U.S. Route 14

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

As of 2004, the highway's eastern terminus is in Chicago, Illinois. Its western terminus is the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, with the western terminus of U.S. Route 16 and the western terminus of the eastern segment of U.S. Route 20.

Route description

Wyoming

U.S. 14 begins at the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park, along with U.S. 16 and the eastern segment of U.S. 20. It travels through the Shoshone National Forest to Cody, where U.S. 14A splits off to the north. Both routes traverse the dry Bighorn Basin, followed by a steep ascent up the Big Horn Mountains and through the Bighorn National Forest, where they rejoin at Burgess Junction. The highway descends the eastern slope of the Bighorns between Burgess Junction and Dayton. U.S. 14 briefly follows I-90 south from Ranchester to Sheridan. The highway turns east and then south to again join I-90 near Gillette. It splits off for a short time to Carlile, then rejoins I-90 which it follows to the state line.

U.S. Route 14 in Illinois

In the U.S. state of Illinois, U.S. Route 14 is a major arterial that runs southeast from the Wisconsin state line north of Harvard, Illinois to the north side of Chicago at U.S. Route 41.

Route description

U.S. 14 begins in Chicago as Broadway Street on the city's north side. It runs north as Broadway Street and turns northwest onto Ridge Avenue. One half block after crossing Clark Street, U.S. Route 14 turns west onto Peterson Avenue. At Cicero Avenue, Peterson Avenue becomes Caldwell Avenue and travels in a northwest/northern direction entering Niles. U.S. Route 14 joins Illinois Route 43 (Waukegan Road) for a short time before turning west onto Dempster Street. U.S. 14 travels west briefly touching Park Ridge and enters Des Plaines.

Where U.S. Highway 14 crosses Interstate 294 is an unusual intersection where all four street names change. From the south is Northwest Highway coming out of Park Ridge and Chicago; from the north is Rand Road. U.S. Highway 14 continues straight west but no longer as Dempster Street, but now as Miner Street. Miner Street begins a northwesterly direction into downtown Des Plaines crossing two intersections of U.S. Routes 45 and 12. The name Miner Street changes to Northwest Highway after going under a wooden railroad underpass on a large S-curve. U.S. Route 14 continues for most of the rest of its length northwest to Wisconsin designated as Northwest Highway.

U.S. Route 14 in Wisconsin

In the U.S. state of Wisconsin, U.S. Route 14 (normally called U.S. Highway 14, Highway 14 or US 14) runs northwest-southeast across the western to southwest portions of the state. It links La Crosse and the southwestern portion of the state with Madison 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

US 14 enters Wisconsin from La Crescent along with US 61 and WIS 16 (linking to Trunk Highway 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 three miles (5 km), after a short concurrency, US 14 and US 61 turn east while WIS 35 continues south. The US routes then exit La Crosse County 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 where US 61 turns south and US 14 heads east into Richland County.