US 14 in Minnesota

 

US 14
Get started Lake Benton
End La Crescent
Length 284 mi
Length 457 km
Route
South Dakota state line

New Ulm

mankato

Mankato-North

Mankato East

SR-22

Eagle Lake

Janesville West

Janesville South

Waseca-West

Waseca South

Meriden

Owatonna West

Owatonna-South

Owatonna East

end freeway

Dodge Center

Byron

Rochester

Rochester-Downtown

Rochester South

Rochester-Southeast

marion

Marion – La Crescent

La Crescent

Wisconsin state line

According to Act-test-centers, US 14 is a US Highway in the US state of Minnesota. The road forms an east-west route through the south of the state and is 457 kilometers long. The western part leads through a sparsely populated area, the middle part serves a number of smaller towns, such as New Ulm, Mankato, Owatonna and Rochester. The eastern part has a more secondary character and coincides with US 61 from Winona . US 14 runs along the Mississippi River on the easternmost part.

Travel directions

According to liuxers, US 14 in South Dakota comes from Brookings and continues through the prairies of southwestern Minnesota. The road then covers more than 160 kilometers through a sparsely populated area to New Ulm. This is a single lane road that runs through the grid. This route crosses three north-south US Highways, US 75, US 59 and US 71.

New Ulm is a small town on the Minnesota River. The road cuts through town, crosses the river and follows a 40-kilometer stretch parallel to the Minnesota River to Mankato, the first major town on US 14’s route. Around Mankato, US 14 forms a freeway bypass. US 169 is also crossed here. They also cross the Minnesota River again. After Mankato follows a 70 kilometer long stretch to Owatonna which is a mix of 2×2 divided highway with intersections and grade separated connections. This route also leads through flat terrain with mainly meadows.

At Owatonna a cloverleaf follows with Interstate 35. Between Owatonna and Dodge Center, the US 14 is still partly single-lane. Then another 2×2 divided highway follows to Rochester, the largest city on the route of the US 14 in Minnesota. In Rochester, US 14 briefly coincides with US 52, which has been developed as a freeway, but elsewhere in the city US 14 forms an urban arterial and runs south of downtown.

East of Rochester, US 14 is a single-lane road, partly because this route is a relatively short distance from Interstate 90. US 14 then enters the Driftless Area, a hillier area with more forest around the Mississippi River. One descends to the town of Winona. From here, US 14 merges with US 61, a 2×2 divided highway across the west bank of the Mississippi River. Between Dakota and La Crescent, this route coincides with I-90. In La Crescent, US 14 again branches off US 61 and crosses the Mississippi River, then US 14 continues into Wisconsin through the town of La Crosse.

History

US 14 was originally part of the Northwest Highway, which ran from Chicago to New Ulm in Minnesota. US 14 was created in 1926, the route has not changed significantly in Minnesota since then, but there have been many local upgrades and diversions, particularly between New Ulm and Rochester.

New Ulm – Mankato

Between 2015 and 2016, US 14 between Nicollet and North Mankato was widened to a 2×2 divided highway with a bypass at Nicollet. This project opened to traffic on November 11, 2016.

On April 19, 2022, the 20-kilometer doubling of US 14 between New Ulm and Nicollet began. This project was completed in 2023.

Mankato – Owatonna

The oldest highway section of US 14 is the Mankato freeway bypass, which was built in 1976. It took even longer before the route between Mankato and Owatonna was upgraded, this was done by largely constructing US 14 over a new route, which is also largely grade separated. The road has subsequently been upgraded east from Mankato, opening the first extension from Mankato to Eagle Lake in about 2000, followed by the section to Janesville in 2003-2004. Around 2006, the Janesville diversion followed and a route continued to the west side of Waseca. On August 30, 2012, the highway between Waseca and Owatonna opened, providing access to the city of Mankato over 4-lane roads from the Interstate Highways.

Owatonna – Rochester

The section from Owatonna to Rochester has been gradually widened to 2×2 lanes. Before 1984, a 25-kilometer stretch from Kasson to Rochester had already been widened to 2×2 lanes. The southern bypass of Owatonna also already existed. In the period 1999-2001, the section from the west side of Dodge Center to Kasson was widened to 2×2 lanes, including a Dodge Center diversion. Later, the Owatonna South Bypass was widened to 2×2 lanes, originally only the first 2 miles east of I-35 had 2×2 lanes, it was extended 3 miles east in 2003 and further to the east side of Owatonna in 2017. On November 1, 2019, construction began on the last missing 2×2 stretch between Owatonna and Dodge Center. This 19-kilometer stretch was constructed as a highway south of the original US 14. The highway opened to traffic on November 9, 2021.

Traffic intensities

Every day, 1,500 vehicles cross the border with the state of South Dakota. The intensities gradually increase eastwards from 1,000 to 4,000 vehicles per day as far as New Ulm. The Mississippi River Bridge in New Ulm will handle 8,500 vehicles per day, then 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles per day will run between New Ulm and Mankato. The bridge over the Mississippi River in Mankato processes 39,000 vehicles a day, the bypass of Mankato usually processes 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles a day elsewhere.

Between Mankato and Owatonna there are typically 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles per day, peaking at 15,000 vehicles on the Owatonna bypass. Thereafter, 9,000 to 24,000 vehicles will drive as far as Rochester, with intensities rising towards Rochester. Just off US 52 in Rochester, there are 30,000 vehicles per day, and 17,000 to 28,000 vehicles per day on US 14 through the south of the city. Further east, the intensities are a lot lower with 4,000 to 5,000 vehicles per day because I-90 is parallel to this.

The easternmost section across the Mississippi River at La Crosse has 14,000 vehicles per day.

US 14 in Minnesota