^Looking south from Exit 1 to US Route 6, September 2019.

​Interstate 280 flanks the western and southern sides of the Quad Cities area, and its mileage is shared between Iowa and Illinois, just like the Quad Cities themselves.  The Quad Cities, for those who don't know, are Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, plus Moline, and Rock Island in Illinois.  Interstate 80, the parent route of Interstate 280, runs around the northern and eastern sides of the Quad Cities.  A full beltway is completed by adding Interstate 280 to that equation, because it runs around the western and southern sides.  In Iowa, though, Interstate 280 is strictly the north-south highway flanking the west side of the area.  The northern end of Iowa's piece of Interstate 280 is at Interstate 80; at this northern endpoint, US Route 61 comes from the east on Interstate 80 and turns onto Interstate 280 south.  Interstate 280 runs south from here, duplexed with US Route 61 for most of its distance in Iowa. A few miles shy of the Illinois border, US Route 61 leaves by exiting onto a westbound surface highway, and Interstate 280 bends southeasterly.  At about the ninth mile, Interstate 280 crosses the Mississippi River into Illinois. To read about Interstate 280 in Illinois, click here.

A full exit list with accompanying photos of the signage is shown below. First of all, though, here is the photo showing where I got my shield image for Interstate 280.  This sign assembly shown in the picture comes from the southernmost interchange in Iowa along Interstate 280: the one with Iowa Route 22.  This interchange is in an outlying southwestern area of Davenport, Iowa.  These signs show westbound traffic on Iowa Route 22 their options, most notably that the onramp to Interstate 280 west (north) involves a right turn just ahead.  This photo was taken in September 2015, on the way to Omaha, Nebraska, and it might be the oldest Iowa sign photo I have in my collection.

Exit 0, at the start of Interstate 280, is at Interstate 80. Interstate 80 west is signed as the way to Des Moines, and Interstate 80 east is signed as the way to Chicago.  The westward continuation of US Route 6 follows Interstate 80 west, and the northward continuation of US Route 61 follows Interstate 80; both US Routes follow Interstate 280 south from this northern point of beginning...

Exit 1 leads to US Route 6's eastern continuation along Kimberly Road, ending that US Route's concurrency with Interstate 280. The road here also continues west toward Walcott as County Highway F58:

Exit 4 is a standard diamond interchange providing access to Locust Street and 160th Street. County Highway F65 follows these streets, and the exit signage mentions a connection to St. Ambrose University:

Exit 6 marks the southern end of US Route 61's concurrency with the Interstate.  US Route 61 continues westward (southward) toward Muscatine. On the other side of the Interstate, the road continues eastward as West River Drive, which carries the southwestern start of Business US Route 61:

Exit 8 provides access to Iowa Highway 22, which heads west toward Buffalo, and Rockingham Road, which proceeds east:

After Exit 8, Interstate 280 crosses the Mississippi River into Illinois. For photos and information pertaining to Interstate 280 in Illinois, click here.

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