Wisconsin Highway 13

State Trunk Highway 13
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length:	338.32 mi[1] (544.47 km)
Major junctions
South end:	I-90 / I-94 in Wisconsin Dells
	WIS 54 in Wisconsin Rapids WIS 29 in Abbotsford US 8 near Prentice US 2 in Ashland
North end:	US 2 / US 53 / CTH-Z near Superior
Highway system
Wisconsin highways County • Bannered • Rustic ← US 12 US 14 →

State Trunk Highway 13 (often called Highway 13, STH 13 or WIS 13) is a Wisconsin state highway running north–south across northwest and central Wisconsin. WIS 13 serves as a major north–south route connecting the communities of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield and Ashland. Highway 13 is part of the Lake Superior Circle Tour from its northern/western terminus to Ashland at is eastern junction with U.S. Highway 2. The road also provides access to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore off the Lake Superior shoreline at Bayfield. The highway is two-lane surface road with the exception of various urban multilane road sections.

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 Wisconsin Dells to Marshfield 1.2 Marshfield to Ashland 1.3 Along the Lake Superior shoreline (Ashland to Superior) 2 History 3 Future 4 Major intersections 5 Bannered routes 6 References 7 External links

Route description

Wisconsin Dells to Marshfield

WIS 13 begins at I-90 / I-94 and passes east through Wisconsin Dells as an urban multilane highway, crossing US 12 and merging with WIS 16 and WIS 23 east through the city.^[2] WIS 13 then turns north, while WIS 23 heads east and WIS 16 heads south one mile (1.6 km) east of the city.^[3] WIS 13 follows the Wisconsin River north through Adams County, passing through Plainville, Adams and Friendship. The highway then crosses WIS 21 three miles (5 km) north of Friendship and finally passes through Cottonville, Big Flats and Rome before entering Wood County.^[4]

In Wood County, WIS 13 crosses WIS 73 at four miles (6 km) east of Nekoosa before entering Wisconsin Rapids. WIS 13 joins WIS 54 south at the Riverview Expressway, a short bypass of the downtown area. The two highways split two miles (3 km) west of their join point and WIS 13 merges with WIS 73 north. Both routes turn west out of the city at their junction with WIS 34 and head northwest to Pittsville where WIS 80 terminates at the highway. Two miles west of Pittsville, WIS 13 turns north while WIS 73 continues west. WIS 13 intersects US 10 and the two routes concurrently head two miles (3 km) north then two miles (3 km) east where WIS 13 turns north again to pass northwest through Marshfield as the Veterans Parkway. WIS 13 enters Marathon County after passing through Marshfield.^[5]

The 4-lane road in Marshfield is also known as the Veteran's Parkway. This section was built to alleviate congestion in downtown Marshfield along Central Ave. Further, the city and WisDOT are reconstructing Central Avenue in 2009 before handing it over to city control.^[6]

Marshfield to Ashland

WIS 13 heads northwest to Spencer where it turns north to follow the Marathon/Clark county line, passing through Unity, Colby and Abbotsford (where it junctions with WIS 29) and around Dorchester.^[7] The highway then enters Taylor County where it passes through Stetsonville and crosses WIS 64 on the east side of Medford. North of Medford, WIS 13 meanders around Whittlesey, Chelsea and Westboro. The highway enters Price County two miles (3 km) north of Westboro.^[8]

In Price County, WIS 13 reaches the WIS 86 terminus at Ogema and crosses US 8 near Prentice. The highway then turns northwest to Phillips. The route turns north again out of Phillips to head into Fifield where WIS 70 crosses. WIS 13 then meets WIS 182 at its terminus in Park Falls before heading northwest out of the county into Ashland County.^[9] WIS 13 passes through Butternut and Glidden upon entering the county. Two miles northwest of Glidden, the highway joins with WIS 77 north and the two highways head north, passing through Cayuga and split with WIS 77 heading east at Mellen and WIS 13 heading northwest, passing through Highbridge, Minersville and Marengo. WIS 13 then heads north to Ashland and joins US 2 west for two miles (3 km) and then turns north (as US 2 continues west) along the Lake Superior shorline in Bayfield County^[10]

Along the Lake Superior shoreline (Ashland to Superior)

WIS 13 closely follows the shore of Chequamegon Bay and passes through Barksdale, Washburn and Bayfield. It is at Bayfield where access to Madeline Island and the Apostle Island National Lakeshore is available. WIS 13 turns westward at Red Cliff and follows the shore of Lake Superior, passing through Cornucopia, Herbster, and Port Wing, before entering Douglas County.^[11] One mile after the county line, WIS 13 turns southward to parallel the Brule River State Forest for five miles (8 km), then turns west again. The highway ends at US 2 and US 53 southeast of Superior.^[12]

History

With some variation due to realignments over time, the original 1918 routing this highway followed much of today's STH 13, beginning at what was then Kilbourn (present-day Wisconsin Dells), travelling north through Adams, Grand Rapids (now Wisconsin Rapids), Marshfield, Prentice and Ashland, ending in Bayfield. It was later that STH 13 was routed around the Bayfield Peninsula and westerly to Superior.

The route of STH 13 previously ran the length of the state from Beloit on the Illinois state line to the Minnesota state line. From Beloit, Highway 13 followed the roads that are now U.S. Highway 51, U.S. Highway 14, U.S. Highway 12 through Janesville and Madison. Additionally, STH 13 was extended westerly from Bayfield first to Port Wing, then into Superior then across the border to Duluth. In the 1920s, The southern end of highway 13 was realigned from Evansville to Beloit along what is now WIS 213 after US 14 was commissioned.

Highway 13 was truncated to its present southern terminus in 1961 after I-90 and I-94 were commissioned.^[1]

Future

With the expansion of US 10 between Marshfield and Stevens Point, WisDOT is evaluating the rerouting of various state highways including WIS 13. The proposal has WIS 13 being rerouted along WIS 34 north of Wisconsin Rapids to US 10, then heading west to the Veterans Parkway. The current route would be solely WIS 73 and WIS 80 would be extended to fill the north–south routing between Pittsville and Marshfield.^[13]

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Sauk	Wisconsin Dells		I-90 / I-94
			US 12 / WIS 16 west / WIS 23 west	Southern end of WIS 16/WIS 23 concurrency
Columbia			WIS 16 east / WIS 23 east	Northern end of WIS 16/WIS 23 concurrency
Adams	Plainville		CTH-K
	Springville		WIS 82
	Town of Easton		CTH-A
	Adams		CTH-M
	Friendship		CTH-J
	Cottonville		WIS 21
	Big Flats		CTH-C
	Rome		CTH-D
Wood	Nekoosa		WIS 73
	Wisconsin Rapids		WIS 54 east	Southern end of WIS 54 concurrency
			WIS 54 west / WIS 73 east	Northern end of WIS 54 concurrency; southern end of WIS 73 concurrency
			WIS 34
	Vesper		WIS 186
	Pittsville		WIS 80
			WIS 73 north	Northern end of WIS 73 concurrency
	Marshfield		US 10 west	Southern end of US 10 concurrency
			WIS 13 bus.
			US 10 east	Northern end of US 10 concurrency
			WIS 97 / WIS 13 bus.
Marathon	Spencer		WIS 98 / CTH-C
			WIS 153
	Unity		CTH-P
	Colby		CTH-N
	Abbotsford		WIS 29
	Dorchester		CTH-A
Taylor	Stetsonville		CTH-A
	Medford		WIS 64
	Whittlesey		CTH-M
	Chelsea		WIS 102
	Westboro		CTH-D
Price	Ogema		WIS 86
	Prentice		US 8
	Phillips		WIS 111
			CTH-H / CTH-W
	Fifield		WIS 70
	Park Falls		WIS 182
Ashland	Mellen		CTH-F
	Glidden		CTH-F
			WIS 77 west	Southern end of WIS 77 concurrency
	Mellen		WIS 77 east	Northern end of WIS 77 concurrency
	Minersville		CTH-C
			WIS 112
	Ashland		WIS 137
			US 2 east	Eastern end of US 2/LSCT concurrency
Bayfield			US 2 / LSCT west	Western end of US  concurrency
	Washburn		CTH-C
	Bayfield		CTH-H	Via Ice Road or Ferry
	Cornucopia		CTH-C
	Port Wing		CTH-A
Douglas			CTH-H
			CTH-F
			CTH-D
			CTH-U
	Superior		US 2 / US 53 / CTH-Z	Western end of LSCT concurrency
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

Bannered routes

Two bannered routes exist for WIS 13. The first, in Wisconsin Rapids, runs downtown from Riverview Expressway (WIS 13 and WIS 54) along North 8th Street. then west along Avon Street, Jackson Street and West Grand Avenue, ending at the junction of WIS 34, WIS 13 and WIS 73. The second, in Marshfield, follows the old alignment of WIS 13 along Central Avenue through downtown.^[1]

References

External links

• Wisconsin Department of Transportation
• Wis 13/80 Realignment information from WisDOT (PDF document)