Iowa Highway 48 is a 48-mile-long (77 km) state highway which runs from north to south in southwest Iowa. It begins at the northern edge of Shenandoah at U.S. Highway 59 and ends at U.S. Highway 6 near Lewis. The highway has seen few changes since its creation.

Quick Facts Route information, Length ...

Iowa Highway 48
Iowa 48 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Iowa DOT
Length	47.919 mi[1] (77.118 km)
Major junctions
South end	US 59 at Shenandoah
Major intersections	US 34 at Red Oak
North end	US 6 near Lewis
Location
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Counties	Page Montgomery Cass
Highway system
Iowa Primary Highway System Interstate US State Secondary Scenic
← Iowa 44 → Iowa 51

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Iowa Highway 48 begins in Shenandoah at an intersection with U.S. Highway 59 (US 59), which serves as the line separating Fremont County and Page County. It heads east for one mile (1.6 km) before turning to the northeast to become parallel to a line of the BNSF Railway.^[2] It travels northeast for 6 miles (9.7 km) and turns east shortly after passing through Essex. Three miles (4.8 km) east of Essex, Iowa 48 turns north at an intersection with Page County Road J20 (CR J20).^[1]

From CR J20, Iowa 48 heads due north for 12+1⁄2 miles (20.1 km) to the intersection with US 34 in Red Oak. From Red Oak, Iowa 48 continues due north for 8 miles (13 km) until it turns east to cross the East Nishnabotna River and pass through Elliott before turning back to the north.^[3] It then travels north for 6 miles to Griswold, where it intersects Iowa 92. Iowa 48 continues north for 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km), again crossing the East Nishnabotna, until its northern end at U.S. Highway 6 west of Lewis.^[1]

Originally, Iowa Highway 48 was a short highway connecting Shenandoah and Red Oak, roughly along the path the route takes today.^[4] By 1952, the route was in its present location and ended at US 6 west of Lewis. Only the original section had been paved at this time.^[5] By 1976, the entire highway was paved.^[6]