text: u.s. route 6 in iowa u.s. highway 6 ( us 6 ) is an east – west u.s. highway which runs 319 miles ( 513 km ) across the u.s. state of iowa . the route is signed in places as the grand army of the republic highway . like all state highways in iowa , it is maintained by the iowa department of transportation . the route begins at the missouri river crossing at council bluffs . from there , it travels east through oakland and atlantic . north of atlantic , the highway overlaps interstate 80 ( i - 80 ) until de soto . between de soto and adel , the highway overlaps us 169 before splitting off to the east towards des moines . through the des moines area , the highway runs about one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) north or south of the i - 35 / i - 80 corridor . at altoona , the route again overlaps i - 80 until newton , where it splits away from i - 80 . the highway passes near or through the cities of kellogg , grinnell , victor , marengo , the amana colonies , and tiffin before entering the coralville / iowa city area . through coralville and iowa city , us 6 has no direct access to i - 80 , i - 380 , or us 218 ; other routes like iowa highway 1 ( iowa 1 ) and iowa 965 provide direct access . from iowa city , the highway heads to the east - southeast through west liberty and . near wilton , the route heads north to i - 80 where it again overlaps to davenport . at davenport , us 6 then follows i - 280 and us 61 before entering the city . on the eastern side of davenport , it joins i - 74 and enters bettendorf before leaving iowa for illinois . dating back to 1910 , the route us 6 follows was originally the great white way and river - to - river road . both were auto trails which connected council bluffs and davenport . when the u.s. highway system was created in 1926 , the highway was designated u.s. highway 32 . us 32 was renumbered in 1931 as us 6 was extended to the west coast . as the interstate highway system expanded in the 1950 - 1970s , us 6 's importance as a cross - state route was diminished by i - 80 . as a result , the least - traveled sections of the route were moved onto i - 80 and control of the vacated sections of highway was given to local jurisdictions . route description us 6 is a cross - state route that connects council bluffs and davenport by way of des moines and iowa city . the route parallels i - 80 for most of its length ; however nearly one - third of the route overlaps the interstate highway . while the route is away from i - 80 , us 6 is a two - lane highway with a rural speed limit of 55 miles per hour ( 90 km / h ) . however , between adel and waukee , the roadway is a four - lane divided highway that has a speed limit of 65 mph ( 105 km / h ) . western iowa us 6 crosses the missouri river via the grenville dodge memorial bridge into council bluffs with i - 480 . just three - quarters mile ( 1 . 2 km ) into the state , i - 480 ends at an interchange with i - 29 . us 6 heads east along broadway , where it is overlapped by iowa 192 for just over 1 . 5 miles ( 2 . 4 km ) . on the eastern side of council bluffs , it intersects i - 80 and continues due east . near oakland , the highway follows the north – south us 59 for two miles ( 3 . 2 km ) . near lewis , the road turns to the north - northeast until it reaches atlantic . in atlantic , the route turns back to the east and heads towards downtown where it meets iowa 83 . us 6 / iowa 83 travel together to the eastern side of atlantic where they meet us 71 . the three routes run together for four miles ( 6 . 4 km ) , when us 6 / us 71 split away from iowa 83 and continue north to i - 80 . at i - 80 , us 6 leaves us 71 and joins i - 80 . at this point , us 6 begins the first of three instances when its traffic is routed along i - 80 . in the eastern part of cass county , the two routes meet the northern end of iowa 148 . as i - 80 and us 6 approach adair , and the highways curve slightly to the south to bypass the community . there are two interchanges in adair ; both of the intersecting roads , at one time or another , carried us 6 . county road g30 ( cr g30 ) , the white pole road , was the original alignment of us 6 , while cr has not carried us 6 since 1980 . further east is an interchange with iowa 25 . about one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) south of the interchange is freedom rock . each year for memorial day , the rock is repainted with a patriotic scene by local artist ray " bubba " sorenson ii . near dexter , i - 80 and us 6 graze the northwestern corner of madison county . after two miles ( 3 . 2 km ) , the routes enter dallas county and meet cr , another former alignment of us 6 . near the cr f90 / cr interchange , they start heading northeast towards des moines . at de soto , us 6 splits away from i - 80 at the interchange with us 169 . central iowa at de soto , us 6 turns to the north , overlapping us 169 for five miles ( 8 . 0 km ) to adel . east of adel , us 6 is a four - lane divided highway for 14 miles ( 23 km ) , during which , it passes through waukee , clive , and urbandale along hickman road , and intersects i - 35 / i - 80 . over the next two miles ( 3 . 2 km ) , it serves as the border between urbandale and windsor heights . at 63rd street in des moines , us 6 intersects iowa 28 . for one - half mile ( 800 m ) , us 6 / iowa 28 run together on hickman road . turning north , they run together for another mile ( 1 . 6 km ) along merle hay road . at douglas avenue , us 6 splits away from iowa 28 and continues east , becoming euclid avenue just west of the des moines river . in north - central des moines , it intersects us 69 and i - 235 . in northeast des moines , it turns to the northeast along hubbell avenue , which takes us 6 to altoona . west of altoona , it intersects us 65 and continues northeast passing adventureland theme park and prairie meadows casino . in northwest altoona , us 6 intersects i - 80 and us 65 . here , us 6 rejoins i - 80 for the second time . after a third exit for altoona , the interstate resumes its 70 mph ( 115 km / h ) rural limit . near colfax , the highways cross the south skunk river . after an interchange with iowa 117 , the highway is forced to the north to avoid crossing the river multiple times . as the roadway returns south to its original line , it meets cr f48 , which was another former alignment of us 6 . at newton , us 6 splits away from i - 80 at the iowa 14 interchange . us 6 overlaps iowa 14 for one - third mile ( 540 m ) . it turns off of iowa 14 and enters the western side of newton where it passes the jasper county courthouse located in the downtown area . between newton and grinnell , the route has more hills and curves . the highway crosses the north skunk river near kellogg . at grinnell , it intersects iowa 146 southwest of the grinnell college campus . east of grinnell , the route straightens out and is overlapped by us 63 for two miles ( 3 . 2 km ) and by iowa 21 for four miles ( 6 . 4 km ) . near victor , us 6 takes a northeasterly course through ladora towards marengo . at marengo , it intersects the eastern end of iowa 212 . five miles ( 8 . 0 km ) east of marengo is the western end of iowa 20 . here , us 6 forms the southern leg of the amana colonies trail . three miles ( 4 . 8 km ) later , it 's joined by us 151 for two miles ( 3 . 2 km ) . us 6 heads to the southeast towards tiffin and passes underneath i - 380 , but does not have direct access . eastern iowa at coralville , us 6 passes underneath i - 80 , but one - half mile ( 800 m ) to the east , coral ridge avenue provides direct access to i - 80 . entering iowa city , the highway passes the campus of the university of iowa , its main hospital , and va hospital . us 6 curves to the south to be adjacent to the iowa river , where it meets and overlaps iowa 1 for one - half mile ( 800 m ) . us 6 and iowa 1 go in separate directions at a signal controlled intersection , where , less than one - quarter mile ( 400 m ) away , us 6 crosses the iowa river . from iowa city , it heads in an east - southeast direction towards west liberty . the highway enters west liberty from the northwest corner and curves southward . at the northern end of iowa 70 , it turns to the east again towards and wilton . ten miles ( 16 km ) southwest of wilton , the road crosses the cedar river . three miles ( 4 . 8 km ) south of wilton , the highway overlaps iowa 38 and the two routes head towards i - 80 . at the wilton interchange along i - 80 , iowa 38 turns west and us 6 turns east onto the interstate , respectively . as i - 80 and us 6 approach the quad cities metropolitan area , the speed limit drops again to 65 mph ( 105 km / h ) . just within the city limits of davenport is the i - 280 interchange . us 6 exits to the south to join i - 280 . us 61 also joins i - 280 at this interchange , but from the opposite direction . us 6 only overlaps i - 280 / us 61 for four - fifths mile ( 1 . 3 km ) before exiting onto kimberly road . heading southeast into davenport , us 6 is a two - lane highway for three miles ( 4 . 8 km ) . at fairmount street , it becomes a four - lane divided highway and straightens out to head due east . near mall , it intersects northwest boulevard , which becomes iowa 130 at i - 80 , and both one - way legs , welcome way southbound and brady street northbound , of us 61 business , which prior to 2010 was us 61 . us 6 briefly dips to the southeast and straightens out again towards i - 74 . the highway joins i - 74 and heads to the south towards moline , illinois . for about one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) , i - 74 / us 6 forms the boundary of davenport and bettendorf . the two routes completely enter bettendorf and descend into the mississippi river valley , where they meet us 67 at a complex series of exit and entrance ramps . they then ascend the iowa - illinois memorial bridge , known locally as the i - 74 bridge , and cross the mississippi river into illinois . history before the u.s. highway system came into being in 1926 , roads in iowa were maintained and promoted by local organizations which sought to drive traffic into their communities . two such organizations created virtually parallel routes connecting council bluffs and davenport via des moines . the routes , the southern great white way and northern river - to - river road , eventually merged into the whiteway - 7 - highway . the new route followed the great white way from council bluffs to des moines and the river - to - river road from des moines to davenport . in 1926 , the whiteway - 7 - highway became us 32 , which itself became us 6 in 1931 . for a time , us 6 was the busiest highway in the state . after i - 80 was built near us 6 , portions of the u.s. highway were moved onto the interstate highway . interest in the original us 6 corridor has grown in the 21st century by people who seek to drive traffic back into their communities . great white way the great white way was formed in 1910 by the white pole auto club . the route was built along the chicago , rock island & pacific railroad between council bluffs and des moines . members of the auto club painted poles along the route white , which lead the route to be known as the white pole road . the great white way passed through oakland , atlantic , adair , de soto , and valley junction . in late 1912 , the great white way was extended east to davenport , passing through pella , , washington , and muscatine . in 1913 , when the iowa state highway commission began registering named trails longer than 25 miles ( 40 km ) , the great white way association paid the $ 5 . 00 fee ( $ 120 . 00 in 2016 dollars ) to become the first official registered highway route on july 30 , 1914 . when the primary highway system was created , the great white way was assigned primary road no. 2 . in 2002 , a group of residents from adair , casey , menlo , stuart , and dexter formed a new group to promote the white pole road . their intention was to bring visitors to their towns by diverting some traffic from the nearby i - 80 / us 6 corridor to the south and onto the historic road . poles painted white up to nine feet ( 2 . 7 m ) high line the 26 - mile ( 42 km ) drive . white pole road logo signs in each town give a short history of the town and their founders . river - to - river road the river - to - river road ( rrr ) was also created in 1910 and also connected council bluffs and davenport via des moines . this route , however , traveled a more northern route than the great white way . the route passed through neola , elk horn , guthrie center , adel , des moines , newton , marengo , iowa city , and wilton . the route 's origins trace back to the 1909 – 10 winter season which brought , on average , 11 inches ( 28 cm ) of snow more than the previous year , which was followed by an unusually dry spring . coupled with the advent of the ford model t , many iowans complained about the lack of good roads in the state . governor b.f. carroll convened a good roads convention on march 8 – 9 , 1910 , to discuss the condition of roads in his state . it was then that the route of the rrr was decided among the convention delegates . further influencing the river - to - river corridor was an announcement from the american automobile association that the annual glidden tour would pass through iowa . gov. carroll arranged for farmers who lived along the route to drag all 380 miles ( 610 km ) of the road on the saturday prior to the tour 's arrival at precisely 9 am . work was finished in one hour . when the highway commission started accepting registered routes , the rrr association planned to register their route as soon as possible . but miscommunication between association members and with the highway commission delayed the actual registration for years . the route became official on april 16 , 1918 . when the primary highway system was created , the river - to - river road was assigned primary road no. 7 . whiteway - 7 - highway in 1922 , the whiteway - 7 - highway association filed an application to register the whiteway - 7 - highway with the iowa state highway commission . the commission was concerned with the whiteway - 7 's similarity to the great white way 's name and route markings . the great white way was marked with a 6 - foot - wide ( 1 . 8 m ) stripe , while the whiteway - 7 would be marked with a 4 - foot ( 1 . 2 m ) stripe with a black circle containing a white seven . another concern with the new route was since its name contained the number seven , the route would be assigned along primary road nos. 2 and 7 . on september 25 , 1922 , the highway commission gave the great white way from des moines to council bluffs , which would become part of the whiteway - 7 - highway , the number 7 and gave the river - to - river road 's western half number 2 . eight months later , the iowa state highway commission reversed course and restored primary road nos. 2 and 7 to their original roadways . although disappointed , the whiteway - 7 - highway association responded by removing the number from their name . on november 27 , 1925 , the route officially became the whiteway highway . u.s. numbered highways on november 11 , 1926 , members of the american association of state highway officials approved the plan to create a system of interstate highways across the country . iowa 's whiteway highway would take on the designation of us 32 . for four - and - a - half years , us 32 spanned from chicago to council bluffs . meanwhile , roosevelt highway association was pushing to have us 6 extended westward . on june 8 , 1931 , all of the iowa portion of us 32 was absorbed into a newly extended us 6 , which had previously connected erie , pennsylvania , and cape cod . the new us 6 also replaced us 38 in nebraska and colorado . by the end of 1937 , us 6 extended from coast to coast . at the time , it and us 30 were the only cross country highways to bear a single route number across the country . when the last segment of highway between adel and des moines was paved in 1931 , us 6 became the fourth paved road to cross the state . in the early 1940s , us 6 was the most heavily traveled route in the state . the state highway commission recorded that on average , over 1900 vehicles using the road at any rural point . that compares to nearly 3000 vehicles using us 6 daily in 2012 . on april 29 , 1947 , the iowa general assembly approved an act designating us 6 as the grand army of the republic highway , a distinction the route shares in other states . governor robert d. blue dedicated the highway at the old capitol on september 28 , 1947 . in attendance were the last two surviving iowa veterans of the civil war . in the 1950s , the iowa state highway commission began to straighten the route . a section of the highway between grinnell and ladora was straightened , which resulted in brooklyn and victor being bypassed . between dexter and west des moines , us 6 swapped alignments with iowa 90 in 1958 . in 1961 , us 6 was routed onto the new interstate 80 from the iowa 90 interchange to the baxter exit , currently exit 159 . iowa 90 was extended onto the old us 6 alignment . however , in 1967 , those changes were reversed and us 6 was taken off i - 80 and put back on the road which had been iowa 90 . iowa 90 was assigned the section of us 6 between what 's now exit 106 along i - 80 and exit 69 along i - 35 . abandoned sections since the 1970s , portions of us 6 have been moved permanently onto i - 80 . the first section , between us 71 and adair , was rerouted in 1972 . the abandoned section became an extended iowa 83 and cr g30 in adair county . in 1980 , three lengthy sections were moved onto the interstate : 26 miles ( 42 km ) in western iowa between adair and dexter , 25 miles ( 40 km ) in central iowa between altoona and newton , and 20 miles ( 32 km ) in eastern iowa between wilton and davenport . all three sections were originally kept as state highways , but in 1991 , when the iowa department of transportation first showed the new state highways ' designations on the state highway map , the central section already had been turned over to polk and jasper counties . the western segment was numbered iowa 925 and the eastern segment iowa 927 . on july 1 , 2003 , 15 miles ( 24 km ) between dexter and adel were turned over to dallas county . us 6 , which had previously split away from i - 80 at the dexter exit , was continued along i - 80 to the us 169 interchange at de soto , and then along us 169 to adel . the former segments , iowa 925 and iowa 927 , were turned over to their respective counties as well . major intersections