State Trunk Highway 169 (often called Highway 169, STH-169 or WIS 169) is a state highway in the US state of Wisconsin. It runs in north–south in northwest Wisconsin from Mellen to near Gurney. It helps accommodate traffic to the scenic Copper Falls State Park just northeast of its termination in Mellen.
 State Trunk Highway 169 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 WIS 169 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by WisDOT | ||||
| Length | 17.36 mi[1] (27.94 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  WIS 13 in Mellen | |||
| North end |  US 2 in Cedar | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Wisconsin | |||
| Counties | Ashland, Iron | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route description
edit
The highway starts at its southern terminus on the northeast side of Mellen at WIS 13. It follows Copper Drive falls over the Bad River and turn northward along the eastern edge of Copper Falls State Park. The highway turns eastward to leave the vicinity of the park before alternating east and northward through rural Ashland County. WIS 169 crosses the Tyler Forks on one of these northbound sections before turning east to run along the border of the Bad River Reservation. The highway curves northeasterly and clips the southeastern corner of the reservation before crossing into Iron County. The highway continues northward across the Potato River and through the community of Gurney before terminating at US Highway 2 (US 2) northwest of Cedar.[2][3]
History
editThe original STH-169 was located in Sparta and tracked northeast toward Angelo and then to Fort McCoy. Commissioned in 1940, this original route only lasted seven years before being renumbered to present WIS 21. In 1956, the second STH-169 was commissioned, replacing the original County Trunk Highway K that went from Mellen to US 2 outside of Cedar and also giving easier access to Copper Falls State Park.[1]
Major intersections
edit| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | Mellen | 0.00 | 0.00 | WIS 13 (Main Street) – Ashland, Park Falls | Southern terminus |
| Iron | Cedar | 17.36 | 27.94 |  US 2 / LSCT – Ashland, Ironwood | Northern terminus |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b Bessert, Chris. "Highways 160–169". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved March 20, 2007.[self-published source]
- ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation (2019). Official State Highway Map (PDF) (Map) (2019–2020 ed.). 1:823,680. Madison: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. § E2.
- ^ "Overview Map of WIS 169" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
External links
edit
Media related to Wisconsin Highway 169 at Wikimedia Commons
