U.S. Route 2 in Wisconsin

US Highway 2 marker

US Highway 2

US 2 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by WisDOT
Length: 118.95 mi[1][2] (191.43 km)
Existed: November 26, 1926 (1926-11-26)[3] – present
History: Designated in 1917 as WIS 18 and 34
Tourist
routes:		 Lake Superior Circle Tour
Western segment
Length: 104.49 mi[1][2] (168.16 km)
West end: US 2 in Superior
Major
junctions:
East end: US 2 in Hurley
Eastern segment
Length: 14.46 mi[2] (23.27 km)
West end: US 2 / US 141 in Florence
East end: US 2 / US 141 in Spread Eagle
Location
Counties: Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Iron; Florence
Highway system
← I-894US 8 →

US Highway 2 (US 2) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Everett, Washington, to St. Ignace, Michigan. In Wisconsin, the highway enters 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 Saint Louis Bay at Superior, where it enters from 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 section concurrent with US 53 is a Wisconsin Corridors 2020 Backbone route.[4]

Route description

Western segment

US 2 enters the state from Minnesota at the city of Superior on the Bong Memorial Bridge. US 2 then follows Belknap Street eastbound, passing through downtown Superior, where it has an intersection with Wisconsin Highway 35 (WIS 35). US 2 then continues east for 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to its intersection with US 53. At this point, the two highways then run concurrently southeasterly on a four-lane surface street (East 2nd Street) for 5 miles (8.0 km). After the intersection with Moccasin Mike Road, a seven-mile (11 km) freeway segment begins for US 2/US 53 as the highway leaves the city of Superior together.[5] US 2/US 53 has an interchange with WIS 13 near Parkland; WIS 13 begins its course around the Lake Superior shoreline at this point.[6] US 2 and US 53 split in 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.[7] US 2 then continues independently again as a two-lane road, passing 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.[6]

US 2 at the northern terminus of Wisconsin Highway 70 in Florence

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 (9.7 km) 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.[8] 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.[9] the highway junctions with WIS 169 two miles (3.2 km) east of the county line then turns eastward to Saxon where it crosses WIS 122. US 2 then continues east, then southeast toward Hurley where it meets US 51 at its northern terminus and immediately enters Michigan.[10]

Eastern segment

US 2 re-enters Wisconsin from Iron County, Michigan concurrently with US 141 and turns southeastward to Florence and intersects WIS 70/WIS 101 at their shared terminus. After a short trek through Florence via Central Avenue, Furnace Street and Florence Avenue,[11] 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 (4.8 km) east of Spread Eagle.[12]

History

In 1918, the western segment of US 2 was old 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 signed their trunkline system a year later.[13] The entire eastern segment was designated as old WIS 69 in 1918.[14] One business route existed for US 2 until 2002. Business US 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.[13]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1][2]kmDestinationsNotes
DouglasSuperior0.000.00 US 2 west / LSCT (Bong Bridge) – DuluthUS 2 enters Wisconsin from Minnesota
2.243.60 WIS 35 (Tower Avenue)
3.956.36 US 53 north (2nd Street)Northern end of US 53 concurrency
8.7014.00Northern end of freeway
Town of Parkland10.5817.03 WIS 13 south / LSCT east – Port Wing, BayfieldEastern end of LSCT concurrency
Town of Amnicon15.3024.62 US 53 south – Spooner, Eau ClaireSouthern end of US 53 concurrency; southern end of freeway along US 2
Community of Brule32.4752.26 WIS 27 south – Hayward
BayfieldKeystone–Eileen
town line		58.3193.84 US 63 south – Hayward
Town of Eileen61.3798.77 WIS 137 east – Ashland
Town of Barksdale64.12103.19 WIS 13 north / LSCT west – Washburn, BayfieldWestern end of WIS 13/LSCT concurrency
AshlandAshland67.75109.03 WIS 13 south – MellenEastern end of WIS 13 concurrency
IronTown of Gurney88.68142.72 WIS 169 south – Mellen
Town of Saxon93.33150.20 WIS 122 – Upson
Hurley104.33167.90 US 51 south – HurleyTrumpet interchange; northern terminus of US 51
104.49168.16 US 2 / LSCT east – IronwoodUS 2 enters Michigan
US 2 enters Michigan for 109.177 miles (175.703 km)[15]
FlorenceTown of Florence104.59168.32 US 2 west / US 141 north – Crystal FallsUS 2 re-enters Wisconsin concurrent with US 141
Community of Florence108.40174.45 WIS 70 west / WIS 101 south – Eagle River
Town of Florence118.95191.43 US 2 east / US 141 south – Iron MountainUS 2 re-enters Michigan concurrent with US 141
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Staff (May 26, 2009). State Trunk Highway Log for Region 5. Superior, WI: Wisconsin Department of Transportation. pp. 1–16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Staff (December 31, 2008). State Trunk Highway Log for North Central Region (XLS). Rhinelander, WI: Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
  3. ↑ Weingroff, Richard F. (January 9, 2009). "From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  4. ↑ Corridors 2020 Routes: Backbones and Connectors (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  5. ↑ Google (December 25, 2007). "Belknap Street, Superior, Wisconsin" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  6. 1 2 Douglas Co. (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  7. ↑ Google (December 25, 2007). "US 2, South Range, Wisconsin" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  8. ↑ Bayfield Co. (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  9. ↑ Ashland Co. (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  10. ↑ Iron Co. (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  11. ↑ Google (December 25, 2007). "US 2, Florence, Wisconsin" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  12. ↑ Florence Co. (PDF) (Map). Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  13. 1 2 Bessert, Chris. "Highways 1–9 (US 2 West)". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  14. ↑ Bessert, Chris. "Highways 1–9 (US 2 East)". Wisconsin Highways. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  15. ↑ MDOT Physical Reference Finder Application (Map). Cartography by Michigan Center for Geographic Information. Michigan Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2010.

Route map: Google

KML is from Wikidata
U.S. Route 2
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