Why is This Iowa Highway Called Avenue of the Saints?

Have you ever made the drive from eastern Iowa to Minneapolis, Minnesota? Plenty of Iowans have.

When I drive to Minneapolis, I don't need directions. It's not very complicated to take 218 to 35 and go north—it's basically two highways. While I don't need directions, I always type them into my phone and put them in front of me on the phone mount in my car.

They're nice to have in case there's some kind of traffic or if you need to take an alternative route.  They can also help let you know if there's some kind of accident or if there's a speed trap in front of you, so even if I don't need directions to Minneapolis, I do have them just in case.

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I have been in Iowa for 2 and a half years so this might be common knowledge to everyone who's from here but...I've been curious about this for the entire time I've lived here. Have you ever typed in directions, pretty much anywhere in eastern Iowa, and your phone has told you to "take the Avenue of the Saints." I swear to all that is holy, anytime you're driving in eastern Iowa, your phone will put you on the Avenue of the Saints. This has to be the longest "avenue", in the history of avenues.

While it might not necessarily be the longest avenue in the world, the Avenue of the Saints is a long stretch of road and a concept that was created by an Iowa native in the 1980s. Whether you're on 35, 218, or 380, your phone will call this stretch Ave of Saints and I've discovered the reason why.

According to Dexter Statesman, the Avenue of the Saints is a concept from Ernest "Ernie" Hayes, who was from Mt Pleasant, Iowa. He had a vision in the 1980s to create a 550-mile, 4-lane highway, that connected St Louis, Missouri, to St Paul, Minnesota. Sadly, Ernie passed away in 1991 and never was able to see the groundwork begin for his vision.

Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri all participated in this construction and were in charge of their portion of the roadway.

For example, if you live in eastern Iowa and want to travel to St Louis, most likely, your fastest way of getting there is by following the Avenue of the Saints.

According to Iowa Highways, these 4 US highways would be considered part of the Avenue: 27, 58, 218, and 18. This photo shows just how far the Avenue of the Saints stretches.

While this stretch of highways can navigate you through 3 different states, Iowa is the only 1 of the 3 where the avenue will take you through the entire state!

For all of the times I've typed in directions on my phone and noticed it says I'm driving on the "Avenue of the Saints" I never knew why...until now.