Iowa Highway 31

Iowa Highway 31 (Iowa 31) is a diagonal state highway which runs from Iowa Highway 141 (Iowa 141) in Smithland to U.S. Highway 59 (US 59) east of Quimby. For most of its length, the highway runs parallel to the Little Sioux River. Since its designation, the route has changed very little. The route was paved by the mid-1960s.

Iowa Highway 31
Iowa 31 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length38.856 mi[1] (62.533 km)
Major junctions
South end Iowa 141 / CR L12 at Smithland
  US 20 at Correctionville
North end US 59 / CR C63 near Quimby
Location
Counties
Highway system
← US 30→ Iowa 32

Route description

Iowa Highway 31 begins at an intersection with Iowa Highway 141, Main Street in Smithland. The route heads north along Hickory Street and out of town parallel to the western bank of the Little Sioux River.[2] It heads to the north-northeast for 20 miles (32 km) through the Woodbury County communities of Oto and Anthon, and crosses the Little Sioux southwest of Correctionville.[1]

At Correctionville, Iowa 31 intersects U.S. Highway 20 and then curves around following the eastern bank of the Little Sioux. The route continues north-northeast, clipping the northwestern corner of Ida County, before entering Cherokee County south of Washta. At Quimby, the route turns east and travels 4 miles (6.4 km) to its northern end at U.S. Highway 59.[1]

History

From its designation, Iowa 31 has run from Smithland to Quimby on a road which runs parallel to the Little Sioux River. In 1926, the route continued along the Little Sioux, ending at Primary Road No. 21, now U.S. Highway 59.[3] By 1947, US 59 was straightened, and Iowa 31 followed the former alignment of US 59 to end at the straighter road.[4] By 1952, Iowa 31 had moved onto its current alignment, where it remains to this day.[5] By 1966, the highway was paved in its entirety.[6]

Major intersections
CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
WoodburySmithland0.0000.000 Iowa 141 (Main Street) / CR L12 (S. Hickory Street) – Mapleton, Sloan
Correctionville20.72133.347 US 20 west – HolsteinSouthern end of US 20 overlap
20.97533.756 US 20 east (11th Street) – MovilleNorthern end of US 20 overlap
Ida
 No major junctions
CherokeeSilver Township38.85662.533 US 59 / CR C63 east – Cherokee, Holstein, Storm Lake
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References
  1. 2015 Volume of Traffic on the Primary Road System of Iowa (PDF) (Report). Iowa Department of Transportation. January 1, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  2. Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 2010. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  3. Junior Road Map: Western Iowa (Map). Rand McNally & Company. 1926. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  4. Road and Reference Atlas (Map). 1:1,077,120. Rand McNally & Company. 1947. pp. 42–43.
  5. Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa State Highway Commission. 1952. § E3-H5. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  6. Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa State Highway Commission. 1967. § F3-H4. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
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