text: iowa highway 173 iowa highway 173 ( iowa 173 ) is a 14 - mile - long ( 23 km ) state highway in western iowa . it begins at iowa 83 northwest of atlantic and ends at iowa 44 in kimballton . iowa 173 connects elk horn and kimballton , two small towns with tributes to their residents ' danish heritage . from its intersection with interstate 80 ( i - 80 ) north to iowa 44 , iowa 173 is designated as part of the western skies scenic byway . designated in 1930 , the highway was originally a spur route into elk horn from kimballton . the route was lengthened to its current extent in 1980 . route description iowa 173 begins at an intersection with iowa 83 three miles ( 4 . 8 km ) northwest of atlantic . it heads north through rural cass county and intersects interstate 80 ( i - 80 ) at a partial cloverleaf interchange . just north of the interstate highway , the route enters shelby county . further north , iowa 173 passes through elk horn along main street where an authentic danish windmill greets visitors to the iowa welcome center . north of elk horn , the highway curves to the west along the shelby – audubon county line and then back to the north . it continues north for three miles ( 4 . 8 km ) until it reaches kimballton , where it also runs along main street . near its northern end at iowa 44 , iowa 173 passes a replica of the little mermaid , a tribute to the town 's danish heritage . the section of iowa 173 from i - 80 north to iowa 44 is part of the 140 - mile - long ( 230 km ) western skies scenic byway . history iowa 173 was designated in 1930 along a dirt road as a 3 - mile - long ( 4 . 8 km ) spur route from iowa 7 near kimballton south to elk horn . the road was graveled in late 1932 , and it was paved in 1956 . in 1980 , iowa 173 was lengthened significantly to the south . the new 11 - mile - long ( 18 km ) section of the route was paved when it was designated . since its extension , the route has not undergone any changes . major intersections