State Trunk Highway 66 (often called Highway 66, STH-66 or WIS 66) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

in the U.S. 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 ...

. It runs east–west in central Wisconsin from Rosholt to

Stevens Point Stevens Point is a city in Portage County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 25,666 at the 2020 census. It forms the core of the Stevens Point micropolitan statistical area, which had a population of 70,377 in 20 ...

and along what used to be County Trunk Highway P (CTH-P) to

Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Wisconsin River. The population was 18,877 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Marshfield–Wisconsin Rapids micropolitan stati ...

. The entire length of this highway is designated the Polish Heritage Highway.

Route description

WIS 66 originally began at the corner of Reserve and Main streets in downtown

however once US Highway 10 (US 10) finished the expansion of the bypass around Stevens Point deserting the old US 10, plans arose to expand WIS 66 to use the former highway. This is how WIS 66 got its current-day route, which begins in Wisconsin Rapids traveling east on the Old CTH-P, it then adjoins the former US 10 which routes through downtown Stevens Point, passing the

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States. Established in 1894, it is part of the University of Wisconsin System. UW-Stevens Point grants associ ...

campus, and later joins with current US 10,

US 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Hi ...

, and

Interstate 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-39) traveling north. This creates a wrong-way concurrency with WIS 66 and

US 10 U.S. Route 10 or U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway located in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the U.S. Despite the "0" as the last digit in the number, US 10 is no longer a cross- ...

. WIS 66 then departs from I-39/US 10/US 51 and continues northwest past the Stevens Point Municipal Airport, heading east at

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

near the Jordan County Park of Portage County. This stretch and the remainder of the highway is the only part of the original WIS 66 before the 2009 highway expansion project. After crossing CTH-J near the unincorporated town of

Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. It has also been noted to be a Jewish surname. People with the surname include ...

, WIS 66 turns northwest again to Rosholt, where it becomes Grand Avenue. WIS 66 ends at the western intersection with WIS 49. Grand Avenue continues on as WIS 49 eastward.

History

Initially, WIS 66 used to be on the other side of the Wisconsin River. It traveled along present-day WIS 54 from WIS 13 in Grand Rapids (now Wisconsin Rapids) to WIS 10/WIS 18 (now part of Bus. US 51 and CTH-B respectively) in Plover. In 1920, WIS 66 extended northeastward to WIS 16/WIS 39 (now WIS 29 and US 45 respectively) in Wittenburg. In 1924, WIS 54 extended westward, superseding the oldest portion of WIS 66 in the process. Also, WIS 49 extended northward, superseding the northeasternmost portion of WIS 66 (from Rosholt to Wittenburg). In the early 2010s, WIS 66 extended southwestward along former CTH-P to WIS 13 and WIS 34 near Wisconsin Rapids.

Major intersections

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline 066 Transportation in Wood County, Wisconsin Transportation in Portage County, Wisconsin

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links