woods Park and reaches

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico–Uni ...

, where US 218 ends. Legally, the Minnesota section of US 218 is defined as Route 40 in Minnesota Statutes § 161.114(2).Minnesota Codified Laws
/ref> US 218

History

In 1913, work on the road that is now US 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

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...

s, in

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest Chord (geometry), chord of the circle. Both definitions a ...

, 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 Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, US 218 was extended from its previous southern terminus, at its intersection with

US 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route of the United States Numbered Highway System, with the highway traveling across the Northern U.S. With a length of , it is the third-longest U.S. Highway, afte ...

in Benton County, in 1934 when US 161 was split and renamed. The former US 161 had extended from

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

, through

, to Keokuk. After the split, the section of former US 161 from Dubuque to Cedar Rapids extended US 151 south, and the section of US 30 from the former terminus of US 218 to its intersection with the former US 161 in Cedar Rapids, along with the section of former US 161 from Cedar Rapids to Keokuk, extended US 218 south. In 1965, US 218 was rerouted along bypasses of

Austin, Minnesota Austin is a city in and the county seat of Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River and has ...

and

, the latter following a route that would later become the US 14 bypass of that city as well. In 1985, US 218 was bypassed around Iowa City and Coralville, joining

at the I-80 interchange. US 218 to Cedar Rapids was replaced by Iowa 965. The interchange with I-80 and I-380/US 218/Iowa 27 in Coralville was converted from a cloverleaf to a turbine interchange to eliminate weaving.

Major intersections

Related routes

Mount Pleasant business route

U.S. Highway 218 Business (US 218 Bus.) was designated along a former routing of US 218 through Mount Pleasant, the northernmost are officially known as Iowa 438. The routing was created as a result of construction of the

corridor through Iowa. The new Avenue of the Saints corridor took US 218/Iowa 27 and US 34 around the eastern and northern edges of Mount Pleasant. The Iowa 438 section of US 218 Bus. serves as a connector from southbound US 218/Iowa 27 to westbound US 34.

Waverly business route

US 218 Business (US 218 Bus.) in Waverly was designated December 2, 1998, on the old segment of US 218 after it was routed around Waverly. The business route spans . It intersects Iowa 3 in downtown Waverly and the two routes run concurrently for about . South of Iowa 3, US 218 Bus. is officially known as Iowa 116. US 218 Bus. begins at exit 198 on US 218/Iowa 27 south of Waverly and ends at exit 205 on US 218/Iowa 27.

Charles City business route

US 218 Business (US 218 Bus.) in Charles City was designated along the old alignment of US 218 in 2000 after the construction of the

corridor created a bypass around Charles City. Upon its designation, the route was officially known by two Iowa state highways: Iowa 337 and Iowa 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.

References

External links