U.S. Route 8

U.S. Route 8
U.S. Route 8
	US 8 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by MnDOT, WisDOT, MDOT
Length	280.00 mi (450.62 km) 22.13 mi (35.61 km) in Minnesota, 255.55 mi (411.27 km) in Wisconsin, and 2.32 mi (3.73 km) in Michigan
Existed	November 11, 1926–present
Major junctions
West end	I-35 in Forest Lake, MN
	US 61 in Forest Lake, MN; US 63 at Turtle Lake, WI; US 53 near Cameron, WI; US 51 near Bradley, WI; US 45 in Monico, WI; US 141 near Pembine, WI;
East end	US 2 in Norway, MI
Location
Country	United States
States	Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan
Counties	MN: Washington, Chisago; WI: Polk, Barron, Rusk, Price, Lincoln, Oneida, Forest, Marinette; MI: Dickinson
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System; List; Special; Divided;
	Minnesota Trunk Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Legislative; Scenic;
	Wisconsin State Trunk Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Scenic; Rustic;
	Michigan State Trunkline Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Byways;

U.S. Highway 8 (US 8) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs primarily east–west for 280 miles (451 km), mostly within the state of Wisconsin. It connects Interstate 35 (I-35) in Forest Lake, Minnesota, to US 2 at Norway, Michigan. Except for the short freeway segment near Forest Lake, a section near the St. Croix River bridge, the interchange with US 51, and a three-mile (4.8 km) stretch west of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, it is mostly an undivided surface road. As a state highway in the three states, US 8 is maintained by the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan departments of transportation (MnDOT, WisDOT, and MDOT, respectively).

The highway was originally commissioned on November 11, 1926, with the rest of the original U.S. Highway System. At the time, it ran between Forest Lake, Minnesota, and Pembine, Wisconsin, with a planned continuation to Powers, Michigan. Several changes have been made to the routing of the highway since then. The western end was extended south to Minneapolis before it was truncated back to Forest Lake. Other changes on the east end have moved that terminus from the originally planned end location at Powers to the current location in Norway. Internal WisDOT and MDOT map files at various times have shown plans to reroute the highway to connect to the original planned 1926 terminus. US 8's course through the three states has also been shifted to follow different alignments over the years.

WisDOT built a bypass around the city of Rhinelander in the 1990s and created a business loop along the old highway through the town. This loop was a locally maintained route through the central business district in Rhinelander. The signage for the loop was removed in 2005.

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^ McNichol, Dan (2006). The Roads that Built America. New York: Sterling. p. 74. ISBN 1-4027-3468-9. OCLC 63377558.

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[mcnichol74-5] McNichol, Dan (2006). The Roads that Built America. New York: Sterling. p. 74. ISBN 1-4027-3468-9. OCLC 63377558.

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