I-80 is the longest Interstate Highway in Iowa. It extends from west to east across the central portion of the state through the population centers of the
Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, Des Moines metropolitan area, and Quad Cities. The majority of the highway runs through farmland, yet roughly a third of Iowa's population live along the I-80 corridor. The route closely follows the
Iowa Interstate Railroad, which was once the
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Main Line in Iowa.
Western Iowa I-80 enters Iowa on a bridge over the Missouri River, where it leaves
Omaha, Nebraska, to enter Council Bluffs. Almost immediately after landing on the Iowa side of the bridge, it meets
I-29 and
US 6 at a
Y interchange. At the interchange, I-80 splits into a
local–express lane configuration. The inner express lanes do not provide any connection to I-29 nor to any of the intermediate interchanges between the two junctions with I-29. The outer local lanes are
concurrent with I-29 through southern Council Bluffs for . The speed limit through this section is . The South 24th Street interchange serves a commercial area anchored by the
Mid-America Center and
Horseshoe Casino. The South Expressway exit, which previously marked the southern end of
Iowa Highway 192 (Iowa 192), is adjacent to a
big-box store commercial center. At the East System interchange in Council Bluffs; I-29 heads south while I-80 and US 6 head to the northeast. East of the I-29 split, I-80 travels northeast for the next . It passes through eastern Council Bluffs where it serves a commercial/residential area. At exit 8, US 6 exits the freeway and heads west. The Interstate leaves Council Bluffs and speed limit increases to . while CR N54 has not carried US 6 since 1980. Further east is an interchange with
Iowa 25. About south of the interchange is
Freedom Rock. Each year for
Memorial Day, the rock is repainted with a patriotic scene by local artist Ray "Bubba" Sorenson II. Near
Dexter, I-80 and US 6 graze the northwestern corner of Madison County. After , the routes enter
Dallas County and meet CR F60, another former alignment of US 6.
Central Iowa Continuing east, the two routes follow a due-east section of highway, where they pass
Earlham. Near the CR F90/CR P58 interchange, they start heading northeast towards Des Moines. At
De Soto, US 6 splits away from I-80 at the interchange with
US 169. Tourists who want to see the
covered bridges of Madison County (made famous by the book
The Bridges of Madison County) and the birthplace of
John Wayne, are directed to follow US 169 south to
Winterset. Between De Soto and
Van Meter, the Interstate crosses the middle and north branches of the
Raccoon River, which converge just south of the crossing of the North Raccoon River. As the highway gets closer to Des Moines, it moves more sharply to the northeast. In southern
Waukee, there is an interchange with Grand Prairie Parkway, the first
diverging diamond interchange in the state. As I-80 enters
West Des Moines, the speed limit lowers to and the path of the Interstate straightens out to the east at the Jordan Creek Parkway exit. The highway adds a third lane eastbound and drops the third lane westbound. Almost to the east is the interchange with I-35, which also marks the beginning of
I-235. Eastbound I-80 exits the freeway via a
flyover ramp to northbound I-35; eastbound I-235 begins as the continuation of the I-80 freeway. Locally, this exit is called the West Mixmaster. in 2008|alt=Floodwater is on both sides of a busy highway. I-80 shares the next with I-35 on a six-lane freeway where each direction's three lanes are separated by a
Jersey barrier. They begin their journey together by heading north; they briefly run through West Des Moines and then cross into
Clive at University Avenue. At the Clive–
Urbandale city limits is the interchange with Hickman Road, which carries US 6. Hickman Road serves a
truck stop to the west and the
Living History Farms visitor center to the east. The two Interstates continue north through Urbandale where they pass Douglas Avenue. The
Iowa 141 exit is at Rider Corner, the point where the I-35/I-80 freeway curves 90 degrees to the east. East of the 86th Street exit, the freeway begins a slow descent toward the
Des Moines River. Merle Hay Road, named for the
first Iowan to die in World War I, carries
Iowa 28 from the south to its northern end at the Interstates. They cross the Des Moines River just south of the mouth of
Beaver Creek. to the east is
Iowa 415 and further east is
US 69. Between the interchanges there is a fourth lane in each direction. At the end of their together, I-35 exits to the north and I-235's eastern end is to the south at the East Mixmaster. East of I-35, I-80 meets up with
US 65 on the outskirts of
Altoona. The two routes only share the highway for as US 65 splits away at the next exit. Here, US 6 rejoins I-80 for the second time and the Interstate returns to its four-lane configuration. After a third exit for Altoona, the Interstate resumes its rural limit. Near
Colfax, the highways cross the
South Skunk River. After an interchange with
Iowa 117, the highway is forced to the north to avoid crossing the river multiple times. As it returns south to its original line, it meets CR F48, which was another former alignment of US 6. As the road straightens out, it begins a stretch of straight highway. A few miles east, in
Williamsburg, is the northern end of
Iowa 149. The Williamsburg exit is the location of a
Tanger Outlet Mall. The next interchange marks the southern end of
US 151. Both the Iowa 149 and US 151 interchanges serve the
Amana Colonies which are located to the north. As I-80 enters the Iowa City area, the speed limit drops to . On the edge of
Coralville is an interchange with
US 218 and Iowa 27. This interchange is also the beginning of
I-380, which heads north along US 218 and Iowa 27 toward
Cedar Rapids and
Waterloo. The I-80/I-380 interchange was identified as the most likely location in Iowa for a
semi-trailer truck to overturn. According to the
American Transportation Research Institute, 30 trucks
rolled over at the interchange during the eight-year study period. The
Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) has plans to replace the
cloverleaf interchange with a
turbine interchange, but the project would not take place until around 2025. At the I-380 interchange, I-80 becomes a six-lane freeway. The Coral Ridge Avenue exit provides access to US 6, which passes beneath the Interstate just before the interchange, and the
eponymous shopping center located to the southeast. The 1st Avenue exit in Coralville and Dubuque Street exit in
Iowa City direct University of Iowa traffic to different parts of the university campus. The
Iowa River flows between the two interchanges and also marks the boundary between Coralville and Iowa City. On Iowa City's east side are the
Iowa 1 and
Herbert Hoover Highway exits. Between them, the highway drops back to four lanes and the speed limit increases to . The truck stop has three restaurants, a gift shop, movie theater, museum, barber shop, and dentist on site. On average, the truck stop has served more than 1.4 million customers per year since it opened in 1965. Just within the city limits of Davenport is the
I-280 interchange. US 6 exits to the south to join I-280 while I-80 is joined by
US 61. I-80 and US 61 only share of freeway before US 61 exits to its own freeway heading north. In between the two exits is an interchange with Northwest Boulevard, which marks the eastern end of
Iowa 130. A couple miles east of the eastern US 61 interchange is the western end of
I-74. Because of a
"turn off to stay on" interchange with I-74 and I-280 near
Colona, Illinois, called "the Big X", I-74 through traffic is urged to use I-80 around the Quad Cities to the Big X. At the Big X, traffic from both I-74 and I-80 must exit their respective freeways to continue on the same route. Near the Mississippi River, the Interstate takes a sharp curve to the southeast to line up perpendicularly to the river. Just before the base of the bridge is an interchange with
US 67, the last exit in Iowa. I-80 ends its journey through Iowa over the Mississippi River on the Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge. It enters rural
Rock Island County, Illinois, and continues toward
Chicago, Illinois.
Services The Iowa DOT operates 37 rest areas and one scenic overlook in 20 locations along its of Interstate highway. Along I-80, there are nine locations that have facilities for each direction of traffic. Parking areas are divided so passenger automobiles are separated from large
semitrailer trucks. Common among all of the rest stops are separate men's and women's restrooms,
payphones with
TDD capabilities, weather reporting kiosks,
vending machines, and free
wireless internet. Many stations have
family restrooms and
dump stations for
recreational vehicles. The first rest areas along Iowa's Interstates were built in the 1960s. They were modest facilities; separate buildings housed the restrooms and vending machines. A few rest stops had another building with local tourist information. On August 4, 1999, the first modern rest area opened along eastbound I-80 near Wilton. The new facilities feature one large building housing as many as 28 more toilets than the older buildings, in addition to all the other common rest area amenities. They also feature artwork by local Iowa artists. Each new rest area is designed around a theme. For instance, the facility near Adair is a tribute to the life of
Henry A. Wallace, the 33rd
Vice President of the United States, who was born in nearby
Orient. == History ==