63 Business and Iowa 149. The junction is the southern end of Iowa 149. After a pair of interchanges, US 34 meets US 63 at a roundabout. The two highways cross the river and head generally northeast. The Roemer Avenue intersection marks the eastern end of the Ottumwa business route. Upon reaching the expressway on the eastern side of town, US 34 and US 63 head in opposite directions. For the rest of its trek through Iowa, US 34 is routed along a four-lane expressway. It uses the eastern leg of the Des Moines to Burlington Highway, which since 2009 has carried the Iowa 163 designation when it was extended from Oskaloosa to Burlington. Prior to 2009, Iowa 163 ran from Des Moines to Oskaloosa. The application of the 163 route number gave the Des Moines to Burlington corridor a single route number. The highway bypasses Agency and Batavia to the north. Between those towns, an interchange with Iowa 16 directs traffic to Eldon and the house that served as the backdrop to Grant Wood's painting American Gothic. West of Fairfield, the highway curves to the southeast to begin a freeway bypass of the city. It passes over the BNSF Railway and the former routing of US 34, which becomes a business route. Iowa 1 intersects the freeway south of downtown. At-grade intersections resume past the eastern end of the Fairfield business route. The expressway gradually moves to the south as it goes by Lockridge and Rome. Near Westwood, the highway abruptly curves to the northeast as the Mount Pleasant business route begins. On the northern side of Mount Pleasant, three adjacent interchanges complete all movements between US 34 / Iowa 163 and US 218 / Iowa 27, the Avenue of the Saints Highway. The four routes briefly travel together along the eastern edge of the city. As the business route rejoins the mainline, US 34 / Iowa 163 exit and head to the southeast towards New London. The bypasses of New London and Danville keep the expressway west and south of each community. As it approaches Middletown, home of the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, the highway takes a 90-degree turn to the east and becomes a freeway. Between Beaverdale and West Burlington, the highway crosses Mount Pleasant Street, which formerly carried US 34. It then winds south of the main residential area of West Burlington and meets US 61.