^US Route 61 enters Iowa from Wisconsin, with US Route 151 along for the ride, on its elevated expressway into Dubuque, February 2024.
US Route 61's course through Iowa follows the western bank of the Mississippi River in southeastern Iowa, and it cuts a straight north-south path across the eastern lobe of Iowa. These two different behaviors exhibited by US Route 61 are divided by Davenport. The northern extent of US Route 61 is a bridge across the Mississippi River from Dubuque to the southwestern corner of Wisconsin; this bridge is shared with US Route 151. Upon reaching Dubuque, US Route 61 splits from US Route 151, also meeting US Route 20 and US Route 52 while in Dubuque. While the Mississippi River heads southeast, south, and then southwest to form Iowa's eastern "lobe", US Route 61 cuts straight south across this lobe to Davenport as a four-lane expressway. At Davenport, US Route 61, which was just kicked out of town onto some bypassing freeways, joins Interstate 80 west to Interstate 280 south. Interstate 280 then deposits US Route 61 onto a surface road, so it can begin its second phase of following the western bank of the Mississippi River. A four-lane highway carries US Route 61 from Interstate 280 to a point past Muscatine, which US the highway bypasses to the northwest. US Route 61 then passes through Burlington, picking up another 4-lane stint until just before Keokuk. Keokuk, at the southeast corner of Iowa, is where US Route 61 exits Iowa into Missouri, on a bridge it shares with US Route 136 over the Des Moines River.
An older photo once held the title of US Route 61's featured photo for the state of Iowa, but that photo has since been replaced. The new and improved photo appears next, and the old photo is still shown here on the site; it's just been moved to the bottom of this page.
An older photo once held the title of US Route 61's featured photo for the state of Iowa, but that photo has since been replaced. The new and improved photo appears next, and the old photo is still shown here on the site; it's just been moved to the bottom of this page.
My photo for US Route 61 in Iowa shows a northbound trailblazer, seen by those leaving the interchange with US Route 34 in Burlington. US Route 34 shares an expressway with Iowa Highway 163 as it heads east-west through Burlington. The expressway has a simple diamond interchange leading to the north-south US Route 61, which is a surface highway in this area. This photo was taken looking north from that interchange, in October 2024, as I was trying to drive the whole length of US Route 34 westward.
The older photo, formerly featured on this page, is still available for viewing below:
The older photo, formerly featured on this page, is still available for viewing below:
My former photo of a US Route 61 marker comes from its southernmost mile in Iowa, where US Route 136 eastbound splits from US Route 61 northbound. US Route 61's main alignment flanks the western side of Keokuk, where as a business alignment starts by following US Route 136 easterly into downtown. The signage depicted faces southwesterly to traffic on the concurrency shared by US Route 61 and US Route 136 that just crossed over the Des Moines River from Missouri. I took this photo on June 30, 2017, as I was traveling to the southeastern and northeastern corners of Iowa.
Here are yet more photos taken along US Route 61 (almost all of them were taken facing south):
Here are yet more photos taken along US Route 61 (almost all of them were taken facing south):
US Route 61 meets the intersection in Dubuque providing indirect access to US Route 20
US Route 61 as it heads south out of Dubuque, meeting the point where US Route 52 branches westward to Dubuque's southwest bypass.
US Route 61 splits with US Route 151 south of Dubuque, though it picked up a concurrency with US Route 52 one mile ago.
US Route 61 splits with US Route 52 several miles south of Dubuque at an at-grade intersection.
US Route 61 meets an interchange with Iowa Highway 64 in Maquoketa. I used this exit to vomit in the Casey's bathroom in February 2024 after being poisoned by drinking spoiled wine in southwest Wisconsin!
As US Route 61 bypasses DeWitt, US Route 30 joins from the west at this interchange, for a short concurrency.
Looking south along US Route 61 where it meets its interchange with US Route 34 in Burlington.
US Route 61 turns right onto westbound US Route 136 near Keokuk. US Route 61 and US Route 136 head southwesterly together to cross the state border into Missouri.