End of US highway 151 |
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1926-1934
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1934-1938
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1938-1986
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1986-present
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Summa
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Mileage: in 1989 AASHTO listed a figure of 309 miles for US 151... but that was assuming a south terminus at Cedar Rapids. Since then US 151 has been extended to the Amanas, and our own 2020 measurement yielded 327.1 miles.
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US 151 was an original 1926 highway, but at the time it was an intra-state route, running only between Madison and Fond du Lac:
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c. 1927, Rand McNally
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This photo was in Madison, looking southwest on Washington Avenue (southbound US 151). Today US 151 traffic is directed to bypass the Capitol area by turning left on Blair Street, but historically that route continued straight ahead all the way to the Capitol Square:
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Sanderson, Oct. 2006
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On the opposite side of the Capitol, US 151 originally continued west via State Street, Gilman Street, and University Avenue...
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c. 1927, Wisconsin DoT
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...but already by the following issue, US 151 was shown using Washington, Bassett Street, and University:
c. 1928, Wisconsin DoT
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Both maps show US 151 ending on University at Park Street, where it junctioned US 12 (and later US 14). This location is on the UW campus:
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At the time, US 151 went only as far as Fond Du Lac. It came in on Military Road and Western Avenue, ending at its junction with US 41 (Main Street):
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c. 1928, Wisconsin DoT
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This photo was looking north on Main; the original north beginning of US 151 was to the left on Western:
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Sanderson, Aug. 2005
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Here is modern signage looking east on Western, at the former north end of US 151:
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Sanderson, Aug. 2005
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In 1934, US 151 was extended northeast out of Fond du Lac to Manitowoc, where the designation still ends today:
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c. 1939, Rand McNally
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The route comes into town via Calumet Avenue, and that becomes Washington Street approaching downtown. The last US 151 trailblazer is posted at 11th Street:
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Johnson, Apr. 2016
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US 151 junctions with eastbound US 10 at 10th Street (which is one-way running southbound), and then there was an "End" assembly posted just past 9th Street:
Sanderson, Aug. 2005 (replaced in 2015)
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Johnson, Apr. 2016
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Visible in the distance is the signage at 8th Street, which serves as westbound US 10 -- that intersection marks the actual endpoint of US 151. Today, one block behind the camera, eastbound US 10 runs to the right. After a few blocks that route turns east (ahead) on Madison Street, and then angles north (left) to the Lake Michigan car ferry dock (which happens to be situated directly behind the Anheuser-Busch malting facility visible in the background of the photo above). But historically, westbound US 10 was to the left on 8th, while eastbound went straight ahead on Washington. Right at the big Budweiser silos, the route jogged north one block on 7th, and then resumed eastward on Jay Street, directly to the ferry dock:
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c. 1939, Wisconsin DoT
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It is unclear whether US 151 was ever overlapped with US 10 to the ferry dock, although that map gives no reason to think so.
The signage shown below is for the benefit of drivers coming west on US 10: |
Sanderson, Aug. 2005 (replaced in 2015)
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Johnson, Apr. 2016
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Those were looking north on 8th; the north beginning of US 151 is to the left. This next photo shows the opposite direction (south on 10th, or east on US 10):
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Sanderson, Aug. 2005
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If a traveler takes that right turn, they soon see the first southbound confirming marker:
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Sanderson, Aug. 2005
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In 1938, the other end of US 151 was extended southwest to Cedar Rapids:
c. 1938, IA DoT
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Initially the route ended on 1st Avenue West at 1st Street Southwest:
Morrison, Mar. 2007
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But US 30 was soon rerouted, so US 151 then ended at the intersection of Williams Boulevard (Business US 151 today) and 16th Avenue SW (US 30-218):
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c. 1976, Iowa DOT
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This photo shows the intersection where US 151 ended, looking southwestward along Williams Blvd. toward 16th Av SW:
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Hancock, 2001
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After the US 30 bypass opened in 1981, US 151 was extended southwestward to the interchange with the new US 30. This photo looks southwestward toward US 30-218. Today this interchange marks the end of Business US 151, which replaced mainline US 151 through Cedar Rapids and Marion upon its 1989 rerouting via Bertram:
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Hancock, 2001
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In 1986, US 151 was extended southwest out of Cedar Rapids: along former IA hwy. 149, past the Amana Colonies, to its south end at interchange 225 on I-80. (Twice that year Iowa tried to get AASHTO to approve the extension, but for some reason they denied it. It was not approved by AASHTO until 1996.) Here is the exit to the south beginning, as viewed from eastbound I-80:
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Sanderson, June 2001
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At the end of that offramp, traffic is directed to US 151 thus (to the right the road is designated County Hwy. W21):
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Sanderson, Aug. 2005
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Approaching that interchange from the south on W21, the south beginning of US 151 is marked like this:
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Sanderson, Aug. 2005
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Not far ahead is the first confirming marker. The junction with US 6 (which provides access to the main Amana Colonies) is about six miles ahead. But this commercial area situated right at the freeway interchange is marked on some maps as "Little Amana":
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Nitzman, Mar. 2016 (unchanged since at least 2005)
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Handler, Sep. 2018
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Here, we are heading the opposite direction. This is the last southbound marker, along with some classic Iowa scenery:
Karners, Aug. 2010
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Not far ahead is the I-80 interchange and Little Amana, part of which is visible in this shot, looking south at the I-80 overpass:
Sanderson, Aug. 2005
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Handler, Sep. 2018
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Research and/or photo credits: Nathan Edgars; Jon Enslin; Jason Hancock; Mark Handler; Peter Johnson; Karin and Martin Karner; Bruce Kasprzyk; Jeff Morrison; Alex Nitzman; Dale Sanderson; James Schecter; Michael Summa
Page originally created 2000;
last updated Nov. 24, 2021.
last updated Nov. 24, 2021.
