Iowa Highway 48

Iowa Highway 48
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length:	47.919 mi[1] (77.118 km)
Major junctions
South end:	US 59 at Shenandoah
	US 34 at Red Oak
North end:	US 6 near Lewis
Location
Counties:	Page Montgomery Cass
Highway system
Iowa Primary Highway System Interstate U.S. State Secondary Scenic ← Iowa 44 Iowa 51 →

Iowa Highway 48 is a 48-mile-long (77 km) state highway which runs from north to south in southwest Iowa. It begins at the northern edge of Shenandoah at U.S. Route 59 and ends at U.S. Route 6 near Lewis. The highway has seen few changes since its creation.

Route description

Iowa 48 runs north from its junction with US 34 in Red Oak

Iowa Highway 48 begins in Shenandoah at an intersection with U.S. Route 59 (US 59), which serves as the line separating Fremont County and Page County. It heads east for one mile (1.6 km) before turning to the northeast to become parallel to a line of the BNSF Railway.^[2] It travels northeast for 6 miles (9.7 km) and turns east shortly after passing through Essex. Three miles (4.8 km) east of Essex, Iowa 48 turns north at an intersection with Page County Road J20 (CR J20).^[1]

From CR J20, Iowa 48 heads due north for 12 ¹⁄₂ miles (20.1 km) to the intersection with US 34 in Red Oak. From Red Oak, Iowa 48 continues due north for 8 miles (13 km) until it turns east to cross the East Nishnabotna River and pass through Elliott before turning back to the north.^[3] It then travels north for 6 miles to Griswold, where it intersects Iowa 92. Iowa 48 continues north for 5 ¹⁄₂ miles (8.9 km), again crossing the East Nishnabotna, until its northern end at U.S. Route 6 west of Lewis.^[1]

History

Originally, Iowa Highway 48 was a short highway connecting Shenandoah and Red Oak, roughly along the path the route takes today.^[4] By 1952, the route was in its present location and ended at US 6 west of Lewis. Only the original section had been paved at this time.^[5] By 1976, the entire highway was paved.^[6]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Fremont–Page county line	Shenandoah	0.000	0.000	US 59
Montgomery	Red Oak	23.155	37.264	US 34
Cass	Griswold	42.172	67.869	Iowa 92 (Main Street)
	Cass Township	47.919	77.118	US 6
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. "2009 Volume of Traffic on the Primary Road System of Iowa" (PDF). Iowa Department of Transportation. January 1, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
2. Iowa State Railroad Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. July 1, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
3. Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
4. Junior Road Map: Western Iowa (Map). Rand McNally & Company. 1926. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
5. Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa State Highway Commission. 1952. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
6. Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 1976. Retrieved December 5, 2010.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• End of Iowa 48 at Iowa Highway Ends