U.S. Route 14

US 14 in Wyoming facing the Bighorn Mountains from the west

US 14 begins at the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park, along with US 16 and the eastern segment of US 20. It travels through Shoshone National Forest to Cody, where US 14A splits off to the north. Both routes traverse the dry Bighorn Basin, followed by a steep ascent up the Bighorn 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. US 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.

The South Dakota section of US 14, passes, east to west, through Brookings, Arlington, De Smet, Huron, Wolsey, Miller, Highmore, Pierre, Midland, Philip, and Wall before connecting to I-90. US 14 follows I-90 to Rapid City, Sturgis, and Spearfish into Wyoming. US 14A winds through the northern part of the scenic Black Hills taking travelers from Sturgis to Spearfish.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway incorporates US 14 from De Smet in the west to Rochester, Minnesota, in the east.

US 14 and US 83 serve Pierre, one of only four state capitals not on the Interstate Highway System.

The La Crosse West Channel Bridge carrying US 14, US 61, MN 16, and State Trunk Highway 16 across the Mississippi River between La Crescent, Minnesota, and La Crosse, Wisconsin. This is the river's West Channel.

US 14 enters the state from South Dakota west of Lake Benton. It goes east through several small towns such as Balaton, Tracy, Revere, Lamberton, Sanborn, and Sleepy Eye, on a two-lane road until New Ulm, where it is briefly a divided highway. From New Ulm to Mankato, the highway lies north of the Minnesota River. Shortly before coming to the Mankato – North Mankato metropolitan area, US 14 becomes a freeway bypass, which becomes an expressway east of Mankato. This section is part of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway as it passes through Walnut Grove. It currently continues east south of Waseca and at Owatonna, it crosses I-35 at a cloverleaf interchange. It then heads east toward Rochester, with an expressway segment beginning at Minnesota State Highway 56 (MN 56) and continuing east into Rochester. Once it enters Rochester, it has a concurrency with US 52. After the concurrency, it continues through Rochester as a divided highway. After Rochester, the highway parallels I-90 until Winona, where US 14 gets picked up by US 61. The two highways run concurrently the rest of the way in Minnesota and cross the Mississippi River at La Crescent over the La Crosse West Channel Bridge.

US 14 was extended to a full, limited-access freeway from approximately three miles (4.8 km) west of Janesville to I-35 at Owatonna. Most of the new route is located south of the existing alignment so as to avoid overlapping I-35. The expansion was opened to traffic on August 31, 2012, creating a continuous four-lane route from North Mankato to Owatonna. The section from Waseca to Janesville has yet to be upgraded to freeway standards; it currently exists as an expressway.

The four-lane expressway was extended from North Mankato to Nicollet including a southwest bypass of Nicollet and an interchange for MN 111 in 2016.

Between Owatonna and Dodge Center, US 14 was upgraded to a freeway in 2021. The new freeway opened to traffic in late 2021.[6]

The segment from Nicollet to New Ulm will be upgraded to a four-lane expressway including a bypass of Courtland. Construction began in 2022 and is expected to be completed in late 2023.[7]

US 14 is being planned to be upgraded to a freeway between Byron and Rochester with three new interchanges planned. An interim safety project will construct two reduced conflict intersections in 2022.

The Minnesota section of US 14 is defined as part of Constitutional Route 7 and Trunk Highways 121 and 122 in the Minnesota Statutes.[8]

US 14-61 roundabout in La Crosse

US 14 enters the state of Wisconsin along with US 61 across the Mississippi River into La Crosse. Running through rural southern Wisconsin, it then meets with US 12 outside of Madison. Following the Beltline Highway around Madison, it meets US 18 and US 151 before turning south, passing through some southern Madison suburbs, Oregon, and Evansville before approaching Janesville. Bypassing Janesville to the north, US 14 intersects US 51, as well as I-90 and I-39. It then travels southeast, past I-43, to the village square of Walworth. US 14 then turns south and exits into Illinois at Big Foot Prairie.

US 14 at the Illinois–Wisconsin border

Beginning of US 14 west in Chicago

In the state of Illinois, US 14 runs southeast from north of Harvard to Chicago via Woodstock and the northwest suburbs. Southeast of Illinois Route 47 (IL 47), US 14 has four lanes, and, at times, it is a high-speed divided highway. Continuing southeastward from just after the overpass above IL 31, US 14 passes beneath and then closely parallels the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad's Harvard Subdivision. Through the northwest suburbs of Chicago, this route is commonly referred to as "Northwest Highway" and is a very busy thoroughfare. East of Des Plaines, US 14 becomes Dempster Street until its intersection with Waukegan Road. From here, US 14 follows Waukegan Road, Caldwell Avenue, Peterson Avenue, and Ridge Avenue to its eastern end, at the corner of Broadway and US 41 (Foster Avenue).[9]

At an earlier point, US 14 extended south on Lake Shore Drive onto Michigan Avenue.[1]