US Route 218, in Iowa, runs from the southeastern corner of the state to north-central portions of the state.  For most of its time in Iowa, US Route 218 is either directly involved in the Avenue of the Saints expressway (Iowa Route 27), or it's following a route similar to it. The southern end of US Route 218 is at US Route 136 in Keokuk, the town in Iowa's very southeast corner.  From there, US Route 218 heads northwest to join Iowa Route 27 near Donnellson.  This puts US Route 218 on the Avenue of the Saints expressway, northward past Mount Pleasant to Iowa City.  At Iowa City (Coralville, technically), US Route 218 and Iowa Route 27 pick up a new designation of Interstate 380 as they cross Interstate 80.  At Cedar Rapids, US Route 218 trades its concurrency along Interstate 380 and Iowa Route 27 for a concurrency westward along US Route 30's freeway. About 15 miles to the west, US Route 218 continues north as its own two-lane surface road through Vinton and La Porte City.  It then reaches its next destination, Waterloo, where it picks up the northernmost mile of Interstate 380 as it crosses US Route 20. As Interstate 380 fizzles out in downtown Waterloo, US Route 218 continues through town, meeting Iowa Routes 57 and 58 at an interchange in Cedar Falls.  Once again, US Route 218 is concurrent with Iowa Route 27 and the Avenue of the Saints past this point. At Charles City, US Route 18's westbound journey joins along, and soon after, US Route 218 leaves Iowa Route 27 with that westward highway.  US Route 218's remaining time in Iowa is spent zigzagging northward and westward to the Minnesota border, by way of Osage and St. Ansgar.  At Lyle, Minnesota, US Route 218 meets the state line and its exit from the state of Iowa.

My photo of US Route 218 comes from a southbound onramp to the Avenue of the Saints from Iowa Route 92. This is part of an interchange east of Washington, Iowa.  In this area, US Route 218 is concurrent with Iowa Route 27, the numerical designation for the Avenue of the Saints that connects St. Paul, Minnesota, with St. Louis, Missouri. The signage here faces north at the start of the onramp. This photo was taken on the first day of the eastern Iowa trip that occurred between June 30 and July 1, 2017.
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