U.S. Route 14 (abbreviated U.S. 14 or US 14), an east–west route, is one of the original

United States highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

s of 1926. It currently has a length of 1,398 miles (2,250 km), but it had a peak length of 1,429 miles (2,300 km). For much of its length, it runs roughly parallel to

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

. The highway's eastern terminus is in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Its western terminus is the east entrance of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

, with the western terminus of U.S. Route 16 and the western terminus of the eastern segment of

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

Route description

Wyoming

U.S. 14 begins at the east entrance to

, along with U.S. 16 and the eastern segment of U.S. 20. It travels through the

Shoshone National Forest Shoshone National Forest ( ) is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly in the state of Wyoming. Originally a part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, the forest is managed by the United States ...

Cody Cody may refer to: People *Cody (given name) *Cody (surname) * Cody (wrestler), a ring name of Cody Runnels Places Canada *Cody, British Columbia United States * Cody, Florida * Cody (Duluth), Minnesota * Cody, Missouri * Cody, Nebraska *Cody, ...

, where U.S. 14A splits off to the north. Both routes traverse the dry

Bighorn Basin The Bighorn Basin is a plateau region and intermontane basin, approximately 100 miles (160 km) wide, in north-central Wyoming in the United States. It is bounded by the Absaroka Range on the west, the Pryor Mountains on the north, the Bigho ...

, followed by a steep ascent up the

Big Horn Mountains The Bighorn Mountains ( cro, Basawaxaawúua, lit=our mountains or cro, Iisaxpúatahchee Isawaxaawúua, label=none, lit=bighorn sheep's mountains) are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a ...

and through the

Bighorn National Forest The Bighorn National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in northern Wyoming, United States and consists of over 1.1 million acres (4,500 km2). Created as a US Forest Reserve in 1897, it is one of the oldest government-protected fores ...

, where they rejoin at Burgess Junction. The highway descends the eastern slope of the Bighorns between Burgess Junction and

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

. U.S. 14 briefly follows I-90 south from Ranchester to

Sheridan Sheridan may refer to: People Surname *Sheridan (surname) *Philip Sheridan (1831–1888), U.S. Army general after whom the Sheridan tank is named *Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), Irish playwright (''The Rivals''), poet and politician ...

. The highway turns east and then south to again join I-90 near

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gill ...

. It splits off for a short time to Carlile, then rejoins I-90 which it follows to the state line.

South Dakota

The South Dakota section of U.S. 14, passes, east to west, through Brookings, Arlington, De Smet, Huron, Wolsey, Miller, Highmore, Pierre, Midland, Philip, and Wall before connecting to I-90. U.S. 14 follows I-90 to Rapid City, Sturgis, and Spearfish into Wyoming. U.S. 14A winds through the northern part of the scenic Black Hills taking travelers from Sturgis to Spearfish. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway incorporates U.S. 14 from De Smet, South Dakota in the west to Rochester, Minnesota in the east. US 14 and U.S. 83 serve Pierre, South Dakota, one of only four state capitals not on the Interstate Highway System.

Minnesota

U.S. 14 enters the state from South Dakota west of Lake Benton. It goes east through several small towns such as Balaton, Tracy, Revere, Lamberton, Sanborn and Sleepy Eye, on a two-lane road until New Ulm, where it is briefly a divided highway. From New Ulm to

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

, the highway lies north of the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It ris ...

. Shortly before coming to the Mankato/ North Mankato area, U.S. 14 becomes a freeway bypass, which becomes an expressway east of Mankato. This section is part of the

Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway is a named road connecting historic areas that relate to the life of author Laura Ingalls Wilder, best known for writing '' Little House on the Prairie''. The highway was first designated in 1995 as U.S. R ...

as it passes through Walnut Grove. It currently continues east south of Waseca and at Owatonna, it crosses

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican borde ...

at a cloverleaf interchange. It then heads east towards Rochester, with an expressway segment beginning at

Minnesota State Highway 56 Minnesota State Highway 56 (MN 56) is a highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. Highway 63 near the Iowa state line and Chester, Iowa, and continues north to its northern terminus at its junction with U.S ...

and continuing east into

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

. Once it enters Rochester, it has a concurrency with U.S. Route 52. After the concurrency, it continues through Rochester as a divided highway. After Rochester, the highway parallels

until

Winona Winona, Wynona or Wynonna may refer to: Places Canada * Winona, Ontario United States * Winona, Arizona * Winona, Indiana * Winona Lake, Indiana * Winona, Kansas * Winona, Michigan * Winona County, Minnesota ** Winona, Minnesota, the seat of ...

, where U.S. 14 gets picked up by U.S. Route 61. The two highways run concurrently the rest of the way in Minnesota, and cross the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

at La Crescent over the

La Crosse West Channel Bridge The La Crosse West Channel Bridge is a plate girder bridge that spans the west channel of the Mississippi River between Barron Island in Wisconsin, and La Crescent, MN. Together with the Mississippi River Bridge (La Crosse, Wisconsin), Mississip ...

. U.S. 14 was extended to a full, limited-access freeway from approximately three miles west of Janesville to

at Owatonna. Most of the new route is located south of the existing alignment so as to avoid overlapping

. The expansion was opened to traffic on August 31, 2012, creating a continuous four-lane route from North Mankato to Owatonna. The section from Waseca to Janesville has yet to be upgraded to freeway standards; it currently exists as an expressway. The four-lane expressway was extended from North Mankato to Nicollet including a SW bypass of Nicollet and an interchange for State Highway 111 in 2016. Owatonna to Dodge Center will be upgraded to a freeway in 2021. The new freeway is expected to be open to traffic in the fall of 2021. Nicollet to New Ulm will be upgraded to a four-lane expressway including a bypass of Courtland. Construction will begin in 2022. US 14 is being planned to be upgraded to a freeway between Byron and Rochester with three new interchanges planned. An interim safety project will construct two reduced conflict intersections in 2022. The Minnesota section of U.S. 14 is defined as part of

Constitutional Route In the U.S. state of Minnesota, a legislative route is a highway number defined by the Minnesota State Legislature. The routes from 1 to 70 are constitutional routes, defined as part of the Babcock Amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution, ...

7 and Trunk Highways 121 and 122 in the Minnesota Statutes. and

Wisconsin

U.S. 14 enters the state of Wisconsin along with U.S. Route 61 across the

into

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census ...

. Running through rural southern Wisconsin, it then meets with

U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) and I-94, but unlike most U.S. routes that ...

outside of

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

. Following the Beltline Highway around Madison, it meets

U.S. Route 18 U.S. Route 18 (US 18) is an east–west U.S. highway in the Midwestern United States. The western terminus is in Orin, Wyoming at an interchange with Interstate 25. Its eastern terminus is in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, US 18 ru ...

and

U.S. Route 151 U.S. Highway 151 (US 151) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of Iowa and Wisconsin. The southern terminus for US 151 is at a junction with Interstate 80 (I-80) in Iowa County, Iowa, and its northern terminu ...

before turning south, passing through some southern Madison suburbs,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

before approaching Janesville. Bypassing Janesville to the north, U.S. 14 intersects U.S. Route 51, as well as

and

Interstate 39 Interstate 39 (I-39) is a highway in the Midwestern United States. I-39 runs from Normal, Illinois, at I-55 to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) in the town of Rib Mountain, Wisconsin, which is approximately south of Wausau. I- ...

. It then travels southeast, past

Interstate 43 Interstate 43 (I-43) is a Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highway ...

, to the village square of Walworth. U.S. 14 then turns south and exits into

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

at Big Foot Prairie.

Illinois

In the state of Illinois, U.S. 14 runs southeast from north of

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

via

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

and the northwest suburbs. Southeast of Route 47, U.S. 14 has four lanes, and at times it is a high-speed divided highway. Continuing southeastward from just after the overpass above Route 31, U.S. 14 passes beneath and then closely parallels the tracks of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

's Harvard Subdivision. Through the northwest suburbs of Chicago, this route is commonly referred to as "Northwest Highway" and is a very busy thoroughfare. East of

Des Plaines Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after th ...

, U.S. 14 becomes

Dempster Street Dempster Street is a major east-west street in the northern suburbs of Chicago. It is assigned 8800 North in the Chicago address system, being located north of Madison Street. The road begins at Illinois Route 62 (Algonquin Road) in Mount Pr ...

until its intersection with Waukegan Road. From here, U.S. 14 follows Waukegan Road, Caldwell Avenue, Peterson Avenue, and Ridge Avenue to its eastern end, at the corner of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and U.S. 41 (

Foster Avenue Foster Avenue (5200 N) is a major east-west street on the North Side of Chicago as well as the northwestern suburbs. Foster Avenue separates the Chicago lakefront neighborhoods of Edgewater to the north and Uptown to the south. Foster Avenue ...

). At an earlier point, U.S. 14 extended south on Lake Shore Drive onto Michigan Avenue.

History

U.S. 14 was originally the "

Black and Yellow Trail The Black and Yellow Trail was the promotional name for the portion of U.S. Route 14 (US 14) nominally linking the Black Hills of South Dakota to Yellowstone National Park. The signed auto trail route was extended by promoters to Chicago in t ...

", so named as it connected Minnesota with the Black Hills and Yellowstone National Park. In

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's Northwest Suburbs, it is known as ''Northwest Highway'' due to its direction as well as it paralleling the old

Chicago and North Western The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befo ...

railroad (now

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

.) It was originally called the Northwest Highway from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

New Ulm, Minnesota New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River and the ...

, and some street signs in New Ulm, Chicago, and towns in between still show the old designation. From Ucross west to

Sheridan, Wyoming Sheridan is a town in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Sheridan County. The town is located halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore by U.S. Route 14 and 16. It is the principal town of the Sheridan, Wyoming, Microp ...

, US 14 was initially designated U.S. Route 116 in 1926. US 116 was extended west to

in 1933, absorbing the Deaver-Cody US 420. The next year, US 116 became an extension of US 14. Part of this extension, including all of US 420, is now US 14A.

Major intersections

;Wyoming : at the East Entrance to

, southeast of

Pahaska Tepee Pahaska Tepee is William "Buffalo Bill" Cody's old hunting lodge and hotel in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is located west of the town of Cody and two miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park. History Cody built Pahaska Tepee ...

. The highways travel concurrently to Greybull. : west-northwest of Greybull : northeast of Ranchester. The highways travel concurrently to

. : southeast of

. The highways travel concurrently to

Moorcroft W. Moorcroft Limited (trading as W Moorcroft Ltd) is a British art pottery manufacturer based at Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The company was founded by William Moorcroft in 1913. History In 1897, Staffordshire pottery manufacturers ...

. : in

. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pla ...

: in Sundance. The highways travel concurrently to east-southeast of

Wall, South Dakota Wall ( Lakota: ''Makȟóšiča Aglágla Otȟuŋwahe'', "Town alongside the Badlands") is a town in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 699 at the 2020 census. History Wall was platted in 1907 when the Chicago an ...

. ;South Dakota : in North Spearfish. The highways travel concurrently to

Spearfish Spearfish may refer to: Places *Spearfish, South Dakota, United States * North Spearfish, South Dakota, United States * Spearfish Formation, a geologic formation in the United States Biology * ''Tetrapturus'', a genus of marlin containing spe ...

. : in

Rapid City Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

: in Fort Pierre. The highways travel concurrently to west-southwest of

Blunt Blunt may refer to: * Blunt (surname), a surname (and list of people with the name) * Blunt (cigar), a term used in the cigar industry to designate blunt-tipped, usually factory-rolled cigars * Blunt (cannabis), a slang term used in cannabis cult ...

. : north-northwest of

Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure ...

. The highways travel concurrently to south-southeast of Wolsey. : in Arlington. The highways travel concurrently to south of Arlington. : in Brookings ;Minnesota : in Lake Benton. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : north of Garvin : north of Sanborn : on the North Mankato–

city line : in Owatonna. US 14/US 218 travel concurrently to southeast of Owatonna. : in

. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in

. The highways travel concurrently to Readstown, Wisconsin. : in

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

. The highways travel concurrently to north of La Crescent. ;Wisconsin : in

: in Middleton. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in

. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Janesville : in Janesville : in Darien ;Illinois : in

: in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

: in Chicago

References

External links

Endpoints of U.S. Highway 14

Illinois Highway Ends: US 14

{{Authority control 14 14 14 Transportation in Brown County, Minnesota New Ulm, Minnesota

Route description

Wyoming

South Dakota

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Illinois

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links