State Trunk Highway 73 (often called Highway 73, STH-73 or WIS 73) is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in the central part of the US state of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
that runs mostly north–south from
Ingram to near
Edgerton. The exception is in
Wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
and
Adams counties, where this highway runs east–west. It is one of the longer Wisconsin state highways.
Route description
WIS 73 starts in
Dane County
Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital.
Dane County is the ...
at an interchange with
Interstate 39
Interstate 39 (I-39) is a highway in the Midwestern United States. I-39 runs from Normal, Illinois, at I-55 to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) in the town of Rib Mountain, Wisconsin, which is approximately south of Wausau. I- ...
(I-39),
I-90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
(exit 160),
US Highway 51 (US 51) north of the city of
Edgerton. Also near this junction,
WIS 106 meets WIS 73 east of
Albion
Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...
. WIS 73 heads north where it meets
US 12 and
US 18. WIS 73 continues north and heads to
Deerfield. About north of Deerfield, it meets
I-94 at exit 250, and continues north another four miles to
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
where it has a brief overlap with
WIS 19.
It continues north about to the city of
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
. Just before it goes under an overpass of
US 151, it crosses into
Columbia County. WIS 73 crosses US 151,
WIS 89,
WIS 16,
WIS 60 and US 151 again, in that order, as it travels northeast through Columbus on Park Avenue and Ludington Street. It also crosses into
Dodge County just after WIS 16/WIS 60.
WIS 73 then continues north for to
Randolph. Just north of town, it crosses
WIS 33. WIS 73 will continue to go back and forth between both sides of Columbia–Dodge county line until it crosses into
Green Lake County at County Highway AW, north of WIS 33. WIS 73 continues to head north for four miles to a junction with
WIS 44. The two routes head west, forming a
wrong-way concurrency
A concurrency in a road network is an instance of one physical roadway bearing two or more different route numbers. When two roadways share the same right-of-way, it is sometimes called a common section or commons. Other terminology for a concurre ...
through the unincorporated town of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
for before WIS 44 splits off to head to
Kingston.
WIS 73 heads north another 10 miles to a junction with
WIS 23, east of
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
. WIS 23/WIS 73 overlaps to Princeton using Fulton Street and Main Street before WIS 23 splits southwest to
Montello. WIS 73 then heads north-northwest, crossing into
Marquette County at Eagle Road, to
Neshkoro. WIS 73 will then cross into
Waushara County just north of County Highway E, north of Neshkoro. WIS 73 continues north-northwest to
Wautoma, where it meets
WIS 21. WIS 21/WIS 73
runs concurrently through downtown before WIS 21 splits off to head to
Necedah.
WIS 73 heads northwest for about to
Plainfield where WIS 73 crosses I-39 (exit 136) and US 51 west of town. It continues heading west, crossing into
Adams County at County Highway D. WIS 73 straddles the Adams-
Portage
Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
county line for about four miles. It then enters
Wood County before WIS 73 continues west-northwest to
WIS 13, where it has a brief overlap with WIS 13. WIS 73 continues west for four miles to the
Wisconsin River
The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles (692 km) long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskousi ...
where it enters the city of
Nekoosa. In Nekoosa, WIS 73 has a junction with
WIS 173. WIS 73 follows roughly along the west bank of the Wisconsin River into
Port Edwards, where it meets with
WIS 54. WIS 54 is cosigned with WIS 73 along the west bank of the Wisconsin River as they enter
Wisconsin Rapids
Wisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin. The population was 18,877 at the 2020 census. The city also forms one of the core areas of the United States Census Bureau's Marshfield-Wisconsin Rapids Micropolit ...
's southwest side.
At Riverview Expressway, they meet with WIS 13. WIS 54 heads to
Plover
Plovers ( , ) are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae.
Description
There are about 66 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfa ...
while WIS 73 and WIS 13 are cosigned briefly before they split at
WIS 34 (4th Avenue) and Grand Avenue. WIS 73 heads west-northwest out of town. It crosses
WIS 186. WIS 73 meets
WIS 80 in
Pittsville where WIS 73/WIS 80 overlap for about two miles before WI 80 heads north to
Marshfield.
WIS 73 heads west to where it crosses into
Clark County. It continues west about to
WIS 95 before it turns north and enters
Neillsville where it has a one-block overlap with
US 10 before heading north out of town. WIS 73 heads north to
Greenwood and
Withee. Just before Withee, WIS 73 meets with the
WIS 29 expressway, overlaps with it for about 10 miles to
Thorp
''Thorp'' is a Middle English word for a hamlet or small village.
Etymology
The name can either come from Old Norse ''þorp'' (also ''thorp''), or from Old English (Anglo-Saxon) ''þrop''. There are many place names in England with the suffi ...
, where WIS 73 exits and heads north once again. It crosses into
Taylor County about north of WIS 29.
It goes north another seven miles to
WIS 64. They are cosigned heading north before WIS 64 splits just east of
Gilman. WIS 73 continues north to
Jump River before entering
Rusk County. It continues north for to Ingram, where WIS 73 ends at
US 8.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
*{{commons category-inline, Wisconsin Highway 73
073
Transportation in Dane County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Columbia County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Dodge County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Green Lake County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Marquette County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Waushara County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Adams County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Portage County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Wood County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Clark County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Taylor County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Rusk County, Wisconsin