Iowa Route 5 runs southeast and south of the Des Moines area, ending as a transition to Missouri Route 5 at the Missouri border. The shape of the route resembles that of the northeast quarter of a circle. The northwestern extent of Iowa Route 5 is an east-west freeway that flanks the southern side of the Des Moines area. The western end is at Interstate 35. Eastward past the freeway, Iowa Route 5 bends southeasterly until the town of Knoxville as a four-lane rural highway. After Knoxville, Iowa Route 5 continues southeast to Albia, then south to the Missouri border, all as a two-lane rural road. The southern end, the aforementioned crossing into Missouri, occurs south of Centerville, Iowa.
My photo of Iowa Route 5 shows a southbound reassurance marker pointing toward the junction of Iowa Route 5 with Iowa Route 137 in Albia. I faced south when taking this photo. If I turned 135 degrees to the left, I would be pointing northeast, looking down the southwestern start of Iowa Route 137. I took this photo as part of the southwestern Iowa trip of October 2021.