Iowa Highway 9

Iowa Highway 9
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length	296 mi (476 km)
Major junctions
Major intersections	US 75 in Rock Rapids IA 60 near Sibley US 59 near Allendorf US 71 at Spirit Lake US 169 at Lakota US 69 at Forest City I-35 near Hanlontown US 63 near Saratoga US 52 in Decorah
Location
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Counties	Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Winnebago, Worth, Mitchell, Howard, Winneshiek , Allamakee
Highway system
Iowa Primary Highway System Interstate US State Secondary Scenic
← Iowa 8 → Iowa 10

Aerial view looking north, January 14, 2001, with Mississippi River at floodstage; the Black Hawk Bridge is visible; Big Lake is immediately north; the bridge and causeway carry Iowa Highway 9 and Wisconsin Highway 82

Iowa Highway 9 is the most northern of Iowa's east-west highways, traversing the entire northern tier of counties. It runs from the eastern terminus of South Dakota Highway 42 at the South Dakota border east of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to the Wisconsin border at Lansing where it continues as Wisconsin Highway 82. It is largely rural in character, bypassing any large city. Making a few dips up and down, the highway largely follows a very straight east-west alignment.

Route Description

Iowa Highway 9 enters from South Dakota as a continuation of South Dakota Highway 42, northwest of Larchwood in Lyon County. It runs south of Lester, at the northern edge of Rock Rapids and south of Little Rock. Crossing into Osceola County, Iowa Highway 60 crosses it just north and slightly west of Sibley. Continuing west, is runs to the north of Ocheyedan. Entering Dickinson County, the highway passes south of Silver Lake and then across the Little Sioux River, into Spirit Lake where it briefly joins U.S. Route 71. It dips southeasterly as it enters Emmet County, continuing into Estherville where it crosses Iowa Highway 4 and a tributary of the Des Moines River. Passing just south of Armstrong it has an intersection with Iowa Highway 15. Inside Kossuth County, it passes through Swea City. East of Swea City, it is joined by U.S. Route 169. It passes north of Lakota, where US 169 turns north. Travelling through Buffalo Center in Winnebago County, takes a slight southwesterly dip to pass northeast of Thompson, then continues east, and then south to join U.S. Route 69 at the northern edge of Forest City where it again turns east. Into Worth County, it travels past the northern edge of Hanlontown, where it soon crosses Interstate 35. West of I-35, it passes through the south side of Manly. In Mitchell County it makes a straight run to and through Osage. It swings back north and resumes going west to Riceville, crossing the Wapsipinicon River in the process. In Howard County, the highway makes a transition into the Driftless Area of Iowa, with progressively more rugged terrain evident as one travels east. West of Cresco, and south of Lime Springs, it crosses U.S. Route 63 before going through Cresco. In the process, it crosses two tributaries of the Turkey River In Winneshiek County, it runs southeasterly, straightening out to go through Decorah in the valley of the Upper Iowa River. In Decorah, it crosses U.S. Route 52. It again takes a southeasterly drift. In Allamakee County, the highway becomes crooked. Just east of the county line, Iowa Highway 51 meets its northern terminus. Running south of Waukon, then turns north through Waukon, briefly joined by Iowa Highway 76. North of Waukon, it curves north and east, into Lansing, through the valley of Clear Creek and downtown Lansing. Just before crossing the Mississippi, it meets the southern terminus of Iowa Highway 26. It then turns onto the Black Hawk Bridge, where it joins Wisconsin Highway 82.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Lyon	Larchwood			SD 42	Western terminus
				Iowa 182 south
	Rock Rapids			US 75 north
				US 75 south (Union Street)
	George			CR L14	Former Iowa 91 north, To MN 91
				CR L14	Former Iowa 339 south
Osceola	Sibley			Iowa 60
				US 59
	Harris			CR M20	Former Iowa 238 north
Dickinson	Spirit Lake			Iowa 86
				US 71 south
				Hill Avenue	Former Iowa 276 north
				US 71 north
Emmet	Estherville			Iowa 4 (9th Street)
	Armstrong			Iowa 15 south (4th Street)
				Iowa 15 north (6th Street)
Kossuth	Ledyard			US 169 south
	Lakota			US 169 north
Winnebago	Leland			US 69 north
	Forest City			US 69 south
Worth	Hanlontown			I-35 / Iowa 27
	Manly			US 65 (Orchid Avenue)
Mitchell	Osage			US 218 north (7th Street)
				US 218 south
Howard	Lime Springs			US 63
Winneshiek	Cresco			Iowa 139 north
	Decorah			US 52
Allamakee	Waukon			Iowa 51 south
				Iowa 76 south
				Iowa 76 north (Main Street)
	Lansing			Iowa 26 north (2nd Street)
				WIS 82	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Sources

• Iowa Atlas and Gazeteer, 3rd edition, DeLorme, 2004.
• 2007 Transportation Map, Iowa Department of Transportation, 2007.