Iowa Highway 160

Iowa Highway 160
Oralabor Road
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length:	2.446 mi[1] (3.936 km)
Existed:	1947[2] – present
Major junctions
West end:	Iowa 415 in Ankeny
	US 69 in Ankeny
East end:	I‑35 in Ankeny
Location
Counties:	Polk
Highway system
Iowa Primary Highway System Interstate U.S. State Secondary Scenic ← Iowa 152 Iowa 163 →

Iowa Highway 160 (Iowa 160) is a short state highway that runs east and west in central Iowa. Its begins at Iowa 415 in Ankeny and ends at exit 90 of Interstate 35 (I-35) in Ankeny. Originally ending at a Y intersection, south of the current intersection with Iowa 415, the route has been straightened to run west and east. Iowa 160 passes Des Moines Area Community College near its intersection with U.S. Route 69 (US 69).

Route description

Iowa Highway 160 begins at a stoplight intersection with Iowa 415 on the southwestern edge of Ankeny. Iowa 415 comes from the south and leaves to the west, Iowa 160 begins to the east, and Ankeny's State Street continues north. Iowa 160, known locally as Oralabor Road, meets DMACC Boulevard just 0.5 miles (800 m) from its western end and forms the southern border of the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) campus. Iowa 160 passes businesses to the south and the DMACC campus landscape to the north before intersecting US 69, known locally as Ankeny Boulevard.^[3]

East of US 69, the highway separates the commercial area to the south from the residential areas to the north. A single-track Union Pacific Railroad line^[4] serves as another dividing line as Iowa 160 enters a purely commercial area for the remainder of its length. Just 0.3 miles (480 m) from its eastern end, it intersects Delaware Avenue, a north–south street which diverts retail traffic exiting from I-35 just to the east. Iowa 160 ends on an overpass of I-35, at exit 90.^[3]

History

Iowa Highway 160 was designated in 1947 as a diagonal connector route from Iowa Highway 60, now Iowa Highway 415, to U.S. Route 69. Iowa 160's original west end was a Y intersection, with Iowa 60 coming from the south and heading northwest and Iowa 160 heading northeast.^[2] In 1980, Iowa 160 was extended 1 mile (1.6 km) from US 69 to I-35.^[5] By 1986, the intersection with Iowa 415 was moved north and became a T intersection.^[6]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Ankeny, Polk County.

mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
0.000	0.000	Iowa 415
1.086	1.748	US 69 (Ankeny Boulevard)
2.084	3.354	Delaware Avenue
2.446	3.936	I‑35 (Exit 90)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. "2009 Volume of Traffic on the Primary Road System of Iowa" (PDF). Iowa Department of Transportation. January 1, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
2. Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa State Highway Commission. 1948. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
3. Des Moines Metropolitan Area (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
4. Iowa Department of Transportation (1 July 2008). "Iowa State Railroad Map" (PDF). Retrieved 16 December 2009.
5. Iowa State Highway Map (1981) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
6. Iowa State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Iowa Department of Transportation. 1986. Retrieved February 19, 2012.

Route map: Bing / Google