It enters the state at the Missouri River in Council Bluffs and heads east through the southern Iowa drift plain.

I-80 passes along the northern edge of Davenport and Bettendorf and leaves Iowa via the Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi River into Illinois.

Before I-80 was planned, the route between Council Bluffs and Davenport, which passed through Des Moines, was vital to the state.

Two competing auto trails, the Great White Way and the River-to-River Road, sought to be the best path to connect three of the state's major population centers.

In the early 1950s, plans were drawn up for the construction of an Iowa Turnpike, to be the first modern four-lane highway in the state, along the US 6 corridor.

The final piece of I-80 in Iowa, the Missouri River bridge to Omaha, Nebraska, opened on December 15, 1972.

[5] The South 24th Street interchange serves a commercial area anchored by the Mid-America Center and Horseshoe Casino.

Interchanges occur at regular intervals; three to six miles (4.8 to 9.7 km) of Pottwattamie and Cass county farmland separate each exit from the next.

As I-80 approaches the area north of Atlantic, there are three interchanges, Iowa 173, County Road N16 (CR N16), and US 71, which serve the western, central, and eastern parts of the city, respectively.

Each year for Memorial Day, the rock is repainted with a patriotic scene by local artist Ray "Bubba" Sorenson II.

[17] As I-80 enters West Des Moines, the speed limit lowers to 65 mph (105 km/h) and the path of the Interstate straightens out to the east at the Jordan Creek Parkway exit.

They begin their journey together by heading north; they briefly run through West Des Moines and then cross into Clive at University Avenue.

Hickman Road serves a truck stop to the west and the Living History Farms visitor center to the east.

[19] East of the 86th Street exit, the freeway begins a slow descent toward the Des Moines River.

Merle Hay Road, named for the first Iowan to die in World War I, carries Iowa 28 from the south to its northern end at the Interstates.

[23] Past Grinnell, it passes through the footprint of the North English wind farm, with rows of turbines running parallel to the route.

The Coral Ridge Avenue exit provides access to US 6, which passes beneath the Interstate just before the interchange, and the eponymous shopping center located to the southeast.

[27] As it enters Cedar County, it passes West Branch, the birthplace of and site of the library and museum of President Herbert Hoover.

[30] Before reaching the Quad Cities, I-80 passes Walcott and Iowa 80, which is self-billed as the "World's Largest Truck Stop".

[36] The Iowa DOT operates 37 rest areas and one scenic overlook in 20 locations along its 780 miles (1,260 km) of Interstate highway.

Common among all of the rest stops are separate men's and women's restrooms, payphones with TDD capabilities, weather reporting kiosks, vending machines, and free wireless internet.

[40][41] For instance, the facility near Adair is a tribute to the life of Henry A. Wallace, the 33rd Vice President of the United States, who was born in nearby Orient.

[42][43] Since before the Iowa Primary Highway System was created in 1920, the Council Bluffs-to-Davenport, by way of Des Moines, corridor has always been important.

Two roughly parallel auto trails, the Great White Way and the River-to-River Road, served cross-state traffic.

They concluded that the turnpike could be economically possible if $180 million (equivalent to $1.6 billion in 2023[47]) in revenue bonds were issued at interest rates no higher than 3.5 percent.

[48] In early March 1955, the Iowa General Assembly debated the pros and cons on building a toll road.

It would then span 298 miles (480 km) across the state to the South Omaha Bridge where US 275 crossed the Missouri River.

The Interstate Highway System's completeness and financing rendered the Iowa Turnpike obsolete before it was ever constructed.

As a result, the highway required significant repairs for which Iowa's Interstate maintenance program lacked funding.

A 16.2-mile-long (26.1 km) section from CR F90 between Earlham and the western junction with I-35 needed $500,000 in annual repairs (equivalent to $1.15 million in 2023[47]).