Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
DODGE STREET (Highway 20): Difference between revisions
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As of 2007, Highway 20's eastern terminus was in Boston, Massachusetts, at Kenmore Square, where it met Route 2. Its western terminus was in Newport, Oregon, at an intersection with U.S. Route 101, within a mile of the Pacific Ocean. | As of 2007, Highway 20's eastern terminus was in Boston, Massachusetts, at Kenmore Square, where it met Route 2. Its western terminus was in Newport, Oregon, at an intersection with U.S. Route 101, within a mile of the Pacific Ocean. | ||
Before 1943 and the opening of the [[JULIEN DUBUQUE BRIDGE]], Dodge Street was primarily residential. Backing out of garages, drivers had only the width of the sidewalk for clearance. Backing into the street, in some cases, was necessary for a clear sight. As traffic through town using the bridge increased the average daily traffic count indicated about 24,000 vehicles on the section east of Grandview in the mid-1980s according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The steep grade left trucks and automobiles forced into nearly impossible driving conditions in winter when the traffic light at Grandview stopped traffic on the hill. (1) | [[Image:Dodge map.png|left|thumb|450px|Map associated with the article "Transformed" from the May 19, 2020 Telegraph Herald. Photo courtesy: Telegraph Herald]]Before 1943 and the opening of the [[JULIEN DUBUQUE BRIDGE]], Dodge Street was primarily residential. Backing out of garages, drivers had only the width of the sidewalk for clearance. Backing into the street, in some cases, was necessary for a clear sight. As traffic through town using the bridge increased the average daily traffic count indicated about 24,000 vehicles on the section east of Grandview in the mid-1980s according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The steep grade left trucks and automobiles forced into nearly impossible driving conditions in winter when the traffic light at Grandview stopped traffic on the hill. (1) | ||
In 1970 proposals to address the street began circulating and were included in the 1990 Dubuque Metropolitan Transportation Plan. Environmental studies were begun in 1980 and the final impact study on the reconstruction of the road completed in 1987. A key to progress on the work was the inclusion of Sister [[DUNN, Catherine|Catherine DUNN]] on the Iowa Department of Transportation Commission. She served from 1989 to 2001 including a term as chairwoman from 1994 to 2000. As an advocate for the city, she reminded the other commission members that Dubuque had been regularly left out of transportation projects and was not connected to any interstate by a four-land road despite its many manufacturing industries. (2) | In 1970 proposals to address the street began circulating and were included in the 1990 Dubuque Metropolitan Transportation Plan. Environmental studies were begun in 1980 and the final impact study on the reconstruction of the road completed in 1987. A key to progress on the work was the inclusion of Sister [[DUNN, Catherine|Catherine DUNN]] on the Iowa Department of Transportation Commission. She served from 1989 to 2001 including a term as chairwoman from 1994 to 2000. As an advocate for the city, she reminded the other commission members that Dubuque had been regularly left out of transportation projects and was not connected to any interstate by a four-land road despite its many manufacturing industries. (2) | ||
Revision as of 23:15, 20 May 2020
DODGE STREET (Highway 20). U.S. Route 20 is a a coast-to-coast route. It originally ended at the eastern entrance of Yellowstone Park. Because national park roads do not have signage for U.S. numbered highways, a gap exists through Yellowstone National Park and splits the route into two sections. The highway was extended west of Yellowstone in 1940. Spanning 3,365 miles (5,415 km), it is the longest road in the United States.
It and U.S. Route 30 break the general U.S. route numbering rules in Oregon, since U.S. 30 actually starts north of U.S. Route 20 and runs parallel to the north throughout the state. The two overlap and continue in the "correct" positioning near Caldwell, Idaho. This is because U.S. 20 was not a planned coast-to-coast route while U.S. 30 was.
As of 2007, Highway 20's eastern terminus was in Boston, Massachusetts, at Kenmore Square, where it met Route 2. Its western terminus was in Newport, Oregon, at an intersection with U.S. Route 101, within a mile of the Pacific Ocean.
Before 1943 and the opening of the JULIEN DUBUQUE BRIDGE, Dodge Street was primarily residential. Backing out of garages, drivers had only the width of the sidewalk for clearance. Backing into the street, in some cases, was necessary for a clear sight. As traffic through town using the bridge increased the average daily traffic count indicated about 24,000 vehicles on the section east of Grandview in the mid-1980s according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The steep grade left trucks and automobiles forced into nearly impossible driving conditions in winter when the traffic light at Grandview stopped traffic on the hill. (1)
In 1970 proposals to address the street began circulating and were included in the 1990 Dubuque Metropolitan Transportation Plan. Environmental studies were begun in 1980 and the final impact study on the reconstruction of the road completed in 1987. A key to progress on the work was the inclusion of Sister Catherine DUNN on the Iowa Department of Transportation Commission. She served from 1989 to 2001 including a term as chairwoman from 1994 to 2000. As an advocate for the city, she reminded the other commission members that Dubuque had been regularly left out of transportation projects and was not connected to any interstate by a four-land road despite its many manufacturing industries. (2)
In the spring of 2020, the city celebrated the $20.9 million transformation of the steep curving road bordered by homes, restaurants, service stations, restaurants and even a "doll hospital" into a four-lane, 45 m.p.h. roadway with no stop signs between Bluff Street and Devon Drive. (3)
See: HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION
1. Hogstrom, Erik, "Transformed, Dubuque's Dodge Street Reconstruction Launched 25 Years Ago," Telegraph Herald, May 17, 2020, p. 1A
2. Ibid. 6A
3. Ibid.