Iowa Route 346 is a short but impactful east-west connector in near-northeast Iowa.  The highway runs between US Route 218 and US Route 63. Iowa Route 346 fills a gap in the series of east-west corridors that's made by US Route 18's jog to the north along US Route 63.  As US Route 18 makes its journey west across northern Iowa, it jogs northerly along US Route 63 before returning to a westerly course at New Hampton.  US Route 18 then connects New Hampton to Charles City.  South of that new, more northerly alignment chosen by US Route 18, Iowa Route 346 continues the original, more southerly, route of US Route 18.  Both ends of Iowa Route 346 are interchanges.  The eastern end is west of Fredericksburg, at US Route 63 and the southern end of US Route 18's jog north.  The western end is about twelve miles to the west in Nashua, at an interchange with US Route 218 and Iowa Route 27. Just as Iowa Route 346 extends the southeasterly alignment abandoned by US Route 18, Iowa Route 24 extends the northwesterly alignment used by US Route 18 to continue west. I'm not sure why Iowa Route 346 has such a large and obscure number; it could ostensibly become a western extension of Iowa Route 24 that would join US Route 63 south for a bit.  Or, it could have its 3 or its 4 chopped off to become two other two-digit numbers that are currently unused on Iowa state highways (36 or 46).

My photo of Iowa Route 346 is the eastern end marker, at the interchange with US Route 63 where US Route 18 starts jogging to the north after coming from the east. The signage here appears just east of the point where the surface road meets the southbound ramps to and from US Route 63.  The aperture faces east. US Route 18 continues east into the background of the photo, after coming from the north along US Route 63.  The end marker for Iowa Route 346 shows up next to the signage depicted, announcing the upcoming turn left onto US Route 63 and US Route 18 north.  This photo was taken in September 2019, as I was making my way west across northern Iowa.
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