U.S. Route 2 in Michigan
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US Highway 2 (US 2) is a component of the United States Numbered Highway System that connects
Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
, to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of the US state of
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, with a separate segment that runs from Rouses Point, New York, to
Houlton, Maine Houlton is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, on the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 6,055. It is perhaps best known for being at the northern terminus of Interstate 95 and as the birthplace of Sam ...
. In Michigan, the highway runs through the UP in two segments as a part of the state trunkline highway system, entering the state at
Ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in E ...
and ending at St. Ignace; in between, US 2 briefly traverses the state of
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. As one of the major transportation arteries in the UP, US 2 is a major conduit for traffic through the state and neighboring northern
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
states. Two sections of the roadway are included as part of the Great Lakes Circle Tours, and other segments are listed as state-designated
Pure Michigan Byway A Pure Michigan Byway is the designation for a segment of the State Trunkline Highway System in the US state of Michigan that is a "scenic, recreational, or historic route that is representative of Michigan's natural and cultural heritage." The ...
s. There are several memorial highway designations and historic bridges along US 2 that date to the 1910s and 1920s. The highway runs through rural sections of the UP, passing through two national and two state forests in the process. The route of what became US 2 was used as part of two Indian trails before European settlers came to the UP, and as part of the Michigan segments of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway and the King's International Highway
auto trail The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in ...
s in the early 20th century. The state later included these trails as part of M‑12 when the first state highway trunklines were designated in 1919. Most of M‑12 was redesignated as part of US 2 when the US Highway System was created on November 11, 1926. Since the 1930s, several changes have reshaped the highway's routing through the UP. One such alteration eventually created a
business loop A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...
that connected across the state line with Hurley, Wisconsin, and others pushed an originally inland routing of US 2 closer to the
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
shoreline. With the creation of the
Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
, part of US 2 was rerouted to coincide with the new Interstate 75 (I‑75), though in the 1980s, the U.S. Highway was truncated and removed from the I‑75 freeway, resulting in today's basic form.


Route description

According to a 2006 regional planning committee report, US 2 is a key highway for Michigan, providing its main western gateway. The roadway plays "an important role in the transportation of goods across the northern tier of states in the Midwest", and is listed on the National Highway System (NHS) for its entire length. The NHS is a network of roadways important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. Together with M‑28, US 2 is part of a pair of primary trunklines that bridge the eastern and western sides of the UP. The of roadway in Michigan is divided into a western segment and a eastern segment, interrupted by a section that runs for in the state of Wisconsin.


Western segment

US 2 enters Michigan from Wisconsin for the first time north of downtown Hurley, Wisconsin, and Ironwood, Michigan, over the state line that runs along the Montreal River. The highway crosses the river into
Gogebic County Gogebic County ( ) is the westernmost county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan, and the westernmost in the state as a whole. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 14,380. The county seat is Bessemer. This was historical ...
and passes a welcome center on the way into a commercial district north of downtown. Running along Cloverland Drive, US 2 meets its only
business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...
in Michigan at Douglas Boulevard. The business route was previously a full loop that ran west through downtown Ironwood and crossed the border into Hurley and back to the main highway. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has removed the signage on their side of the border, which reduced the loop to a business spur that ends at the state line. US 2 continues eastward through UP woodlands to the city of Bessemer. While bypassing the community of Ramsay, the highway crosses a branch of the Black River. The roadway enters
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
on the south side of Sunday Lake, meeting M‑28 at a stoplight in town. As the US Highway leaves Wakefield, it turns southeasterly through the Ottawa National Forest, crossing Jackson Creek and two branches of the Presque Isle River. US 2 and M‑64 merge and run concurrently over the second branch of the Presque Isle in the community of Marenisco. This concurrency has the lowest traffic volume along the entire length of the highway within the state; in 2010 the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) recorded a daily average usage along the stretch of 770 vehicles, compared to the overall average of 5,188 vehicles for the highway. At the end of the concurrency, M‑64 turns northerly to run along
Lake Gogebic Lake Gogebic ( ) is the largest natural inlandHanchin, P. A., (2011) ''The fish community and fishery of Lake Gogebic, Gogebic and Ontonagon counties, Michigan in 2005-06 with emphasis on walleye, northern pike, and smallmouth bass''. Michigan D ...
. The highway continues parallel to the state line from the Marensico area through the national forest toward Watersmeet. That
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
is the home of the Watersmeet High School Nimrods, the basketball team featured on a series of
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commercials and a documentary series on the Sundance Channel. The area is also where the waters meet; the rolling hills drain to
Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
via the Ontonagon River, to
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
via the Brule and Menominee rivers, or to the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
via the
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
rivers. Also located in the area are the
Sylvania Wilderness Sylvania Wilderness is an protected area located a few miles west of Watersmeet Township, Michigan. Sylvania is located entirely within the bounds of the Ottawa National Forest, and is currently being managed as a wilderness area as part of the ...
, and the
Lac Vieux Desert Indian Reservation Lac Vieux Desert Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in Watersmeet Township of southeastern Gogebic County, in the western part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is the landbase for the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chi ...
, which includes the Lac Vieux Desert Casino and Resort. The highway travels southeasterly from Watersmeet around the many lakes and streams in the area and crosses into rural
Iron County Iron County is the name of four counties in the United States: *Iron County, Michigan *Iron County, Missouri *Iron County, Utah *Iron County, Wisconsin Iron County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, t ...
. US 2 intersects Federal Forest Highway 16 (FFH 16) near Golden Lake in Stambaugh Township in the middle of the national forest. The trunkline then runs along the Iron River as it approaches the city of the same name and meets M‑73. In town, US 2 intersects M‑189 before crossing the river and turning northeast out of the city. US 2 leaves the Ottawa National Forest at Iron River, and the highway continues eastward through forest lands near several small lakes to Crystal Falls, the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Iron County. On the west side of town, US 2 meets US 141; the two highways run concurrently along Crystal Avenue. The combined highway turns south onto 5th Street and meets M‑69's eastern terminus at the intersection between 5th Street and Superior Avenue next to the county courthouse at the top of the hill. US 2/US 141 runs south out of Crystal Falls to the west of, and parallel to, the Paint River. The roadway passes Railroad, Kennedy and Stager lakes and leaves the state of Michigan at the Brule River, crossing into Florence County, Wisconsin for about .


Eastern segment

US 2/US 141 re-enters Michigan where it crosses the Menominee River and subsequently meets M‑95 in Breitung Township north of Iron Mountain and Kingsford. The highways merge in a triple concurrency and run south on Stephenson Avenue into Iron Mountain along the west side of Lake Antoine, parallel to a branch line of the
Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad The Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad is a Class III shortline railroad that operates of track in Northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Its main line runs from Rockland, Michigan, to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and it also own ...
(ELS Railroad). The road crosses through a retail corridor and over a flooded pit of the Chapin Mine. In downtown Iron Mountain at Ludington Street, M‑95 turns west off Stephenson Avenue to run across town to Kingsford. US 2/US 141 exits downtown and turns east along a second retail corridor near the Midtown Mall. The highway re-enters Breitung Township where US 141 separates to the south to re-enter Wisconsin. US 2 continues eastward parallel to a branch of the
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...
(CN Railway). Both road and rail travel through the community of
Quinnesec Quinnesec is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Dickinson County, Michigan, Dickinson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place (CDP) for statistical purposes and has no legally recognized status as a mu ...
, where they pass near the largest paper mill in the UP.. The trunkline runs along the main street of
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, where the highway meets the eastern terminus of US 8. Then US 2 continues east through rural Dickinson County to
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, passing north of Hanbury Lake through the
Copper Country State Forest Copper Country State Forest is a state forest in the west-central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Overview Like other Upper Peninsula state forests, Copper Country is made up of clear ...
, before crossing the Sturgeon River in Loretto and passing into Menominee County. In Menominee County, the environment takes on a more agricultural character along US 2. The highway passes through the edge of the community of Hermansville before entering
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. US 2 comes to a three-way intersection and turns northeast merging onto US 41. The concurrent highway runs from Powers through the communities of
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and Spaulding on the south side of the CN Railway. At Harris, the trunkline enters the Hannahville Indian Community. Harris is on the Menominee County side of the reservation, but as the highway continues east, it crosses over to Bark River on the Delta County side. The county line in between not only separates the two communities, but also serves as the boundary between the
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and Eastern time zones. East of Bark River, the highway crosses the community's namesake waterway before intersecting the eastern terminus of M‑69. The roadway crosses the Ford River prior to turning due east into the outskirts of Escanaba. US 2/US 41 widens to four lanes along Ludington Street, which forms the east–west axis of the Escanaba street grid. Near downtown, the highway meets M‑35, which runs along the city's north–south axis, Lincoln Road. The trunklines merge and run north, bypassing the traditional central business district for a different business corridor. Lincoln Road runs north carrying four lanes of traffic past the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds, site of one of the two state fairs for the state of Michigan, the only state to have twin fairs.. US 2/US 41/M‑35 continues north on Lincoln Road past the campus of
Bay de Noc Community College Bay de Noc Community College (Bay College) is a public community college in Escanaba, Michigan. Founded in 1962, the college has a main campus in Escanaba and another campus, Bay College West, in Iron Mountain, Michigan, serving Dickinson Count ...
. The four-lane highway crosses the Escanaba River just upstream from its mouth near the large Verso Esky Paper Mill and shifts to run immediately next to Little Bay de Noc. The section here carried the highest traffic counts along all of US 2 in the state: an average of 23,977 vehicles used this segment of roadway daily in 2011. The road turns inland again, and US 2/US 41/M‑35 passes to the west of downtown
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
. The highway through here is an
expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...
, four lanes divided by a central median and no driveway access. Unlike a
freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
, the expressway has standard intersections and not
interchanges Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...
. The highway intersects the eastern terminus of County Road 426 (CR 426) and crosses the ELS Railroad south of the stoplight for 4th Avenue North, where M‑35 separates from the US Highways and turns to the northwest. The expressway continues north parallel to the CN Railway, crossing the Days River. From Gladstone to St. Ignace, US 2 carries a speed limit of for all traffic. This was, before 2017, the only road in the UP with a speed limit higher than besides I-75, which has a speed limit of . The expressway segment runs around the upper end of Little Bay de Noc before ending at Rapid River. In this location, US 41 separates to the north, and US 2 returns to an easterly track as a two-lane road, crossing the
Rapid Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...
and Whitefish rivers and turning southeast around the head of the bay. As US 2 crosses southern Delta County, it passes through the western unit of the Hiawatha National Forest. Near Garden Corners, the highway runs along the shore of
Big Bay de Noc Big Bay de Noc is a bay in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The bay, which opens into Lake Michigan's Green Bay, is enclosed by Delta County. The Garden Peninsula is on the east side of the bay and the Stonington Peninsula is ...
. After the intersection with the northern terminus of M‑183, US 2 turns inland cutting across the base of the
Garden Peninsula The Garden Peninsula is a peninsula of in length that extends southwestward into Lake Michigan from the mainland of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The peninsula is bordered by Lake Michigan on the east, and by Big Bay de Noc on the west. The base ...
and enters
Schoolcraft County Schoolcraft County ( ) is a county located in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 8,047, making it Michigan's fourth-least populous county. The county seat is Manistique, which lies alo ...
. As the highway approaches
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, US 2 leaves the western unit of the Hiawatha National Forest and enters the
Lake Superior State Forest Lake Superior State Forest is a state forest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The North Country Trail utilizes this state forest for 43 miles (69 km) of its route. The Lake ...
. The roadway runs along
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
to
Manistique Manistique, formerly Monistique, is the only city and county seat of Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 2,828. The city borders the adjacent Manistique Township, but the two are a ...
, crossing the
Manistique River The Manistique River ( ') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed December 19, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Michigan that winds southward through the central Upper Penin ...
. The trunkline turns inland approaching Gulliver and then turns north-northeast to Blaney Park. The community of Blaney Park is a former logging town-turned-resort at the southern terminus of M‑77; the resort was active from the late 1920s but declined by the 1980s.. From Blaney Park, US 2 turns due east and crosses into
Mackinac County Mackinac County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, the population was 10,834. The county seat is St. Ignace, Michigan, St. Ignace. Forme ...
west of Gould City. Where it intersects a former routing, the main highway crosses the CN Railway one last time and runs to the south of
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to follow the Lake Michigan shoreline through Naubinway. After passing the community of Epoufette, US 2 crosses the
Cut River Bridge Cut River Bridge is a cantilevered steel deck bridge over the Cut River in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located along U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) in Hendricks Township, Mackinac County, between Epoufette and Brevort ...
, over the Cut River. The highway crosses into the eastern unit of the Hiawatha National Forest near Brevort, running between Lake Michigan and
Brevoort Lake Brevoort Lake is a lake in Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Much of the lake's sandy shoreline is owned by the National Forest Service as part of Hiawatha National Forest Hiawatha National Forest is a National Forest in the Up ...
in the process. The road continues along the Lake Michigan shoreline, passing Mystery Spot near Gros Cap and turning inland immediately west of St. Ignace. The US 2 designation ends at the highway's
partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...
with I‑75. The roadway continues easterly into downtown St. Ignace as Business Loop I‑75 (BL I‑75).


History


Indian trail through auto trails

In 1701, the first transportation routes through what became the state of Michigan were the lakes, rivers and Indian trails. Two of these trails followed parts of the future US 2. The Sault–Green Bay Trail roughly followed the Lake Michigan shoreline routing of US 2 between Escanaba and St. Ignace. The
Mackinac Trail Mackinac Trail, or Mackinaw Trail is the name for two related, but separate, roadways in the US state of Michigan. *In the Upper Peninsula: **, previous designation of H-63, before the construction of the I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a m ...
connected St. Ignace with Sault Ste. Marie. In the age of the
auto trail The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in ...
, the roads that later formed US 2 through the UP were given a few different highway names. When the original roadways between Ironwood and Iron River were completed in late 1915, the Upper Peninsula Development Bureau (UPDB) named the area Cloverland and the highway the Cloverland Trail. Later the name was extended over the highway to Escanaba, and to all highways in the area in the early 1920s; the name was phased out by the UPDB completely in 1927. The roadways were also used for the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway, named for former US president
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
after his death in 1919. Overall, this highway ran from
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, to Portland, Maine, by way of Michigan and the Canadian province of
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. Through the UP, the southern branch followed the immediate predecessors to US 2, including the section through Florence County, Wisconsin.. The Great Lakes Automobile Route was established in 1917 by the UPDB. A predecessor of the
Great Lakes Circle Tour The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. It consists of routes for circumnavigating the lakes, either individually or collectively. It was designated by the Grea ...
s by seventy years, the route followed "a circular journey along the banks of lakes Michigan and Superior and Green Bay ...". This route followed the modern US 2 from Ironwood to the M‑94 junction in Manistique, using the modern M‑69 and M‑95 to stay in Michigan. Branches of the route followed US 41 and M‑35 between Powers and Escanaba. The route was originally intended to entice motorists to drive around Lake Michigan. The name fell out of use before its first anniversary because of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. One Canadian auto trail was routed through the UP as well. In 1920, the King's International Highway linked
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, to
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, but there was no highway to carry it around the north side of Lake Superior. Motorists had to ship their cars by boat between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and
Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...
or enter the United States to continue along the auto trail. The routings varied on the maps of the time, but its basic route used US 2 through the UP from Ironwood to Sault Ste. Marie until a highway north of Lake Superior was opened in 1960; by that time, the auto trail had taken on the
Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...
name..


State trunkline

The first state trunkline highway designated along the path of the modern US 2 was M‑12, a designation that was in use by July 1, 1919, between Ironwood and
Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie is a cross-border region of Canada and the United States located on St. Marys River, which drains Lake Superior into Lake Huron. Founded as a single settlement in 1668, Sault Ste. Marie was divided in 1817 by the establishment of ...
. The first roadside park in the country was created by Herbert Larson near what is now US 2 near Iron River in 1919–20. When the US Highway System was created on November 11, 1926, US 2 partially replaced M-12. Between Crystal Falls and Iron Mountain, US 2 was routed through Florence, Wisconsin. The former routing of M‑12 from Crystal Falls to Sagola became a new M‑69 when the former M‑69 became US 102 (now US 141). M‑12 from Sagola south to Iron Mountain was made a part of an extended M‑45, which is now M‑95. By the next year, M‑48 was added along US 2 from Rexton to
Garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...
as part of a larger extension. The first changes to the routing of US 2 itself were made in 1930 with a bypass of downtown Escanaba. A larger rerouting was completed in 1933 between
Rogers Park Rogers Park is the first of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located from the Loop, it is on the city's far north side on the shore of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is commonly known for its cultural diversity, lush green public spaces, early ...
and Sault Ste. Marie. The new routing followed Mackinac Trail instead of turning east to Cedarville and north to Sault Ste. Marie; the former routing was given the M‑121 designation. Another realignment in the Iron Mountain area shifted US 2/US 141 to a new bridge over the Menominee River between 1932 and 1934. Downtown Ironwood was bypassed in 1934, and the former route was initially designated M‑54. The Michigan State Highway Department (MSHD) changed the routings and designations of the highways around Cooks,
Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...
and
Manistique Manistique, formerly Monistique, is the only city and county seat of Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 2,828. The city borders the adjacent Manistique Township, but the two are a ...
in the mid-1930s. The agency rerouted US 2 between Cooks and M‑149 in Thompson, turning the old road back to county control. The section between M‑149 and M‑125 was redesignated as an extension of M‑149 to Thompson, and M‑125 was replaced by a further extension of M‑149. The last change was to route US 2 along its current alignment in the area, completing the changes on August 2, 1936. The MSHD started construction in 1936 on a new road that rerouted US 2 into St. Ignace for the first time. Between Brevort and
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, US 2 previously followed Worth Road inland to the Tahquamenon Trail to meet the northern extension of US 31 into the Upper Peninsula. The new routing took US 2 along the lakeshore into St. Ignace. US 31 was truncated to the state ferry docks in
Mackinaw City Mackinaw City ( ) is a village in Emmet and Cheboygan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 846 at the 2010 census, the population increases during summertime, including an influx of tourists and seasonal workers who serve ...
and US 2 was routed through St. Ignace along the former US 31 to Rogers Park; the connection in St. Ignace to the state ferry docks became M‑122. Further changes in the early 1940s straightened the roadway out near Watersmeet and Crystal Falls. Additional realignments were completed by the MSHD to move US 2 to its modern lakeshore routing between Gould City and Epoufette in 1941. The new highway traveled due east from Gould City to Naubinway and then along the lake to Epoufette. The former route through Engadine was turned back to local control as far east as
Garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...
. From there east, it was numbered just M‑48, removing US 2 from a concurrency. Another former section into Epoufette was added to extend M‑117. The new highway was detoured around the
Cut River Bridge Cut River Bridge is a cantilevered steel deck bridge over the Cut River in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located along U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) in Hendricks Township, Mackinac County, between Epoufette and Brevort ...
until it was completed in 1946 after construction delays over steel shortages during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The western end of US 2 took on two changes in the 1940s. M‑28 was extended along US 2 to the state line at Ironwood from its western terminus at Wakefield. A similar extension was made from M‑28's eastern terminus to Sault Ste. Marie in 1948. The M‑54 designation was renumbered as Business US 2 by 1945. The eastern M‑28 extension was reversed in 1950, and the western extension to the state line was shifted to a new location by 1952.


Interstate era

With the coming of the
Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
in Michigan, the MSHD planned to convert the eastern section of US 2 to a freeway between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie. In planning maps from 1947, this highway corridor was included in the system that later became the Interstates. It was also included in the ''General Location of National System of Interstate Highways Including All Additional Routes at Urban Areas Designated in September 1955'', or ''Yellow Book'' after the cover color, that was released in 1955 as the federal government readied plans for the freeway system. The proposed number in 1958 was Interstate 75 (I‑75). The first section of freeway was built in late 1957 or early 1958 between Evergreen Shores and M‑123 north of St. Ignace. The Mackinac Bridge was opened to traffic on November 1, 1957;. a new section of freeway and an interchange connected US 2 to the bridge. In 1961, another new freeway segment closed the gap between the Mackinac Bridge and Evergreen Shores sections. At the time, the I‑75 designation supplanted US 27 on the bridge, and US 2 was shifted to follow I‑75 along the freeways in the St. Ignace area. The former routing of US 2 in downtown St. Ignace was redesignated BL I‑75. More sections of freeway were opened in 1962 immediately to the south of the newly constructed International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie as well as between
Dafter Dafter Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,263 at the 2010 census. Communities *Dafter is a small unincorporated community located about a mile southwest of the junction of M-28 wi ...
and
Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are connect ...
. The last two sections opened in 1963 connected the northern end of the freeway at M‑123 to Kinross, and the section between Dafter and Sault Ste. Marie. At this time, all of US 2's former routing became a county road known as Mackinac Trail (H-63). The Department of State Highways expanded US 2/US 41 into an expressway between
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
and Rapid River in 1971. The state built a new bridge over the
Manistique River The Manistique River ( ') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed December 19, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Michigan that winds southward through the central Upper Penin ...
in 1983, bypassing downtown. MDOT disposed of the former routing of US 2 into downtown in two ways. The western half was initially an unnumbered state highway until it was later transferred to local control. An extension of M‑94 replaced the remainder, including the Siphon Bridge, through downtown. In that same year, the department truncated US 2 to end in St. Ignace by removing it from the I‑75 freeway. The last changes were made to US 2's routing through Iron River in 1998, bypassing the bridge that formerly carried the highway over the river in town. In 2011, MDOT raised the speed limit along the expressway section in Delta County from , although the speed limit for trucks remained until 2017. That year the highway's speed limits were raised to between Wakefield and Iron River as well as between Rapid River and St. Ignace. In 2020, MDOT announced the slight relocation of US 2 in Mackinac County just west of the Cut River Bridge due to
sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...
s and shoreline erosion on Lake Michigan near the roadway.


Memorial designations and tourist routes

On July 1, 1924, the State Administrative Board named M‑12, the predecessor to US 2 in Michigan, the Bohn Highway to honor
Frank P. Bohn Frank Probasco Bohn (July 14, 1866 – June 1, 1944) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served three terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1927 to 1933 Early life and education Bohn was born in Charlottesvi ...
, a prominent local citizen who later served in
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
from 1927 to 1933.. In 1929, the residents of Escanaba created a memorial to the veterans of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
called Memory Lane. The project consisted of
elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
and
maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
trees planted along US 2/US 41 west of town. The
American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
sold the trees to local businesses and individuals who could honor specific soldiers.. Later in 1949, the Bessemer Women's Club created a tribute in the form of a permanent living memorial to the area veterans. Also called Memory Lane, the group planted 140 elms and 1,840 evergreens, trees and shrubs as a landscaped parkway along of US 2 east of Bessemer.. Most of US 2, along with US 23 in the Lower Peninsula, was designated the United Spanish War Veterans Memorial Highway in 1949. To connect the gap in the routing where US 2 cuts through Wisconsin, M‑95 and M‑69 were used in place of US 2 between Iron Mountain and Crystal Falls. Signs marking the highway were not erected until 1968 when Governor George W. Romney had them installed.. The Amvets Memorial Drive designation was created for the section of US 2/US 41/M‑35 between the northern Escanaba city limits and County Road 426 (CR 426) in Delta County. The American Veterans (AMVETS) organization in Michigan petitioned the
Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...
to grant this designation, which was assigned under Public Act 144 in 1959.. Two sections of US 2 are part of the overall
Great Lakes Circle Tour The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. It consists of routes for circumnavigating the lakes, either individually or collectively. It was designated by the Grea ...
(GLCT): the segment from the Wisconsin state line near Ironwood to the M‑28 junction in Wakefield is part of the
Lake Superior Circle Tour The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. It consists of routes for circumnavigating the lakes, either individually or collectively. It was designated by the Grea ...
(LSCT), and the segment from the southern M‑35 junction in Escanaba to the eastern terminus in St. Ignace is part of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour (LMCT). These two tours were created in May 1986 through a joint effort between MDOT and its counterparts in Wisconsin,
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
and Ontario. The section of US 2 between Iron River and Crystal Falls has been named the Iron County Heritage Trail. This
Pure Michigan Byway A Pure Michigan Byway is the designation for a segment of the State Trunkline Highway System in the US state of Michigan that is a "scenic, recreational, or historic route that is representative of Michigan's natural and cultural heritage." The ...
was designated to honor the "rich history of two industries that built a state and nation: mining and logging." On August 26, 2007, MDOT announced that the section of US 2 that runs concurrently with M‑35 in Delta County was being included in the UP Hidden Coast Recreational Heritage Trail.. The segment between
Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...
and St. Ignace along the northern shore of Lake Michigan was designated the Top of the Lake Scenic Byway in the Pure Michigan Byways program on October 9, 2017.


Historic bridges

There are six bridges along current or former sections of US 2 that MDOT has added to its listing of Michigan's Historic Bridges; two of these are also listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
(NRHP). A third bridge added to the NRHP in late 2012 has not been added to MDOT's listing however. The first of these historic bridges is the crossing of the Iron River, which has since been bypassed by a new bridge. The original structure, dating to 1918, is a
spandrel arch An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ( ...
span that was built by the MSHD as Trunk Line Bridge No. 191. The structure was listed on the NRHP on December 9, 1999, for its architectural and engineering significance. In December 2012, the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
approved the listing of the Upper Twin Falls Bridge that crosses the Menominee River northwest of Iron Mountain. The structure is a single-span, pin-connected,
camelback Camelback may refer to: * riding atop a camel * Camelback, a variation of shotgun house with a second floor in the rear of the house. * Camelback (roller coaster element), a hump-shaped hill element found on roller coasters * CamelBackCapitalizatio ...
, through-truss bridge, and it is the only known example of its type in Michigan. It was built between 1909 and 1910 because the Twin Falls Power Dam would flood an existing river crossing. The span cost $5,106 (equivalent to $ in ), paid equally by Dickinson and
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
counties. Until the 1930s, the Upper Twin Falls Bridge carried US 2 across the Menominee River. In 1934, a new bridge was built about a mile downstream, and the highway was rerouted over the new span. The bridge closed to automobile traffic in September 1971, and the nomination process for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places began in 2012. In 2003, MDOT replaced the Sturgeon River Bridge in Waucedah Township, Dickinson County. , even though the old bridge was demolished and replaced, MDOT retained it on their historic bridge list. It was built in 1929. Before 1983, US 2 used a different routing through Manistique and crossed the Manistique River on what is nicknamed the "Siphon Bridge". Built as a part of a raceway flume on the river, the water level is actually higher than the road surface. This produces a
siphon A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...
effect, giving the bridge its nickname. The Manistique Pulp and Paper Company was organized in 1916 and needed a dam on the Manistique River to supply their mill. This dam would require a large section of the city to be flooded, and shallow river banks meant difficulties in any bridge construction. Instead of expensive dikes, a concrete tank was built lengthwise in the river bed; the sides of this tank provided man-made banks higher than the natural banks. The Michigan
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
described the bridge as having "concrete bulkheads, formed by the side spans of the bridge, hatallow the mill to maintain the water level several feet above the roadbed.". The Manistique Tourism Council stated: "At one time, the bridge itself was partially supported by the water that was atmospherically forced under it," and that the bridge has been featured in ''
Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...
''. The eight-span structure is long.. The
Cut River Bridge Cut River Bridge is a cantilevered steel deck bridge over the Cut River in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located along U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) in Hendricks Township, Mackinac County, between Epoufette and Brevort ...
carries US 2 across the Cut River in Hendricks Township, Mackinac County. This structure was built during World War II but completion was delayed due to war-induced steel shortages. The span uses of structural steel to bridge the over the river and its gorge at a height of above the river. The Cut River Bridge is one of only two cantilevered deck truss bridges in the state. On either side of the bridge, there are picnic areas and trails down to the river.. Listed on the NRHP on December 17, 1999, the Mackinac Trail–Carp River Bridge carries H-63, the modern successor to US 2, over the Carp River north of St. Ignace. The bridge is another spandrel arch structure in length and built in 1920. Increasing traffic along Mackinac Trail prompted the MSHD to "widen its deck by five feet .5 mand install new guardrails in the 1929–1930 biennium" along with the addition of decorative retaining walls. The last of the historic bridges along a former segment of US 2 is the structure carrying Ashmun Street ( BS I‑75) over the Power Canal in Sault Ste. Marie. Built in 1934, it is one of only three steel arch bridges in the state.. The and structure is described by MDOT as "massive" with an "innovative" construction method: the previous structure was used as a
falsework Falsework consists of temporary structures used in construction to support a permanent structure until its construction is sufficiently advanced to support itself. For arches, this is specifically called centering. Falsework includes temporary su ...
for the current bridge before removal.


Major intersections

MDOT has erected milemarkers along the two Michigan segments of the highway that use the total mileage starting at the state line in Ironwood; the signs on the eastern segment reflect the mileage in Florence County, Wisconsin.


Business route

Business U.S. Highway 2 (Bus. US 2) is a
business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...
that runs from the Wisconsin state line at the Montreal River. The route extends through downtown Ironwood on Silver and Aurora streets before turning northward along Suffolk Street. Bus. US 2 stays on Suffolk Street for a short while until it turns onto Frederick Street. On Frederick Street, Bus. US 2 bears north through a residential area along Douglas Street. The eastern terminus of the route is at its junction with US 2 at the corner of Cloverland Drive and Douglas Street north of downtown. The business route was created in August 1942 when former M‑54 in Ironwood was renumbered as a business loop of US 2. It was originally a bi-state business connection before the Wisconsin Department of Transportation decommissioned Bus. US 2 in
Hurley Hurley may refer to: Places ;In the United Kingdom: * Hurley, Berkshire * Hurley, Warwickshire * Hurley Common, Warwickshire ;In the United States: * Hurley, Alabama * Hurley, Mississippi * Hurley, Missouri * Hurley, New Mexico * Hurley, New Y ...
westward along State Trunk Highway 77 and northward along US 51 in 2002.


See also

*


Notes


References


External links

*
US 2
at Michigan Highways

at Michigan Highways

at Michigan Highways Bus. US 2
at Michigan Highway Ends-->
Iron County Heritage Trail
(Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region) {{DEFAULTSORT:US002 02 Michigan Lake Superior Circle Tour Lake Michigan Circle Tour Transportation in Gogebic County, Michigan Transportation in Iron County, Michigan Transportation in Dickinson County, Michigan Transportation in Menominee County, Michigan Transportation in Delta County, Michigan Transportation in Schoolcraft County, Michigan Transportation in Mackinac County, Michigan