Iowa Highway 37 (Iowa 37) is an east–west road in the west-central part of the state. Iowa 37 begins just east of Turin at Iowa Highway 175. It ends four miles (6.4 km) east of Earling at U.S. Highway 59. A small portion of the highway near Turin is designated as part of the Loess Hills Scenic Byway.

Iowa Highway 37 marker
Iowa Highway 37
Map
Iowa 37 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length40.231 mi[1] (64.746 km)
Major junctions
West end Iowa 175 near Turin
Major intersections US 30 in Dunlap
East end US 59 near Earling
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIowa
Counties
Highway system
I-35 Iowa 38

Route description

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Iowa 37 as it passes through Dunlap

Iowa Highway 37 begins at an intersection with Iowa 175 east of Turin and adjacent to Iowa 175's crossing of the Maple River. The first one and a half miles (2.4 km) of the route are part of the Loess Hills Scenic Byway.[2] The highway travels east and then southeast through the Loess Hills, a region of dunes east of the Missouri River created by wind-deposited silt from the Missouri River valley. At Soldier, Iowa 37 exits the Loess Hills and meets Iowa 183. From Soldier, the highway travels 13 miles (21 km) to the southeast to Dunlap. In Dunlap, Iowa 37 overlaps US 30 for one-quarter mile (400 m). Eastbound Iowa 37 overlaps westbound US 30; this phenomenon is known as a wrong-way concurrency. Between Dunlap and Earling, Iowa 37 travels in a stairstep path to the south and east for 13 miles (21 km). At Earling, the highway intersects the northern end of Iowa 191. Its last section is four miles (6.4 km) long, connecting Earling to US 59.[1]

History

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Originally, Iowa Highway 37 began at US 75 in Onawa to US 59 east of Earling. The westernmost eight miles (13 km) of the route were overlapped by Iowa 175. In 1966, Iowa 37 was truncated to its current western end near the Maple River.[3] In 1971, a new section of US 59 was opened one mile (1.6 km) to the west of the former alignment. As a result, Iowa 37 was extended one mile (1.6 km) north and six miles (9.7 km) east to Irwin, absorbing Iowa 268[4] The section from US 59 to Irwin was short-lived. In 1980, the section east of US 59 was turned over to Shelby County.[5]

Major intersections

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CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
MononaBelvidere Township0.0000.000  Iowa 175 – Onawa, Mapleton
Soldier10.04416.164  Iowa 183 – Moorhead, Ute
Crawford
No major junctions
HarrisonDunlap23.10237.179 
 
US 30 east (6th Street) – Denison
Western end of US 30 overlap; wrong-way concurrency
23.33737.557 
 
US 30 west (6th Street) – Woodbine
Eastern end of US 30 overlap
ShelbyEarling36.14858.175 
 
Iowa 191 south – Panama
WestphaliaUnion
township line
40.23164.746  US 59 – Harlan, Denison
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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  1. ^ a b c 2009 Volume of Traffic on the Primary Road System of Iowa (PDF) (Report). Iowa Department of Transportation. January 1, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  2. ^ Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  3. ^ Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa State Highway Commission. 1967. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  4. ^ Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa State Highway Commission. 1972. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  5. ^ Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 1981. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
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