WEST Iowa line: Missouri River (with US 6), Council Bluffs IA/Omaha NE, Pottawattamie County IA/Douglas County NE
Facing east on 480/6
This sign gantry is actually on the Nebraska side of the river. The center lane in this picture is one of the two lanes coming from US 6/Douglas Street; mainline I-480 is coming in on the left. The east end is coming up fast; the sign below is in the background above. For more history of the river crossing here see the US 6 page.
An ultra-rare "Iowa 480 shield" at Dodge Park. There is an eastbound exit (see above) and a westbound entrance between I-29 and the river.
EAST End: I-29 exit 53B, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County
Facing east on 480/6
One interesting thing about this interchange is that there is no access to eastbound 6 from I-29.
Facing east on 480/6
The above pictures encompass the entirety of mainline I-480 in Iowa. If eastbound exits were numbered through the interchange, they could be like this: Exit 0A, Dodge Park; Exit 0B, I-29 South; Exit 0C, I-29 North; Exit 0D, Second Avenue (sign just barely visible above the center car). Alternately, they could all be exit 1 instead of 0 (though they are all within one mile of the line), and the I-29 ramps' letters could be reversed because they part at the same time.
Gantry at split as seen from Dodge Park
Facing south on 29
There is no access to eastbound 6 from I-29, but the sign here also omits westbound 6 with westbound I-480.
Facing south on 29
Facing north on 29
Facing north on 29
Facing north on 29
Facing west on 480
A picture of this easternmost "Iowa 480" shield was taken by turning off a street just north of Broadway. The merge sign ahead is for that street. Downtown Omaha is prominent in the background. At least one more 480 shield is up on the mainline before entering Nebraska, but it doesn't have the state name; some on the 29 offramps do.
Facing west on 480/6
This is the other side of the "480 ends" or middle gantry. This bridge is the nearest access to/from Carter Lake.
SOUTH End (Nebraska): Complex interchange, I-80 exit 452 and US 75, Omaha NE, Douglas County NE
Facing south on 480
Signage of I-480 changes from east-west to north-south as it meets US 75. The blank space at Exit 1A was for NE 38.
Facing south on 480
This is the westernmost mention of Des Moines on signs.
Facing south on 480
Watch what lane you get in here: The rightmost one becomes the I-80 exit for 42nd Street. The left two lanes shift a bit left as they cross I-80 and then there's the eastbound exit.
Facing north on 75
After I-480 comes across the north side of downtown Omaha, it turns southward, and so does the signage. Overall, the east-west and north-south segments are about equal. I think that I-429 would have been a more interesting option for this interstate designation, and it would have been just as valid. As a bonus, it would have given Omaha a more explicit connection to I-29 and given Nebraska a second branch of an interstate that doesn't enter the state. As it is, all the 3-digit interstates in Omaha and Kansas City that could have conceivably received an x29 designation are instead branches of other interstates in the area (I-80 and I-35).
Facing north on 75
Northbound 75 and southbound 480 don't actually meet 80 at the same spot; one direction must curve to meet the other.
Facing north on 75
Based on Iowa mileage signs, this interchange is a few miles east of the halfway point between Cheyenne and Chicago. By the time a traveler reaches I-680 a short distance to the west, the halfway point is passed.
All pictures by me: First, third, fourth, 12th, 13th, and 17th-19th, 6/12/06; second, fifth, eighth-eleventh, and 14th-16th, 4/6/08; sixth, 6/9/03; seventh, 5/13/07
Page created 9/17/06; last updated 8/3/08