U.S. Route 14A (Wyoming)

U.S. Highway 14A
U.S. Route 14 Alternate
Medicine Wheel Passage
US 14A highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by WYDOT
Length98.600 mi[1] (158.681 km)
Existed1936–present
Major junctions
West end US 14 / US 16 / US 20 in Cody
Major intersections US 310 / WYO 789 in Lovell
East end US 14 at Burgess Junction
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWyoming
CountiesPark, Big Horn, Sheridan
Highway system
  • Wyoming State Highway System
US 14 WYO 14

U.S. Highway 14A (US 14A) is an alternate route for US 14 between Cody and Burgess Junction. At its west end in Cody, US 14 is concurrent with US 16 and US 20. West of Burgess Junction, US 14A passes through the Bighorn Mountains, reaching a maximum elevation of 9,430 feet (2,870 m). This portion of the road is closed during the winter months, which typically is at the end of the fall hunting season, around December 1, to Memorial Day weekend, or as conditions allow.[2] The total length of US 14A is approximately 99 miles (159 km).[1] Intermediate towns on the highway include Powell and Lovell. At Lovell, US 14A is concurrent with US 310 for approximately three miles (4.8 km). US 14A is also known as the Medicine Wheel Passage between Lovell and Burgess Junction.[3]

In the initial 1925 plan, roughly the west half of present US 14A, from Cody to US 310 in Deaver, was assigned the number U.S. Highway 220 (US 220).[4] However, two spurs of US 20 were added in Pennsylvania, and so US 220 became U.S. Highway 420 (US 420) in the final 1926 plan.[5]

Around 1933, US 116 was extended west from Sheridan to Deaver, then absorbing US 420 to end at Cody. Soon after, it became part of an extended US 14. US 14 was shifted south to its present alignment in 1940, and the old alignment became WYO 14 for a while and was recommissioned as US 14A around 1965.

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
ParkCody0.0000.000
US 14 / US 16 / US 20 / WYO 120 south (Sheridan Avenue) / Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway west – Greybull, Yellowstone
Western end of WYO 120 concurrency
0.4360.702
WYO 120 north – Clark, Belfry
Eastern end of WYO 120 concurrency
15.40024.784
WYO 294 north
Powell24.04038.689
WYO 295 north (Absaroka Street)
Western end of WYO 295 concurrency
24.08038.753
WYO 295 south (Bent Street)
Eastern end of WYO 295 concurrency
Garland29.52047.508
WYO 114 east – Deaver
Big Horn43.52070.039

US 310 west / WYO 789 north – Cowley
Western end of US 310 / WYO 789 concurrency
44.98272.392
WYO 32 south – Emblem
Lovell46.71075.172

US 310 east / WYO 789 south – Greybull
Eastern end of US 310/WYO 789 concurrency
49.17079.131
WYO 37 north – Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
68.730110.610Eastbound road closure gate (local traffic permitted)
76.400122.954Eastbound road closure gate (closed winters)
SheridanBurgess Junction98.100157.877Westbound road closure gate (closed winters)
98.600158.681 US 14 – Dayton, Sheridan, Shell, Greybull
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Closed/former
  •       Concurrency terminus

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c State Maintenance Engineer’s Office (October 1, 2017). "Maintenance Section Reference Book" (PDF). Wyoming Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  2. ^ "WYDOT to close US 14A for the season" (Press release). Wyoming Department of Transportation. November 24, 2025. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  3. ^ "Medicine Wheel Passage". National Scenic Byway Foundation. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  4. ^ Joint Board on Interstate Highways (1925). "Appendix VI: Descriptions of the Interstate Routes Selected, with Numbers Assigned". Report of Joint Board on Interstate Highways, October 30, 1925, Approved by the Secretary of Agriculture, November 18, 1925 (Report). Washington, DC: United States Department of Agriculture. p. 58. OCLC 733875457, 55123355, 71026428. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Wikisource.
  5. ^ Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: United States Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via Wikimedia Commons.
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