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U.S. Highway 34 (US 34) is a United States Highway that runs across the southern third of Iowa. It begins on a bridge over the Missouri River west of Glenwood and travels east, where it meets Interstate 29 (I-29) and US 275. Through southwestern Iowa, the highway is mostly a two-lane rural road with at-grade intersections, though there are interchanges with US 59 near Emerson and US 71 near Stanton and Villisca. At Osceola, the highway intersects I-35 and US 69. Just east of Ottumwa, where the road meets US 63, it joins the four-lane Iowa 163 for the remainder of its route through the state. At Mount Pleasant, it overlaps US 218 and Iowa 27, the Avenue of the Saints Highway. From there, the road heads southeast, crossing the Mississippi River on the Great River Bridge at Burlington.
US 34 was one of the original U.S. Highways when the system was created in 1926, though it was preceded by the Blue Grass Route, a 310-mile-long (500 km) auto trail that connected Council Bluffs and Burlington. In 1920, the Iowa State Highway Commission (ISHC) assigned route numbers to roads to improve wayfinding for travelers. The Blue Grass Route was assigned Primary Road No. 8 in its entirety. Six years later, No. 8 was redesignated U.S. Highway 34. In 1930, the highway became the first road to be fully paved across the state. By the 1950s, increased traffic and larger automobiles made the original pavement inadequate, leading to straightening and widening projects.
Starting in the 1960s, parts of the route were expanded to four lanes. A section of controlled-access highway was built in Burlington, and a limited-access highway was constructed in Glenwood. During construction in Glenwood, Native American remains were discovered. The subsequent lab analysis and delayed reburial created controversy that eventually contributed to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. In the 1990s and 2000s, the highway between Ottumwa and West Burlington was widened to four lanes as part of a project to improve the corridor between Des Moines and Burlington. Since the early 1990s, narrow toll bridges at both the eastern and western state lines were replaced by modern, toll-free bridges capable of handling high volumes of traffic.
US 34 was one of the original U.S. Highways when the system was created in 1926, though it was preceded by the Blue Grass Route, a 310-mile-long (500 km) auto trail that connected Council Bluffs and Burlington. In 1920, the Iowa State Highway Commission (ISHC) assigned route numbers to roads to improve wayfinding for travelers. The Blue Grass Route was assigned Primary Road No. 8 in its entirety. Six years later, No. 8 was redesignated U.S. Highway 34. In 1930, the highway became the first road to be fully paved across the state. By the 1950s, increased traffic and larger automobiles made the original pavement inadequate, leading to straightening and widening projects.
Starting in the 1960s, parts of the route were expanded to four lanes. A section of controlled-access highway was built in Burlington, and a limited-access highway was constructed in Glenwood. During construction in Glenwood, Native American remains were discovered. The subsequent lab analysis and delayed reburial created controversy that eventually contributed to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. In the 1990s and 2000s, the highway between Ottumwa and West Burlington was widened to four lanes as part of a project to improve the corridor between Des Moines and Burlington. Since the early 1990s, narrow toll bridges at both the eastern and western state lines were replaced by modern, toll-free bridges capable of handling high volumes of traffic.
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