Wisconsin Highway 70

State Trunk Highway 70 (often called Highway 70, STH-70 or WIS 70) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs east–west in northern Wisconsin from a shared terminus with WIS 101 at US Highway 2 (US 2) and US 141 near Florence to a connection with Minnesota State Highway 70 (MN 70) at the St. Croix River five miles (8.0 km) west of Grantsburg in Burnett County. It serves the communities of Grantsburg, Siren, Spooner, and the resort areas of Minocqua, Woodruff and Eagle River along its route. WIS 70 is the third-most northern route to almost completely cross Wisconsin (after US 2 and WIS 77), stretching from Minnesota to within four miles (6.4 km) of the Michigan border.

State Trunk Highway 70
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length	246.49 mi[1] (396.69 km)
Major junctions
West end	MN 70 in Grantsburg
	US 63 in Spooner US 53 in Spooner US 51 in Woodruff US 45 / WIS 17 / WIS 32 in Eagle River
East end	US 2 / US 141 / WIS 101 in Florence
Location
Counties	Burnett, Washburn, Sawyer, Price, Oneida, Vilas, Forest, Florence
Highway system
Wisconsin State Trunk Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic Rustic ← WIS 69 WIS 71 →

Route description

The highway begins at a bridge over the St. Croix River as a continuation of MN 70, running east from it. At Grantsburg, the highway intersects WIS 87/WIS 48. The highway continues east from there, curving slightly south to avoid Mud Hen Lake before running northeast to meet WIS 35 in Siren. It then runs concurrently with WIS 35, running north from Siren before leaving the concurrency at a roundabout. The highway then runs east, passing through intersections with County Trunk Highway X (CTH-X), CTH-H, and CTH-O. It then passes through an intersection with US 63 in Spooner and an interchange with US 53 east of Spooner.[2]

East terminus in Florence

The highway then continues running east before curving north through Stone Lake to reach WIS 27, with which the highway runs concurrently. It then passes through the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, where the highway starts following the Couderay River, and the village of Couderay before reaching WIS 40 in Radisson, where it starts following the Crooked Rapids, and the end of the WIS 27 concurrency in Ojibwa, where it stops following the Crooked Rapids. The highway then curves north, intersecting with CTH-B, CTH-GG, and CTH-M south of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. It then intersects with WIS 13 before entering the Riley Lake Wildlife Management Area, where the highway runs before exiting it and running east and concurrently with US 51 in Woodruff.[2] In 2014, the Average Annual Daily Traffic on the highway west of US 51 was 4776, down from 5168 in 2008.[3]

In Woodruff, the highway intersects WIS 47 and leaves the US 51 concurrency in Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin. It then runs east, intersecting with WIS 155 before following the Wisconsin River to Eagle River, where it runs concurrently with US 45. It then enters the Headwaters Wilderness, intersecting WIS 55 and running concurrently with WIS 139 within it. After exiting the wilderness, the highway continues east, intersecting and running concurrently with WIS 101 before terminating at US 2 in Florence.[2][4]

History

In 1914, much of the current route was unbuilt, though a section between Woodruff and Eagle River and a section east of Grantsburg had been constructed.[5] In 1917, a short stub connecting WIS 35 to Grantsburg was assumed and designated as WIS 70.[6] By the early 1920s, the highway had been extended east to WIS 32 (by 1935 part of US 45[7]) in Eagle River.[8] Throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s, the highway was the same and continued to be unpaved along the entire route.[9] In 1931, the highway was extended west to a toll bridge over the St. Croix River.[10] In 1934, a section of the highway northeast of Eagle River was designated.[11] In 1935, the highway was paved in some sections.[7] Between 1948 and 1956, the highway was extended east to Florence and the original section northeast of Eagle River had been redesignated as part of WIS 17.[12][13]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[2][4]	km	Destinations	Notes
Burnett	Town of Grantsburg	0.0	0.0	MN 70 west – Rock Creek	Minnesota state line
	Grantsburg	4.8	7.7	WIS 48 east / WIS 87 south – Frederic, St. Croix Falls
	Siren	19.8	31.9	WIS 35 south – Frederic	Southern end of WIS 35 concurrency
	Meenon–Siren line	21.3	34.3	WIS 35 north – Webster, Superior	Northern end of WIS 35 concurrency
Washburn	Spooner	45.8	73.7	US 63 – Hayward, Shell Lake, Cumberland
	Town of Spooner	47.5	76.4	US 53 – Superior, Rice Lake	Interchange
Sawyer	Edgewater	66.5	107.0	WIS 27 north – Hayward	Western end of WIS 27 concurrency
	Radisson	84.1	135.3	WIS 40 south / CTH-H north – Bruce
	Ojibwa	89.6	144.2	WIS 27 south / CTH-G north – Ladysmith	Eastern end of WIS 27 concurrency
Price	Fifield	128.8	207.3	WIS 13 – Park Falls, Phillips
Oneida	No major junctions
Vilas	No major junctions
Oneida	Woodruff	166.3	267.6	US 51 south – Merrill, Wausau	Southern end of US 51 concurrency
		167.0	268.8	WIS 47 – Lac du Flambeau, Rhinelander
Vilas	Arbor Vitae	168.7	271.5	US 51 north – Hurley	Northern end of US 51 concurrency
	St. Germain	179.3	288.6	WIS 155 north – Sayner
	Lincoln	190.1	305.9	WIS 17 south – Rhinelander	Western end of WIS 17 concurrency
	Eagle River	192.0	309.0	US 45 north / WIS 17 north / WIS 32 north – Conover, Phelps	Eastern end of WIS 17 concurrency, western end of US 45 concurrency
	Lincoln	193.4	311.2	US 45 south / WIS 32 south – Three Lakes	Eastern end of US 45 concurrency
Forest	Alvin	213.6	343.8	WIS 55 – Iron River, Crandon
Florence	Tipler	222.2	357.6	WIS 139 north – Iron River	Northern end of WIS 139 concurrency
		225.0	362.1	WIS 139 south – Long Lake	Southern end of WIS 139 concurrency
	Commonwealth	243.2	391.4	WIS 101 south – Armstrong Creek	Western end of WIS 101 concurrency
	Town of Florence	245.6	395.3	US 2 / US 141 / WIS 101 ends – Crystal Falls, Iron Mountain	Eastern end of WIS 101 concurrency, WIS 101 ends at this intersection
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

1. Bessert, Chris. "Wisconsin Highways: Highways 70-79 (Highway 70)". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
2. Google (April 9, 2020). "Length and Route of WIS 70 (West of US 45)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
3. "2014 AADT counts: Counties L-O" (PDF). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. 2014. p. 163. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
4. Google (April 9, 2020). "Length and Route of WIS 70 (East of US 45)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
5. Wisconsin State Highway Commission (November 1914). Main Traveled Routes in Wisconsin (Map). Scale not given. Madison: Wisconsin State Highway Commission. OCLC 829855901. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Wisconsin Historical Society.
6. Wisconsin State Highway Commission (1918). Official Map of the State Trunk Highway System of Wisconsin (Map). [c. 1:1,010,000]. Madison: Wisconsin State Highway Commission. OCLC 69119995, 388371736, 388371736. Retrieved April 12, 2020 – via Wisconsin Historical Society.
7. Mid-West Map Company (1935). MWM Highway Map, Wisconsin (Map). c. 1:1,267,200. Aurora, Missouri: Mid-West Map Company. OCLC 859615181. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Wisconsin Historical Society.
8. Wisconsin State Conservation Commission (c. 1921). Map of the state highway system of Wisconsin, showing, within red circle, location of Northern Lakes Park (Map). Scale not given. n.p.: Wisconsin State Conservation Commission. OCLC 708376740. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Wisconsin Historical Society.
9. Wisconsin State Highway Commission (1930). Official Highway Map of Wisconsin 1930 (Map). 1:823,680. Madison: Wisconsin State Highway Commission. OCLC 429695317. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Wisconsin Historical Society.
10. Wisconsin State Highway Commission (1931). Official Highway Map of Wisconsin 1931 (Map). 1:823,680. Madison: Wisconsin State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Wisconsin Historical Society.
11. Wisconsin State Highway Commission (1934). Official Highway Map of Wisconsin 1934 (Map). 1:823,680. Madison: Wisconsin State Highway Commission. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Wisconsin Historical Society.
12. Wisconsin State Highway Commission (1948). Preliminary Traffic Map, Showing Annual 24 Hour Average Traffic, State of Wisconsin (Map). [c. 1:1,198,000]. Madison: Wisconsin State Highway Commission. OCLC 770711221. Retrieved April 10, 2019 – via Wisconsin Historical Society.
13. Wisconsin Highway Commission (1956). "Wisconsin State Atlas 1956 Highway Maps". Madison: Wisconsin Highway Commission. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Historic Map Works.

External links

• Media related to Wisconsin Highway 70 at Wikimedia Commons