Lincoln Highway history gets a lift

The Lincoln Highway, which disappeared from official maps in the 1920s is starting to look like the Lincoln Highway again in Iowa.

A statewide project this summer to re-sign 10 scenic byways in the state made the route of the Lincoln Highway, the country's first transcontinental highway designated in 1913, visible as the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway.

The Lincoln Trail Scenic Byway was the last of the state's 11 scenic byways to receive official designation only a few years ago. All of the Lincoln Trail Scenic Byway signs in the area were installed in July, and those in western Iowa were completed in August.

"This is the first time it's been signed," said Troy Seifert, who manages the Iowa Department of Transportation's Scenic Byways program.

What was once Iowa's section of the Lincoln Highway became Highway 30 when the highway system was converted to a numbering system in 1928. Over time, Highway 30's route was changed in many times in different places, obscuring the Lincoln Highway's route.

Lincoln Highway Association member Van Becker of Cedar Rapids said the group has been working for about seven years with project partners toward the marking of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway.

"It literally took almost two years to get all the cities across Iowa to sign off on having all these signs put up," Becker said.

Becker said Cedar Rapids wasn't hard to work with, even though the Lincoln Highway has three different routes through Cedar Rapids due to changes over time.

The Lincoln Highway played a large part in Becker's life. His family took the route on vacation trips to Colorado and camped out along it. Many of the important spots that make up the memories of his life are along it, and he still likes to travel it in vintage cars.

The Lincoln Highway was as important to travel during its time as Interstate 80 is today, Becker said, and travelers clung to it even in cities because it tended to be where the post offices, good hotels and auto service businesses were located.

Lincoln Highway enthusiasts probably have never had too much trouble finding the route, Becker said, because of the number of reference materials available that show locations and attractions.

"I've been telling everybody that the signs are up for the tourists, who want to take the highway for an hour or so on their way to Des Moines," he said.

The new scenic byway signs were installed with greater frequency than previous, less noticeable byway signs, according to Peter Hoehnle, who helped coordinate the Lincoln Highway and Iowa Valley scenic byway projects for the Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development Area. The signs are also highly reflective to be visible at night.

Seifert said the frequency of signs was intended to comply with the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which ensures that motorists are warned in advance when the route turns, reaffirms that they've turned on the right route, and periodically reassures them that they are on the right route with signs every few miles.

All the signs make driving the route safer and more enjoyable, Seifert said, because drivers don't have to refer be distracted by route directions or looking for infrequent signs.

About 4,000 signs are being installed on the 10 scenic byways under the project, paid for by a $580,000 federal scenic byways grant. In Eastern Iowa, they also include the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway, which goes through the Amana Colonies, the Delaware Crossing Scenic Byway in Delaware County in Delaware County, the River Bluffs Scenice Byway in Northeast Iowa and the Grant Wood Scenic Byway.

Hoehnle said the Grant Wood Scenic Byway was extended from Anamosa to Stone City as part of the signing project. He said one scenic byway, the Great River Road, did not update its signs because it was part of a national scenic route and needed to remain consistent with other states.