Iowa Highway 187 begins at an intersection with
US 20 southwest of
Masonville. It heads in a northward alignment from this point, passing through
Lamont. North of Lamont, it intersects with
Iowa 3 before turning to the northwest. The highway passes through
Arlington before turning directly to the west. Further west, it will turn to the north where it will terminate at an intersection with
Iowa 150 south of
Fayette.
History
Iowa 187 was formed in January 1931. Originally, the highway began at an intersection with US 20 four miles (6.4 km) east of
Winthrop. It headed north along a
section line to
Lamont. Just north of Lamont, the highway curved to the east and crossed into
Delaware County. Shortly thereafter, the highway ended at the western gate of
Backbone State Park.[3] The roadway maintained this configuration until July 1, 1980, when the east–west portion was turned over to the counties and Iowa 187 was rerouted north to the intersection between
Iowa 3 and Iowa 154.[4][5] For a short time, both Iowa 187 and Iowa 154 ended at opposite sides of the same intersection, but Iowa 187 subsumed all of Iowa 154 by 1983.[6][7]
^Iowa Department of Transportation (1981).
State of Iowa Transportation Map(PDF) (Map). Ames: Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
^Iowa Department of Transportation (1983).
State of Iowa Transportation Map(PDF) (Map). Ames: Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 8, 2015.