Iowa's Historic Automobile Roads: A National Register Study of Pre-1948 Arterial Highways

This study of Iowa's Historic Automobile Roads was completed as part of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) and Iowa State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in 2002 stemming from the mitigation of the removal of archaeological site 13MC133, an early automobile road segment. The complexity of the study elements as outlined in the MOA required intensive research and fieldwork in order to meet its requirements. As a result, after consultation with the Iowa DOT and SHPO, the content of the study was expanded in the scope of work in order to fulfill a need for a more thematic study of the components of historic roads and cut-off arterial highway segments related to technology and engineering, materials, construction, identification, and evaluation for Section 106 review and compliance purposes. The study chose two highway corridors of multi-county length and opposite directions. The focus of the study was to stay within the right-of-way and not include ancillary elements except where pertinent. During the statewide reconnaissance part of the project, following a total of 7,334 miles were driven for the survey. For the intensive level survey of the two chosen study routes, U.S. 34 and U.S. 218, 4,507 miles were driven. A total of 1,452 highway-related structures were identified, analyzed, and evaluated. Eleven principal historic themes related to arterial highway construction in Iowa were identified. These overlapping themes outline specific historical, technological, and political periods, trends, and eras specifically related to highway context evaluation. These themes provide the baseline means for applying contexts during the study's period of investigation that dates from 1900 to 1948. Using the two study routes as background examples, the study presents information on how to identify, survey, and document historic roads in Iowa, and evaluate their significance under the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places.

• Record URL:
  http://www.iowadot.gov/ole/documents/IowaHistoricRoads.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This report was prepared for Primary Roads Project NHS-61-4(55)--19-70, Muscatine County, Iowa.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Iowa, Iowa City

  Highway Archaeology Program, 700 Clinton Street Building
  Iowa City, IA  United States  52242-1030

  Iowa Department of Transportation

  Office of Location and Environment, 800 Lincoln Way
  Ames, IA  United States  50010
• Authors:
  • Ingalls, Marlin R
  • Merry, Carl A
  • Lensink, Stephen C
• Publication Date: 2009

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Project Completion Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Glossary; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 342p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Archaeological surveying; Highways; Historic preservation
• Identifier Terms: National Register of Historic Places
• Uncontrolled Terms: Historic automobile roads
• Geographic Terms: Iowa
• Subject Areas: Highways; History; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01160020
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Volume 32, Number 16
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 1 2010 8:25AM