U.S. Highway 14 (US 14) in the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

runs northwest–southeast across the western to southwest portions of the state. It links

La Crosse La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 20 ...

and the southwestern portion of the state with

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

and Janesville. US 14 is mostly two-lane surface road with the exception of a few multilane urban arterials and a freeway section around Madison that it mostly shares with US 12.

Route description

Bridge on Mississippi River between Minnesota and Wisconsin

US 14 enters Wisconsin from La Crescent along with US 61 and State Trunk Highway 16 (WIS 16; linking to

Minnesota State Highway 16 Minnesota State Highway 16 (MN 16) is an two-lane highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its Interchange (road), interchange with Interstate 90 in Minnesota, Interstate Highway 90 in Dexter, Minnesota, Dexter and continues east to its ...

, or MN 16). The three highways immediately junction with US 53 in the downtown area and WIS 16 continues east while US 14 along with US 61 turn southeast and out of La Crosse, linking up with WIS 35 south along the way for , after a short concurrency, US 14 and US 61 turn east while WIS 35 continues south. The U.S. Highways then exit

La Crosse County La Crosse County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the county's population was 120,784. Its county seat is the city of La Crosse. La Crosse County is included in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropol ...

for Vernon County. In Vernon County, the routes passes through Coon Valley and Westby, joining with WIS 27 and turning south and passing through Viroqua. WIS 27 splits off to the southwest as US 14 and US 61 head southeast to

Readstown Readstown is a village in Vernon County, Wisconsin, Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Geography Readstown is located at (43.448544, -90.760708). According to the Uni ...

where US 61 turns south and US 14 heads east into Richland County. US 14 continues southeast into Richland County, bypassing

Sylvan Sylvan or Sylvans (from the Latin ''silva'': "forest, woods") can have one of the following meanings: A countryside scene The term "A Sylvan Scene" is used to describe a beautiful and idealised scene in the countryside. Historical reference: J ...

and

Boaz Boaz (; Hebrew: בֹּעַז ''Bōʿaz''; ) is a biblical figure appearing in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible and in the genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament and also the name of a pillar in the portico of the historic Temple in Jeru ...

before turning east. After a east trek, the highway enters Richland Center and immediately turns south. WIS 80 crosses the highway in the southern part of downtown before US 14 turns southeast and junctions with WIS 58. US 14 passes through Sextonville and turns south to collect WIS 60 at Gotham. The two highways then head east-southeast to Lone Rock where they cross WIS 130 and exit to

Sauk County Sauk County is a county (United States), county in Wisconsin. It is named after a large village of the Sauk people. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 65,763. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo, Wiscon ...

. The routes then split at

Spring Green Spring Green or spring green may refer to: Colors * Spring green ** Spring bud, formerly known as spring green Plants * Spring greens, edible young leaves of certain plants * Spring greens (Brassica oleracea), vegetables Places in the United S ...

while crossing WIS 23, with US 14 heading south into Iowa County while WIS 60 continues east. US 14 bypasses

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

and passes through

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

and into

Dane County Dane County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County, Wiscon ...

. US 14 turns southeast at Mazomanie and junctions with WIS 19, then passes through Black Earth and Cross Plains and turns east to meet US 12 east at the West Beltline Highway in Middleton, a suburb of

. US 14 and US 12 follow the beltline south and around the west side of Madison and join US 18 east and US 151 north. All four U.S. Highways head east for through urban Madison where US 151 splits north to head into downtown Madison and US 12 and US 18 continue east, while US 14 turns south toward

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

on a stretch of freeway. The highway bypasses Oregon to the east and becomes a two-lane road and enters Rock County east of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. US 14 turns southeastward at

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

and passes through

Leyden Leiden ( ; ; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 127,046 (31 January 2023), but the city forms one densely connecte ...

and then takes a northeastern bypass around Janesville, crossing US 51 and meeting up with

I-39 Interstate 39 (I-39) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Illinois and Wisconsin that runs from an interchange at I-55 in Normal, Illinois, to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) approximately south of Wausau, Wisconsin. In to ...

I-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 states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

, and WIS 26 at a triangle formed by the three distinct routes northeast of the city. US 14 then turns south and meets WIS 11. Both highways turn east and pass through Emerald Grove on the way into Walworth County. US 14 turns southeast to Darien while WIS 11 continues east to Delavan. US 14 junctions with

I-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 Highw ...

just before passing through Darien. At

Walworth Walworth ( ) is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the ...

, the highway turns due south and heads into Illinois.

History

US 14 was signed later than the other U.S. Highways in Wisconsin, being opened in 1933. The route replaced the old versions of WIS 11, from La Crosse to Madison, WIS 13 from Madison to Evansville, WIS 92 into Janesville, and WIS 20 and WIS 89 from Janesville to Illinois. The older WIS 14 was in existence when US 14 was opened, that was redesignated as WIS 81 and WIS 15 (the latter being the present-day I-43). In 1969, US 14 was upgraded to a freeway between Oregon and Madison. The old alignment was designated as CTH-MM. La Crosse saw an additional bridge in the Mississippi River Bridge on its west side which carried US 14 along with US 61 and WIS 16. An additional bridge was added to the existing "Cass Street Bridge" in 2003–2004 in an effort to relieve traffic congestion. The old bridge, which served two-lane traffic before 2004, now serves two lanes of westbound traffic and the new bridge, dubbed the "Cameron Avenue Bridge", carries two lanes of eastbound traffic along with pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Additional lanes were added to the highway between the channels of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Major intersections

Special routes

References

External links

* {{state detail page browse, type=US, route=14, state=Wisconsin, statebefore=Minnesota, stateafter=Illinois