U.S. Highway 14 is an east-west highway that roughly parallels
Interstate 90 in the Upper Midwest and follows the same basic route
of the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern railroad. The highway
originates in Chicago and terminates at Yellowstone National Park.
The length of the route is approximately 1,400 miles and it runs
through the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota,
and Wyoming.
In Minnesota, U.S. Highway 14 enters the state at the town of La
Crescent on the Mississippi river on the Wisconsin border and exits
the state west of Lake Benton at the South Dakota border. The
majority of the 285 miles of U.S. Highway 14 in Minnesota primarily
consists of two-lane road. Some segments of the highway have been
or are currently being reconstructed to become a four-lane
expressway, bypassing many of the towns that can be found along the
route. The bypass has been completed between Rochester to Dodge
Center and Waseca to Mankato/North. Currently, the Waseca to
Owatonna segment of the bypass is being constructed about 3 miles
south of the existing U.S. Highway 14. It should be completed by
2012 and is expected to cost nearly $110 million.