# U.S. Route 218

U.S. Highway 218 (US 218) is an original United States Highway that was created in 1926. Although technically a spur of US 18, US 218 neither begins nor ends at US 18, but overlaps US 18 for eight miles (13 km) near Charles City, Iowa. US 218 begins at U.S. 136 in downtown Keokuk and ends 319 miles (513 km) away at Interstate 35 (I-35) and US 14 at Owatonna, Minnesota. A large portion of US 218 in Iowa is part of the Avenue of the Saints, which connects St. Louis, Missouri, and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

## Route description
### Iowa

US 218 begins in downtown Keokuk at an intersection with US 136 and US 61 Business (US 61 Bus.) at Main and 7th streets. The highway heads north along Main Street with US 61 Bus. As they exit Keokuk, the business route ends at an intersection with the mainline US 61, which bypasses the city. US 218 and US 61 head north concurrently for a few miles before US 218 exits to the northwest; US 61 follows the Mississippi River north towards Fort Madison. US 218 travels northwesterly for almost ten miles (16 km) along a two-lane road. As it approaches Donnellson, it meets up with and joins Iowa Highway 27 (Iowa 27), the Avenue of the Saints.
The two highways head north on a four-lane expressway. In Donnellson, they meet Iowa 2 at a diamond interchange. Further north, and east of Houghton, they intersect Iowa 16 at an at-grade intersection. Prior to crossing the Skunk River, the roadway angles to the northeast and a freeway bypass of Mount Pleasant begins. From the east, the highways are joined by US 34 and Iowa 163. The four highways loop around the city's eastern side and begin traversing the northern side when US 34 and Iowa 163 split away to continue bypassing Mount Pleasant; US 218 and Iowa 27 continue north.
From Mount Pleasant it continues to the Iowa City area, which it bypasses to the south and west. The US 218/IA27 concurrency intersects with I-80, and continues north with I-380 towards Cedar Rapids. There US 218 diverges from IA 27 and joins the US30/US151 bypass of south Cedar Rapids. US 151 heads south at Exit 248, and the US 30/218 concurrency continues west for 15 miles, where US 30 continues on as a 4 lane highway and US 218 exits north as a rural 2 lane highway. US 218 heads northwest through Vinton and La Porte City before it reaches the Waterloo area.
Route 218 remains a 2 lane highway until it becomes a freeway right before US 20 and once again joins I-380 for a couple miles to downtown Waterloo. When I-380 ends, US 218 continues through downtown Waterloo and then to Cedar Falls, where it crosses the Cedar River. It continues northwest as a 4 lane highway through Waverly, Charles City, and Osage until the Minnesota state line.

### Minnesota

US 218 enters the state at Lyle, in Mower County. It follows along the east side of the Iowa, Chicago, and Eastern Railroad line as it continues northward through farm fields. Southeast of Austin, US 218 angles northeastward to bypass the city, its former route following County Road 45 (CR 45) into town.
US 218 passes by the Austin Municipal Airport just before its interchange with I-90. The highway runs concurrently with I-90 for nearly three miles (4.8 km) through northern Austin. When US 218 departs from the Interstate and turns back north, it becomes a four-lane divided highway for a short distance. After its junction with State Highway 251 (MN 251), the highway angles north-northwestward again following the IC&E rail line, this time on the west side of the tracks.
The highway enters Dodge County for less than a mile, then reaches Steele County, Blooming Prairie, and an eight-block-long concurrency with MN 30. It continues north-northwesterly after leaving Blooming Prairie, traveling through predominantly agricultural scenery. It passes by Oak Glen Lake before going through the unincorporated community of Bixby.
After passing through the unincorporated community of Pratt, US 218 meets US 14 at a folded diamond interchange. US 218 runs westward concurrently with US 14, while its historic route through downtown Owatonna continues ahead as CR 48. After an interchange with CR 45 (former US 65), US 14/US 218 passes by Kaplan's Woods Park and reaches I-35, where US 218 ends.
Legally, the Minnesota section of US 218 is defined as Route 40 in Minnesota Statutes § 161.114(2).

## History

In 1913, work on the road that is now US 218 was begun. At this time it was called the Red Ball Route. It was called this because the original route was marked with poles which had red balls, six inches (150 mm) in diameter, mounted on each side. In 1920, the Minnesota portion of the route was designated as Constitutional Route 40, as part of the Babcock Amendment that established the Minnesota trunk highway system.
In Iowa, US 218 was extended from its previous southern terminus, at its intersection with US 30 in Benton County, in 1934 when US 161 was split and renamed. The former US 161 had extended from Dubuque, through Cedar Rapids, to Keokuk. After the split, the section of former US 161 from Dubuque to Cedar Rapids extended US 151 south, and the section of US 30 from the former terminus of US 218 to its intersection with the former US 161 in Cedar Rapids, along with the section of former US 161 from Cedar Rapids to Keokuk, extended US 218 south.
In 1965, US 218 was rerouted along bypasses of Austin, Minnesota and Owatonna, Minnesota, the latter following a route that would later become the US 14 bypass of that city as well.
In 1985, US 218 was bypassed around Iowa City and Coralville, joining I-380 at the I-80 interchange. US 218 to Cedar Rapids was replaced by Iowa 965.

## Future

The Iowa Department of Transportation has plans to rebuild the AOTS interchange with I-80 and I-380/US 218/Iowa 27 in Coralville. As the Eastern Iowa region has grown, traffic has increased, and the current arrangement of the interchange with its cloverleaf ramps has been deemed unsafe. The Iowa DOT proposes to rebuild the interchange as a turbine interchange, which will eliminate weaving. The project is scheduled to begin in 2020.

## Major intersections

| State | County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
| Iowa | Lee | Keokuk | 0.000 | 0.000 | | US 136 west / US 61 Bus. south (7th Street) / US 136 east (Main Street) | Southern end of US 61 Bus. overlap |
| Iowa | Lee | Keokuk | 3.480 | 5.601 | | US 61 south / US 61 Bus. ends | Southern end of US 61 overlap; northern end of US 61 Bus. |
| Iowa | Lee | Montrose Township | 9.132 | 14.697 | | US 61 north | Northern end of US 61 overlap |
| Iowa | Lee | Charleston Township | 18.746 | 30.169 | 18 | Iowa 27 south – St. Louis | Southern end of Iowa 27 overlap; exit 10 on Iowa 27/Ave. of the Saints |
| Iowa | Lee | Donnellson | 20.673 | 33.270 | 19 | Iowa 2 – Donnellson, Fort Madison | |
| Iowa | Lee | Marion Township | 30.760 | 49.503 | | Iowa 16 | |
| Iowa | Henry | Mount Pleasant | 41.663 | 67.050 | 40 | 255th Street – Mount Pleasant | |
| Iowa | Henry | Mount Pleasant | 43.349 | 69.763 | 42 | US 34 east / US 218 Bus. / Iowa 163 east – Mount Pleasant, Burlington | Southern end of US 34 overlap; signed as exits 42A (east) and 42B (west) |
| Iowa | Henry | Mount Pleasant | 45.787– 47.223 | 73.687– 75.998 | 45 | US 218 Bus. (Iowa 438) to US 34 west / Iowa 163 west – Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa | Northern end of US 34 overlap; US 218 Bus. only signed southbound |
| Iowa | Henry | Olds | 55.447 | 89.233 | | Iowa 78 | |
| Iowa | Washington | Oregon Township | 67.581 | 108.761 | 66 | Iowa 92 – Washington, Columbus Junction | Also serves Ainsworth and Cotter |
| Iowa | Washington | Oregon Township | 70.960 | 114.199 | 70 | CR G36 | |
| Iowa | Washington | Riverside | 81.072 | 130.473 | 80 | Iowa 22 – Kalona, Lone Tree | |
| Iowa | Johnson | Liberty Township | 85.534 | 137.654 | 85 | Hills | |
| Iowa | Johnson | West Lucas Township | 89.708 | 144.371 | 89 | Riverside Drive, Airport | |
| Iowa | Johnson | Iowa City | 91.318 | 146.962 | 91 | Iowa 1 – Iowa City, Kalona | |
| Iowa | Johnson | Iowa City | 93.561 | 150.572 | 93 | Melrose Avenue – University Heights | |
| Iowa | Johnson | Coralville | 96.934 | 156.000 | 970 | I-80 – Iowa City, Davenport, Des Moines I-380 begins | Northbound exit numbers follow mileage of US 218; signed as exits 97A (eastbound) and 97B (westbound); southbound exit numbers follow mileage of I-380, signed as exits 0A (eastbound) and 0B (westbound) |
| Iowa | Johnson | Coralville–North Liberty line | 98.974 | 159.283 | 2 | Forevergreen Road | |
| Iowa | Johnson | North Liberty | 100.980 | 162.512 | 4 | CR F28 – north Liberty | |
| Iowa | Johnson | Shueyville | 107.791 | 173.473 | 10 | CR F12 – Swisher, Shueyville | |
| Iowa | Linn | Cedar Rapids | 110.750 | 178.235 | 13 | Wright Brothers Boulevard SW – Ely, The Eastern Iowa Airport | Former Iowa 84 |
| Iowa | Linn | Cedar Rapids | 113.263 | 182.279 | 16A | I-380 north / US 30 east / US 151 north / Iowa 27 north | Northern end of I-380 and Iowa 27 overlaps; southern end of US 30 and US 151 overlaps |
| Iowa | Linn | Cedar Rapids | 113.596 | 182.815 | 252A | 6th Street SW | Exit numbers follow US 30 |
| Iowa | Linn | Cedar Rapids | 115.780 | 186.330 | 250 | Edgewood Road SW | |
| Iowa | Linn | Cedar Rapids | 117.151 | 188.536 | 248 | US 151 south / US 151 Bus. (Williams Boulevard SW) | Northern end of US 151 overlap |
| Iowa | Linn | Clinton Township | 119.130– 119.651 | 191.721– 192.560 | 246 | Iowa 100 / 16th Avenue / 80th Street – Fairfax | Interchange under reconstruction to connect to Iowa 100 |
| Iowa | Benton | Eldorado Township | 135.239 | 217.646 | | US 30 west | End of US 30 overlap |
| Iowa | Benton | Vinton | 148.199 | 238.503 | | Iowa 150 north | |
| Iowa | Benton | Monroe Township | 158.602 | 255.245 | | Iowa 8 west | |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Waterloo | 179.468 | 288.826 | 71 | I-380 south / US 20 / Iowa 27 – Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque | Southern end of I-380 overlap; signed as exits 71A (eastbound) and 71B (westbound); exit numbers follow I-380 |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Waterloo | 180.535 | 290.543 | 72 | San Marnan Drive | Access to Covenant Medical Center |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Waterloo | 181.116 | 291.478 | | I-380 ends | Northern end of I-380; exit numbers follow US 218 |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Waterloo | 182.864– 183.102 | 294.291– 294.674 | 181A | US 63 north – Downtown Riverfront, Young Arena, Sullivan Brothers Convention Center | No northbound entrance; signed as exit 180 southbound; access to Allen Hospital |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Waterloo | 183.425 | 295.194 | 181B | US 63 south / University Avenue | No southbound entrance; signed as exit 181 southbound |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Waterloo | 184.201– 184.785 | 296.443– 297.383 | 182 | Fletcher Avenue, Ansborough Avenue | |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Waterloo | 185.659 | 298.789 | 184 | Greenhill Road | |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Waterloo | 187.228 | 301.314 | 185 | Broadway Street, Airport | |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Cedar Falls | 189.067 | 304.274 | — | Iowa 27 south / Iowa 57 west / Iowa 58 south – Cedar Falls, Hudson, UNI, UNI-Dome | Southern end of Iowa 27 overlap |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Cedar Falls | 190.719 | 306.932 | 189 | Lone Tree Road | |
| Iowa | Black Hawk | Washington Township | 193.565 | 311.513 | 192 | CR C57 (W. Cedar–Wapsi Road) | Interchange opened October 2016 |
| Iowa | Bremer | Janesville | 196.765 | 316.663 | 195 | CR C50 – Janesville | |
| Iowa | Bremer | Waverly | 200.256 | 322.281 | 198 | US 218 Bus. – Waverly | Access to Waverly Health Center |
| Iowa | Bremer | Waverly | 204.757 | 329.524 | 203 | Iowa 3 – Waverly, Shell Rock | |
| Iowa | Bremer | Waverly | 206.757 | 332.743 | 205 | US 218 Bus. – Waverly Airport | |
| Iowa | Bremer | Plainfield | 214.012 | 344.419 | 212 | Iowa 188 – Plainfield | |
| Iowa | Chickasaw | Nashua | 221.316 | 356.174 | 220 | Iowa 346 / CR B60 – Nashua | |
| Iowa | Floyd | Charles City | 230.538 | 371.015 | 218 | US 18 east / US 218 Bus. / CR T64 – Charles City, New Hampton | Southern end of US 18 overlap; exit numbers follow US 18 |
| Iowa | Floyd | Charles City | 234.114 | 376.770 | 214 | Iowa 14 – Charles City, Greene | |
| Iowa | Floyd | Charles City | 236.238 | 380.188 | 212 | US 218 Bus. / CR B35 – Charles City | |
| Iowa | Floyd | Floyd | 238.655 | 384.078 | | US 18 west / Iowa 27 north | Northern end of US 18 and Iowa 27 overlaps |
| Iowa | Mitchell | Burr Oak Township | 249.987 | 402.315 | | Iowa 9 east | Southern end of Iowa 9 overlap |
| Iowa | Mitchell | Osage | 253.985 | 408.749 | | Iowa 9 west | Northern end of Iowa 9 overlap |
| Iowa | Mitchell | St. Ansgar | 265.754 | 427.690 | | CR 105 | |
| | | | 274.9950.000 | 442.5620.000 | | Iowa–Minnesota state line | Iowa–Minnesota state line |
| Minnesota | Mower | Austin | 12.195 | 19.626 | 180B | I-90 east / CSAH 61 – La Crosse | Eastern end of I-90 overlap |
| Minnesota | Mower | Austin | 12.478 | 20.081 | 180A | Oakland Place | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| Minnesota | Mower | Austin | 13.071 | 21.036 | 179 | 11th Drive NE | Interchange |
| Minnesota | Mower | Austin | 13.725 | 22.088 | 178B | CR 16 (6th Street NE) | Interchange |
| Minnesota | Mower | Austin | 14.347 | 23.089 | 178A | CR 45 (4th Street NW) | Interchange |
| Minnesota | Mower | Austin | 15.031 | 24.190 | 177 | I-90 west – Albert Lea | Western end of I-90 overlap |
| Minnesota | Mower | Lansing Township | 20.633 | 33.206 | | MN 251 west – Hollandale | |
| Minnesota | Dodge | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions |
| Minnesota | Steele | Blooming Prairie | 28.365 | 45.649 | | MN 30 east – Hayfield | Southern end of MN 30 overlap |
| Minnesota | Steele | Blooming Prairie | 29.459 | 47.410 | | MN 30 west – Ellendale | Northern end of MN 30 overlap |
| Minnesota | Steele | Owatonna Township | 43.717 | 70.356 | — | US 14 east / CSAH 48 – Rochester | Eastern end of US 14 overlap |
| Minnesota | Steele | Owatonna Township | 45.539 | 73.288 | — | CSAH 45 | Former US 65 |
| Minnesota | Steele | Owatonna Township | 46.739 | 75.219 | — | I-35 / US 14 west – Minneapolis, St. Paul, Albert Lea, Waseca | Western end of US 14 overlap; I-35 exit 40 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access ||||||||

## Related routes
### Mount Pleasant business route

U.S. Highway 218 Business (US 218 Bus.) was designated along a former routing of US 218 through Mount Pleasant, the northernmost 0.7 miles (1.1 km) are officially known as Iowa 438. The routing was created as a result of construction of the Avenue of the Saints corridor through Iowa. The new Avenue of the Saints corridor took US 218/Iowa 27 and US 34 around the eastern and northern edges of Mount Pleasant. The Iowa 438 section of US 218 Bus. serves as a connector from southbound US 218/Iowa 27 to westbound US 34.

### Waverly business route

US 218 Business (US 218 Bus.) in Waverly was designated December 2, 1998, on the old segment of US 218 after it was routed around Waverly. The business route spans 6.6 miles (10.6 km). It intersects Iowa 3 in downtown Waverly and the two routes run concurrently for about one mile (1.6 km). South of Iowa 3, US 218 Bus. is officially known as Iowa 116. US 218 Bus. begins at exit 198 on US 218/Iowa 27 south of Waverly and ends at exit 205 on US 218/Iowa 27.

### Charles City business route

US 218 Business (US 218 Bus.) in Charles City was designated along the old alignment of US 218 in 2000 after the construction of the Avenue of the Saints corridor created a bypass around Charles City. Upon its designation, the route was officially known by two Iowa state highways: Iowa 337 and Iowa 162. Iowa 337 was turned over to local jurisdictions in 2001 and Iowa 162 was turned over in 2006 after US 18 was relocated through Charles City.
Browse numbered routes :
| ← Iowa 415 | Iowa 438 | → Iowa 922 |
| ← Iowa 110 | Iowa 116 | → Iowa 117 |