 U.S. Highway 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major Richard I. Bong Memorial Highway | ||||
 US 2 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byWisDOT | ||||
| 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 inSuperior | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| East end | US 2 in Hurley | |||
| Eastern segment | ||||
| Length | 14.46 mi[2] (23.27 km) | |||
| West end |  US 2 /US 141 inFlorence | |||
| East end | US 2 /US 141 inSpread Eagle | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Wisconsin | |||
| Counties | Douglas,Bayfield,Ashland,Iron;Florence | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
US Highway 2 (US 2) is a part of theUnited States Numbered Highway System that runs fromEverett, Washington, toSt. Ignace, Michigan. InWisconsin, 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 theRichard I. Bong Memorial Bridge over theSaint Louis Bay atSuperior, where it enters fromMinnesota, east to theMichigan state line nearHurley. Further east, US 2 re-enters Wisconsin from Michigan inFlorence County and briefly traverses that county before re-entering Michigan. US 2 is a Wisconsin Corridors 2020 Connecting route east of itsconcurrency withUS 53. The section concurrent with US 53 is a Wisconsin Corridors 2020 Backbone route.[4]
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 withWisconsin 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 withWIS 13 nearParkland; WIS 13 begins its course around theLake Superior shoreline at this point.[6] US 2 and US 53 split inSouth 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 throughWentworth,Poplar, andMaple as it heads east to theDouglas–Bayfield county line atBrule. Just west of Brule, US 2 crosses theBrule River State Forest.[6]
In Bayfield County, US 2 passes throughIron River then proceeds east-southeasterly through theChequamegon National Forest and toIno where it turns east and meetsUS 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 theAshland County line and the City ofAshland.[8] WIS 13 turns south in downtown Ashland while US 2 follows the lakeshore northeastward and turns east at the city limit and proceeds toOdanah and turns southeastward to theIron County line.[9] the highway junctions withWIS 169 two miles (3.2 km) east of the county line then turns eastward toSaxon where it crossesWIS 122. US 2 then continues east, then southeast towardHurley where it meetsUS 51 at its northern terminus and immediatelyenters Michigan,[10] continuing for 109.18 miles (175.71 km)[11]
US 2 re-enters Wisconsin fromIron County, Michigan concurrently withUS 141 and turns southeastward toFlorence and intersectsWIS 70/WIS 101 at their shared terminus. After a short trek through Florence via Central Avenue, Furnace Street and Florence Avenue,[12] the highway turns south and passes byCommonwealth then turns east and passes through the community ofSpread Eagle. The highway returns into Michigan three miles (4.8 km) east of Spread Eagle.[13]
In 1918, the western segment of US 2 was oldWIS 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.[14] The entire eastern segment was designated as oldWIS 69 in 1918.[15] One business route existed for US 2 until 2002. Business US 2 began at the US 51 terminus and headed southeast toWIS 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.[14]
| County | Location | mi[1][2] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas | Superior | 0.00 | 0.00 |   US 2 west /LSCT (Bong Bridge) –Duluth | Continuation into Minnesota | |
  Truck US 2 east (Garfield Avenue) | Western end of Truck US 2 | |||||
| 2.24 | 3.60 |  WIS 35 (Tower Avenue) | ||||
| 3.95 | 6.36 |   US 53 north (2nd Street) /Truck US 2 west | Northern end of US 53 concurrency | |||
| 8.70 | 14.00 | Northern end of freeway | ||||
| Town of Parkland | 10.58 | 17.03 |    WIS 13 south /LSCT east –Port Wing,Bayfield | Eastern end of LSCT concurrency | ||
| Town of Amnicon | 15.30 | 24.62 | US 53 south –Spooner,Eau Claire | Southern end of US 53 concurrency; southern end of freeway along US 2 | ||
| Community of Brule | 32.47 | 52.26 |  WIS 27 south –Hayward | |||
| Bayfield | Keystone–Eileen town line | 58.31 | 93.84 |  US 63 south –Hayward | ||
| Town of Eileen | 61.37 | 98.77 |   WIS 137 east /Alt. US 2 east /Alt. WIS 13 south –Ashland | |||
| Town of Barksdale | 64.12 | 103.19 |  WIS 13 north /LSCT west –Washburn,Bayfield | Western end of WIS 13/LSCT concurrency | ||
| Ashland | Ashland |  WIS 112 /Alt. US 2 west –Sanborn | ||||
| 67.75 | 109.03 | WIS 13 south –Mellen | Eastern end of WIS 13 concurrency | |||
| Iron | Town of Gurney | 88.68 | 142.72 |  WIS 169 south –Mellen | ||
| Town of Saxon | 93.33 | 150.20 |  WIS 122 –Upson | |||
| Hurley | 104.33 | 167.90 |  US 51 south –Hurley | Northern terminus of US 51 | ||
| 104.49 | 168.16 | US 2 east /LSCT east –Ironwood | US 2 entersMichigan | |||
| US 2 enters Michigan for 109.177 miles (175.703 km)[16] | ||||||
| Florence | Town of Florence | 104.59 | 168.32 | US 2 west /US 141 north –Crystal Falls | ||
| Community of Florence | 108.40 | 174.45 |   WIS 70 west /WIS 101 south –Armstrong Creek,Eagle River | |||
| Town of Florence | 118.95 | 191.43 | US 2 east /US 141 south –Iron Mountain | Continuation into Michigan | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Media related toUS Highway 2 in Wisconsin at Wikimedia Commons U.S. Route 2 | ||
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