Avenue of the Saints

Avenue of the Saints
High Priority Corridor 2
Route information
Length:	563 mi (906.06 km)
Existed:	1991 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-64 near St. Louis, MO
	I-70 at Wentzville, MO I-72 at Hannibal, MO US 34 / Iowa 163 at Mount Pleasant, IA I-80 / I-380 at Coralville, IA US 20 at Waterloo, IA I-35 near Clear Lake, IA I-90 at Albert Lea, MN I-35W at Burnsville, MN I-494 at Mendota Heights, MN
North end:	I-94 at St. Paul, MN
Highway system
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act ← Iowa 26 Iowa 28 → ← Route 25 Route 28 →

The Avenue of the Saints is a 563-mile-long (906 km) highway in the Midwestern United States that connects St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. Louis, Missouri.

Route description

Missouri

Within Missouri, the Avenue of the Saints is Interstate 64, U.S. Route 61, and Missouri Route 27.

Iowa

In Iowa, the Avenue of the Saints is a 282-mile-long (454 km)^[1] highway, which begins in Lee County where Missouri Route 27 crosses the Des Moines River and ends at the Minnesota state line in Worth County, concurrent with Interstate 35. Construction of the Avenue of the Saints corridor in Iowa was completed on May 23, 2006.

In 2001,^[2] the Iowa Department of Transportation designated the Avenue of the Saints as Iowa Highway 27. Prior to its creation, motorists wanting to travel the Avenue through Iowa had to follow a lengthy list of directions: (heading north from Missouri) Iowa Highway 394,^[3] U.S. Route 218, Interstate 380, U.S. Route 20, Iowa Highway 58,^[4] US 218 (again), U.S. Route 18 and Interstate 35.

Minnesota

Main article: Interstate 35 in Minnesota

History

The Avenue of the Saints was the idea of Mount Pleasant, Iowa businessman Ernest Hayes, who envisioned a four-lane highway between St. Paul and St. Louis in the 1980s. The Iowa Department of Transportation decided to study the idea in 1988. Several politicians endorsed the idea, including Mount Pleasant mayor (and future Iowa governor) Tom Vilsack, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, and Congressmen David Nagle and Fred Grandy of Iowa and Dick Gephardt of Missouri.

By the end of 1989, four possible routes for the Avenue of the Saints were under consideration by the Federal Highway Administration. Two of the rejected routes would have followed U.S. Route 52 and U.S. Route 63 from St. Paul through Rochester, Minnesota, to Waterloo, Iowa. Another rejected route would have followed U.S. Route 61 from St. Paul through La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Dubuque, Iowa, to Davenport, Iowa, and U.S. Route 67 from Davenport to St. Louis.

In 1990 the FHWA chose its route for the Avenue of the Saints: it would follow Interstate 35 from St. Paul to a point south of Clear Lake, Iowa; U.S. Route 18 to Charles City, Iowa; U.S. Route 218 to Cedar Falls, Iowa; Iowa Highway 58 and U.S. Route 20 around Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa; Interstate 380 from Waterloo through Cedar Rapids to Interstate 80 near Coralville, Iowa and Iowa City, Iowa; U.S. 218 to Donnellson, Iowa; Iowa Highway 394 and Route B to Wayland, Missouri; and U.S. 61 and Interstate 64 from Wayland to St. Louis.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 made the Avenue of the Saints an official "high-priority corridor," and signs were put along the route by the end of the year. At that time the only four-lane segments were Interstates 35, 380, and 64; U.S. 20 around Waterloo; U.S. 218 from I-80 to Iowa Highway 22 near Riverside, Iowa; and two segments of U.S. 61 in Missouri (from La Grange to New London and from Bowling Green to St. Louis). The decision had also been made to build the Avenue of the Saints to expressway standards—with intersections at rural roads—rather than to full freeway standards as a cost-saving measure. Freeway segments would be built around cities that needed to be bypassed.

After the routing was approved, both Iowa and Missouri began constructing new four-lane segments. Iowa opened bypasses around Waverly (1998), Mason City (1999), Charles City (2000), Mount Pleasant (2001), and Donnellson (2004). A four-lane link between I-35 and I-380 was completed with the opening of a segment near Nashua in November 2003. Missouri completed four-lane segments from New London to Bowling Green in November 2000 and from Canton to La Grange in 2003.

In 2001 the Iowa Department of Transportation gave the Avenue of the Saints its own highway number: Iowa Highway 27. The number was added as an additional number to the existing routes; however, after the Donnellson bypass opened in 2004, Iowa 394 was decommissioned and Iowa 27 is now a standalone highway south of the split with U.S. 218.

Present status

On July 25, 2008, the final nine miles (14 km) of highway between the Lewis/Clark county line and Wayland, Missouri was open to four-lane traffic. A ceremony was held at the intersection of US 61 and Route 27 to commemorate the completion of the four-lane highway in Missouri. The Avenue of the Saints is now complete from suburban St. Louis to St. Paul (see Future construction below).

On December 8, 2004, a new four-lane bridge across the Des Moines River opened; this replaced an existing toll bridge operated by the Wayland Special Road District. A new four-lane road between the bridge and U.S. 61 south of Wayland also opened that day. This road was numbered Route 27 to match Iowa's number for the Avenue of the Saints.

In June 2005, a four-lane segment from the end of the Mount Pleasant bypass to the junction with Iowa Highway 16 east of Houghton was opened to four lanes of traffic. The segment of Iowa 27 between the split with U.S. 218 and the Des Moines River bridge opened to four lanes on August 25, 2005. The last remaining segment in Iowa was opened to traffic May 23, 2006.

The only portions of the road which do not bypass major towns are Waterloo, Iowa; Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Hannibal, Missouri.

A "festival" was held from June 16–18 amongst towns along the corridor to celebrate the completion of Iowa's segment.

Exit numbers

As with many rural expressways in Iowa, the Avenue of the Saints has exit numbers in that state. The exit numbers correspond to the underlying U.S. Highway or Interstate Highway – U.S. 218, I-380, U.S. 20, U.S. 18 and I-35. The section along Iowa Highway 58 in Cedar Falls has no exit numbers, and the separate section south of Donnellson has one numbered exit—the northbound one to U.S. 218 south—based on Iowa 27's mileage.

Future construction

On July 25, 2008, the Avenue of the Saints was completed with the opening of the final nine-mile (14 km) segment from the Lewis County line to Wayland in Clark County, Missouri.

Ongoing construction projects and future proposals along the Avenue of the Saints include:

• The upgrading of US 61 to interstate standards from I-70 in Wentzville to Route 47 in Troy, Missouri. In 2007, an interchange was installed at Route C in Moscow Mills, Missouri. Proposals include installing interchanges at Route U in Moscow Mills and South Lincoln Drive just south of Troy.

• MoDOT has published initial maps for the Hannibal Expressway, a bypass around Hannibal, MO (http://www.modot.org/northeast/HannibalBypassMapOptions.htm). According to the maps, the Hannibal Expressway would depart from US 61 south of Hannibal, travel in a northwesterly direction toward the Rocket Junction where it would intersect with US 36/I-72 and US 24 West. The Hannibal Expressway would then travel along the current US 24 East alignment and re-connect with US 61 four miles (6 km) north of the Rocket Junction. The "Hannibal Expressway" project is presently unfunded. Presently, there are seven stoplights along US 61 in Hannibal: Red Devil Rd./Warren Barrett Dr., Market St. (Business 61), Hwy MM (Business 36), West Ely Rd., I-72/US 36, Stardust Dr./Pirate Pride, and MO 168.

Exit list

Note: much of the road is not a freeway; there are many at-grade intersections.

Missouri
County	Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
St. Charles	O'Fallon			I-64 / US 40 / US 61	Continuation beyond south end.
			9	Route K – O'Fallon
				Route DD (Winghaven Boulevard)
	Lake St. Louis			Lake Saint Louis Boulevard
	Wentzville			I-70 / US 40 west – St. Charles, Lambert Airport, Kansas City	North end of I 64/US 40 overlap.
				Pitman Avenue	northbound exit and southbound entrance
				Route A – Wentzville
Lincoln				Route C – Moscow Mills
				Old Cap au Gris Road	northbound exit and entrance
				Route 47 – Troy, Winfield
Pike				Route FF / Route D – Eolia
				Route 161 – Bowling Green, Ashley
				US 54 – Louisiana, Mexico
				US 61 Bus. / Route UU – Bowling Green
				Route B / Route C / Route ZZ – Frankford
Ralls				US 61 Bus. / Route 19 – Center, New London
Marion				I-72 / US 36 – Downtown Hannibal, Monroe City, Springfield	I-72's western terminus is at this intersection
				US 24 west – Monroe City	South end of US 24 overlap.
				US 61 Bus. – Palmyra
				US 61 Bus. / Route 168 – Palmyra
				Route 6 west – Edina, Taylor
				US 24 east – Quincy, Ill.	North end of US 24 overlap.
Lewis				US 61 Bus. / Route B – La Grange, Wakonda State Park
				US 61 Bus. / Route C – La Grange
				US 61 Bus. / Route P – Canton
				Route 16 to Route 81 – Canton, Monticello
Clark				US 61 / Route 27	US 61 joins southbound and leaves northbound. Route 27 begins northbound and ends southbound.
				US 136 – Wayland, Kahoka
Des Moines River				Iowa 27 north
Iowa
County	Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Des Moines River		0.000		Route 27 south
Lee	Charleston Township	10.395	10 18	US 218 south – Keokuk	South end of US 218 overlap
	Donnellson	12.322	19	Iowa 2 – Donnellson, Fort Madison
	Marion Township	22.409		Iowa 16
Henry	Mount Pleasant	33.312	40	255th Street, Mount Pleasant – Old Thresher's Grounds
		34.998	42A	US 34 east / Iowa 163 east – Burlington	South end of US 34/Iowa 163 overlap
			42B	US 34 Bus. / US 218 Bus. – Mount Pleasant
		38.872	45	US 34 west / Iowa 163 west – Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa	North end of US 34/Iowa 163 overlap.
		39.387		US 218 Bus. (Iowa 438) to US 34 west – Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa	Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
	Olds	47.096		Iowa 78
Washington	Oregon Township	59.230	66	Iowa 92 – Washington, Columbus Junction
		62.609	70	CR G36
	Riverside	72.721	80	Iowa 22 – Kalona, Lone Tree
Johnson	Liberty Township	77.671	85	Hills
	West Lucas Township	81.845	89	CR F50 (Riverside Drive) – Iowa City Municipal Airport
	Iowa City	83.455	91	Iowa 1 – Iowa City, Kalona
		85.698	93	CR F46 (Melrose Avenue) – University Heights
	Coralville	89.071	0	I-80 / I-380 north – Davenport, Des Moines, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids	South end of I-380 overlap. Southbound exits signed as 0A (east) and 0B (west).
See Interstate 380 for exit list.
Black Hawk	Waterloo	162.285	71A 232B	I-380 north / US 218 north – Waterloo	North end of I-380 overlap.
			71B 232A	US 218 south – La Porte City
		163.793	230	Iowa 21 (Hawkeye Road) – Dysart
		165.325		Ansborough Avenue
		167.000	227	US 63 (Sergeant Road) – Hudson
	Hudson	168.476	225	US 20 west / Iowa 58 south – Cedar Falls	North end of US 20 overlap. South end of IA 58 overlap.
	Cedar Falls	172.174		University Avenue (Iowa 934)
		172.780		18th Street; Waterloo Road
		174.257		US 218 south / Iowa 58 south – Waterloo – Waterloo Regional Airport	North end of IA 58 overlap. South end of US 218 overlap.
				Iowa 57 west – Cedar Falls	East terminus of IA 57.
		175.909	189	Lone Tree Road
Bremer	Waverly	185.446	198	US 218 Bus. (IA 116) – Waverly
		189.947	203	Iowa 3 – Waverly, Shell Rock
		191.988	205	US 218 Bus. – Waverly – Waverly Municipal Airport
	Plainfield	199.202	212	Iowa 188 – Plainfield
Chickasaw	Nashua	206.506	220	Iowa 346 (east) / CR B60 (west) – Nashua
Floyd	Charles City	215.728	218	US 18 east / US 218 Bus. / CR T64 – Charles City, New Hampton	South end of US 18 overlap.
		219.304	214	Iowa 14 – Charles City, Greene
		221.428	212	US 218 Bus. / CR B35 – Charles City
	Floyd	223.845		US 218 – Floyd	North end of US 218 overlap. At-grade intersection.
	Rock Grove Township	238.542	195	CR S70 – Nora Springs
Cerro Gordo	Portland Township	243.679	190	CR S56 (California Avenue)
	Mason City	247.731	186	US 18 Bus. / US 65 – Downtown Mason City, Rockwell
	Lake Township	250.741	183	CR S36 (Eisenhower Avenue) – Mason City Municipal Airport
		255.192	178	I-35 – Des Moines, Minneapolis	South end of I-35 overlap.
See Interstate 35 in Iowa for exit list. Iowa 27 begins southbound and ends northbound at Minnesota state line.
Minnesota
County	Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
See Interstate 35 in Minnesota for exit list.

References

1. ^ "2010 Volume of Traffic on the Primary Road System of Iowa" (PDF). Iowa Department of Transportation. January 1, 2010. http://www.iowadotmaps.com/trafbook/trafbook2010.pdf. Retrieved January 14, 2011. 
2. ^ Jason Hancock. "Highway 27". Iowa Highways. http://iowahighways.home.mchsi.com/highways/iowa20-29.html#27a. Retrieved 26 October 2006. ^{[unreliable source]}
3. ^ Jason Hancock. "Highway 394". Iowa Highways. http://iowahighways.home.mchsi.com/highways/iowa389-399.html#394. Retrieved 26 October 2006. ^{[unreliable source]}
4. ^ Jason Hancock. "Highway 58". Iowa Highways. http://iowahighways.home.mchsi.com/highways/iowa50-59.html#58a. Retrieved 26 October 2006. ^{[unreliable source]}

External links

• High-Priority Corridors: The Avenue of the Saints
• Missouri Department of Transportation: Avenue of the Saints
• Google Map of "Avenue of the Saints" Route
• OpenStreetMap Map of "Avenue of the Saints" Route