U.S. Route 2

The western segment of US 2 extends from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan across the northern tier of the lower 48 states. Most of the western route was built roughly paralleling the Great Northern Railway. US 2 adopted the railway's route nickname "The Highline" as the most northern crossing in the U.S.

The Adventure Cycling Association's Northern Tier Bicycle Route is a bicycle touring route which follows or parallels US 2 for over 600 miles (970 km), most notably a 550-mile (890 km) stretch between Columbia Falls, Montana and Williston, North Dakota.

A section of US 2 near Waterville, Washington

Within Washington state, US 2 is the northernmost all-season highway through the Cascade Mountains. It begins at Interstate 5 and State Route 529 in Everett, and travels east via Stevens Pass. It intersects US 97 approximately 4 miles (6 km) east of Leavenworth and continues as a duplicate route crossing the Columbia River at Wenatchee, then continues north as far as Orondo, where US 97 splits north. US 2 continues to Spokane and the border in Newport.

Shortly after entering Idaho from the west, US 2 crosses the Priest River. US 2 follows Pend Oreille River to its source at Lake Pend Oreille. US 2 intersects Idaho State Highway 57 in the town of Priest River at mile 5.8. US 2 intersects US 95 at mile 28.4 in the town of Sandpoint. The two routes overlap for 36.2 miles (58.3 km) until just after Bonners Ferry. At Three Mile Corner, US Route 2 continues southeast for 15.8 miles (25.4 km) where it crosses into Montana.

U.S. Route 2 in Essex, Montana

US 2 is a vital northern corridor for Montana and has more mileage within Montana than in any other state. It intersects US 93 at Kalispell and passes through the southern end of Glacier National Park, crossing the continental divide at Marias Pass, before it enters the Great Plains west of Browning. It travels through Shelby where it meets Interstate 15, before it goes on to Havre and then onwards to Glasgow. The highway continues east and leaves the state near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers.

US 2 is an east–west highway that runs through North Dakota’s northern tier of larger cities: Williston, Minot, Devils Lake, and Grand Forks. US 2 intersects US 85 at Williston, US 52 and US 83 at Minot, US 281 at Churchs Ferry (west of Devils Lake), and the I-29 / US 81 concurrency at Grand Forks. US 2 is four-laned from North Dakota's eastern edge to just past Williston, a stretch of about 343 miles (552 km), leaving the remaining 12 miles (19 km) to the Montana border as a two-lane highway.

In Rugby, just east of the route's intersection with ND 3, the highway passes the location designated in 1931 as the geographical center of North America. The monument marking the geographic center had to be relocated in 1971 when US 2 was converted from two lanes to four lanes.[3]

The portion of US 2 from Cass Lake to Bemidji is officially designated the Paul Bunyan Expressway. It also intersects US 169 and the Mississippi River in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. At the crossing between Duluth, Minn. and Superior, Wisc., the highway crosses the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge, about 8,300 feet (2,500 m) in length—roughly 11,800 feet (3,600 m) in length when the above land approaches are included.

Of the 266 miles (428 km) of US 2 in Minnesota, 146 miles (235 km) have four lanes, mostly located in the northwest part of the state.

Legally, the Minnesota section of US 2 is defined as Routes 8 and 203 in Minnesota Statutes §§161.114(2) and 161.115(134).[4][5]

After crossing the Bong Bridge and entering into the city of Superior, Wisconsin's western segment of the highway joins Belknap Street. After crossing the midsection of Superior, US 2 merges with US 53 for a few miles following East 2nd Street out of the city. Ten miles outside of Superior, US 53 and US 2 part ways. US 53 veers south toward Eau Claire, while US 2 continues to the city of Ashland and ultimately to the Wisconsin–Michigan state line at the city of Ironwood. An eastern segment of US 2 re-enters Wisconsin 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Florence and proceeds concurrently with US 141 for 14.5 miles (23.3 km) until exiting Wisconsin again near Iron Mountain, Michigan.

US 2 western segment eastern terminus

US 2 enters Michigan at the city of Ironwood and runs east to the town of Crystal Falls, where it turns south and re-enters Wisconsin northwest of Florence. It re-enters Michigan north of Iron Mountain and continues through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the cities of Escanaba, Manistique, and St. Ignace. Along the way, it cuts through the Ottawa and Hiawatha National Forests and follows the northern shore of Lake Michigan. It ends at I-75, just north of the Mackinac Bridge in St. Ignace.

The west terminus of the east section in eastern New York.

The eastern segment of US 2 traverses the northeastern part of New York and the northern New England states.[6]

The road starts at US 11, just 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the Canadian border at Rouses Point in Champlain, New York. From there it crosses the Richelieu River at the outlet of Lake Champlain[7] on the Rouses Point Bridge into Grand Isle County, Vermont. The road is less than a mile long in the state.

US 2 traverses the length of Grand Isle County and crossing Lake Champlain over several bridges until it reaches the mainland in Milton and Chittenden County. From there it travels south to Burlington, where it begins to closely parallel Interstate 89 all the way to Montpelier, in Washington County. At Montpelier, the road turns north-eastward, crossing into Caledonia County and passing through Saint Johnsbury. It then passes into Essex County, and eventually crosses the Connecticut River from Guildhall into Lancaster, New Hampshire.

A section of highway traveling through New Hampshire

Once into New Hampshire, the road continues southeastward, passing through Jefferson (home to several small amusement parks and roadside attractions, such as Santa's Village) before heading more easterly, skirting the northern edge of the White Mountain National Forest into Gorham, where it meets Route 16, the major north–south roadway through the eastern half of the forest and past Mount Washington. From Gorham, the road travels east along the southern banks of the Androscoggin River to Shelburne and eventually crossing into Gilead, Maine. Throughout its entire 35-mile (56 km) stretch, the New Hampshire portion of US 2 is in Coos County.

US 2 travels from Gilead to Houlton near the Houlton International Airport. US 2 ends at I-95 just west of the Canadian border.

US 2 was in the original 1925 U.S. Highway Plan by the Bureau of Public Roads and was first commissioned in Michigan in 1926.[16]

US 2 originally ran in Michigan from Ironwood to St. Ignace, the same termini as today. The highway has undergone many realignments, mostly minor, between those cities since 1926. In 1933, the section between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie was relocated along Mackinac Trail.[16]

In 1957, the first segment of a new freeway opened between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie. It ran from Evergreen Shores, north of St. Ignace, to present-day M-123 and replaced the former route on State St. and Mackinac Trail. Over the next six years, US 2 was moved from Mackinac Trail onto the new freeway as new sections opened. Beginning in 1961, the freeway was concurrently signed as an extension of I-75. The freeway was completed in 1963.[16]

The eastern terminus of US 2 in Michigan was truncated back to St. Ignace in 1983, removing it entirely from the I-75 freeway.[16]

Route 2 in Gilead, Maine

Before being designated as US 2, most of the current alignment was called New England Interstate Route 15 from Danville, Vermont eastward to Maine. The portion of the old Route 15 that did not become part of US 2 was designated as Vermont Route 15.

Other sections of US 2 in Vermont that were not part of New England Route 15 were parts of other former New England Interstate routes: Route 18 between Montpelier and Danville; Route 14 between Burlington and Montpelier; and Route 30 between Alburgh and Burlington.