Iowa Highway 281 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by Iowa DOT | ||||
Length: | 28.166 mi (45.329 km) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end: | Waterloo city limits | |||
East end: | Iowa 150 near Oelwein | |||
Location | ||||
Counties: | ||||
Highway system | ||||
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Iowa Highway 281 (Iowa 281) is a 28-mile-long (45 km) state highway in north-central Iowa. Iowa 281 begins at the eastern city limits of Waterloo and ends at Iowa Highway 150 south of Oelwein.
Iowa Highway 281 begins at the eastern city limits of Waterloo along what is Independence Avenue in Waterloo. It heads due east for 5 1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) until it reaches an intersection with Black Hawk County Roads D20 (CR D20) and V54 (CR V54). CR V54 connects Iowa 281 to an interchange with U.S. Route 20 located 3 1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) to the south. At the intersection, Iowa 281 turns to the north, while CR D20 continues to the east.
Iowa 281 travels north for 9 miles (14 km), passing through Dunkerton and crossing Crane Creek. It turns to the east, 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) south of the Bremer County line and crosses the Wapsipinicon River. From the Wapsipinicon, it takes an S-curve to the north and east and enters Fairbank in Buchanan County, where it crosses the Little Wapsipinicon River. East of Fairbank, Iowa 281 takes another S-curve which places the highway on the Buchanan County / Fayette County line. Iowa 281 heads east along the county line until its end at Iowa Highway 150 south of Oelwein.