U.S. Route 2 in Wisconsin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

U.S. Highway 2
Maintained by WisDOT
Length: 119.08 mi[1][2] (191.64 km)
Western segment is 104.59 miles (168.32 km) long. Eastern segment is 14.49 miles (23.32 km) long.
Formed: 1926 (1917 as WIS 18 and 34)
West end: US 2 at the Minnesota State Line (Western segment)
US-2 / US-141 at the Michigan state line near Florence(Eastern segment)
Major
junctions:		 US 53 in Superior
WIS 13 in Ashland
US 51 in Hurley

WIS 70 in Florence
East end: US 2 at the Michigan State Line near Ironwood (Eastern segment)
US-2 / US-141 at the Michigan state line near Spread Eagle (Eastern segment)
Wisconsin highways
< WIS 794 US 8 >
County - Bannered - Rustic
United States Numbered Highways
List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

In the U.S. state of Wisconsin, U.S. Route 2 (normally called U.S. Highway 2, Highway 2 or US 2) runs east-west across the northwestern part of the state and re-enters the state in the northeast part. It runs from the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge over the St. Louis River at Superior, where it enters Minnesota, east to Michigan state line near Hurley. Further east, US 2 re-enters Wisconsin from Michigan in Florence County and briefly traverses that county before re-entering Michigan. US 2 is a Wisconsin Corridors 2020 Connecting route east of its concurrency with US 53. The portion concurrent with US 53 is a Wisconsin Corridors 2020 Backbone route[3]

Contents

[edit] Route description

[edit] Western Segment

U.S. Highway 2 enters the state from Minnesota at Superior, merging onto Belknap Street and passing through downtown from the Bong Bridge and meeting WIS 35. The highway then meets US 53 and the two exit Superior along East 2nd Street to the southeast concurrently.[4] WIS 13 branches off from its terminus on the highway near Parkland to take its course around the Lake Superior shoreline.[5] US 53 branches south at South Range at an unusual interchange at which westbound US 2 traffic must cross over the freeway to the eastbound lanes to access US 53 south.[6] The highway then passes through Wentworth, Poplar, and Maple as it heads east to the Douglas/Bayfield County line at Brule. Just west of Brule, US 2 crosses the Brule River State Forest.[5]

In Bayfield County, US 2 passes through Iron River then proceeds east-southeasterly through the Chequamegon National Forest and to Ino where it turns east and meets US 63's northern terminus at about six miles east of Ino. US 2 turns northeastward and meets WIS 13, which joins it eastbound as they follow the Lake Superior shoreline closely to the Ashland County line and the City of Ashland.[7] WIS 13 turns south in downtown Ashland while US 2 follows the lakeshore northeastward and turns east at the city limit and proceeds to Odanah and turns southeastward to the Iron County line.[8] the highway junctions with WIS 169 two miles east of the county line then turns eastward to Saxon where it crosses WIS 122. US2 then continues east, then southeast toward Hurley where it meets US 51 at its northern terminus and immediately enters Michigan.[9]

[edit] Eastern Segment

US 2 re-enters Wisconsin from Iron County, Michigan concurrently with US 141 and turns southeastward to Florence and junctions with WIS 70 and WIS 101 at their shared terminus. After a short trek through Florence via Central Avenue, Furnace Street and Florence Avenue,[10] the highway turns south and passes by Commonwealth then turns east and passes through the community of Spread Eagle. The highway returns into Michigan three miles east of Spread Eagle.[11]

Major cities

[edit] History

In 1918, The western segment of US 2 was WIS 10 with the exception of the short segment between US 51 and the Michigan state line, which was not a part of the state highway system until Michigan started their trunkline system a year later.[1]. The entire eastern segment was designated as WIS 69 in 1918.[2] One business route existed for US 2 until 2002. Business Highway 2 began at the US 51 terminus and headed southeast to WIS 77 in downtown Hurley where it turned east into Michigan. Although Michigan still has the route signed, Wisconsin removed its signs. The street in Hurley that runs from WIS 77 to the border is still a state trunkline despite not having a numbered designation.[1]

[edit] Major Intersections

[edit] Western Segment

County Location Mile Roads intersected Notes
Douglas Superior   WIS 35
  US 53 North US 53 South follow US 2 East
  WIS 13
South Range   US 53 South US 53 North follow US 2 West
Poplar   CTH D
  CTH P
Maple   CTH F
Brule   WIS 27
Bayfield Iron River   CTH A / CTH H
Ino   CTH F
Eileen   US 63
  WIS 137
  WIS 13 North WIS 13 South follow US 2 East
Ashland Ashland   WIS 13 South WIS 13 North follow US 2 West
Odanah   CTH A
Iron Saxon   WIS 169
  WIS 122
Hurley   US 51

[edit] Eastern Segment

County Location Mile Roads intersected Notes
Florence Florence   WIS 70 / WIS 101
  CTH N

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Bessert, Chris. Wisconsin Highways: Highways 10-19 (U.S. Highway 10). Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  2. ^ a b Bessert, Chris. Wisconsin Highways: Highways 10-19 (U.S. Highway 10). Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  3. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Corridors 2020 routes: Backbones and Connectors [map]. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  4. ^ Google. Belknap Street, Superior, Wisconsin - Google Maps [map]. Cartography by NAVTEQ. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  5. ^ a b Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Douglas Co [map]. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  6. ^ Google. US 2, South Range, Wisconsin - Google Maps [map]. Cartography by NAVTEQ. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  7. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Bayfield Co [map]. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  8. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Ashland Co [map]. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  9. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Iron Co [map]. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  10. ^ Google. US 2, Florence, Wisconsin, Wisconsin - Google Maps [map]. Cartography by NAVTEQ. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  11. ^ Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Florence Co [map]. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
U.S. Route 2
Previous state:
Minnesota		 Wisconsin Next state:
Michigan