State Route 2 (SR 2), formerly known as Inter-county Highway 2 until 1921 and State Highway 2 in 1922, is an east–west

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...

crossing most of northern

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Its western terminus is at the

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

state line near Hicksville where the route becomes

Indiana State Road 37 State Road 37 (SR 37) is a major route in the U.S. state of Indiana, running as a four-lane divided highway for 110 miles of its course. At one time, the route ran from the southwest corner of the state to the northeast corner. In the pre ...

which continues to

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. The eastern terminus of the route is in Painesville Township in Lake County at

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

(US 20).

Route description

It passes through Bryan, Wauseon (where it briefly becomes a couplet), and enters greater Toledo west of its interchange with the Ohio Turnpike. It continues east from greater Toledo and soon parallels

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

, becoming 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 ...

near Port Clinton. From Oregon to Sandusky SR 2 is part of of the highway designated the "Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail". and on September 22, 2005, was designated a National Scenic Byway. From Toledo to Sandusky the highway is also part of and designated the Lake Erie Circle Tour that is also part of the "Great Lakes Circle Tour". It then passes Sandusky, where it meets U.S. Route 250 (US 250) and US 6, and separates from the lakeshore as a freeway, and traverses rural Erie County before entering Lorain County. Near Elyria, it joins Interstate 90 (I-90), whose route it shares to Rocky River, where it follows SR 254 along Detroit Road into Lakewood. Here it again joins US 6, as well as US 20 on Clifton Boulevard. It then becomes part of the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, joining I-90 again near Burke Lakefront Airport. These two highways split near

Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...

, and SR 2 continues along the Lakeland Freeway to Painesville, feeding into US 20 eastbound. SR 2 serves as an access route to lakeshore attractions on Lake Erie from Toledo and Cleveland and as an alternative to the Ohio Turnpike. The stretch of SR 2 from Toledo to Sandusky passes several attractions. The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is just east of SR 19 in Carroll Township. It sits on along with the

Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station is a 894 megawatt ( MW), nuclear power plant, located northeast of Oak Harbor, Ohio in Ottawa County, Ohio. It has a single pressurized water reactor. Davis–Besse is operated by Energy Harbor. Throughout ...

. SR 2 is the lowest numbered state route in Ohio. SR 1 was decommissioned in 1965.

Naming

The section of SR 2 that runs through Erie County is called the "Jackie Mayer Miss America Highway" and is named for Jackie Mayer, a former Miss America who was born and raised in Sandusky. The section of SR 2 that runs through Willoughby is named "Brian Montgomery Memorial Highway" in honor of a Marine

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

who was killed in the

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in August 2005.

History

*1912: Intercounty Highway 2 runs from

to the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

state line. *1923: Route is extended to follow current

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...

alignment from the

state line to Bryan, and current SR 51 and US 20 from Toledo to the

state line. *1926–1927: Rerouted from Toledo to

along previous SR 23 alignment from Toledo to Port Clinton, previously unnumbered route from Port Clinton to west of Sandusky, and previous SR 12 from west of Sandusky to Cleveland. Cleveland-to-Pennsylvania alignment certified as US 20. *1931: Extended east to Willoughby along previously unnumbered route (St. Clair). *1931–1932: Western terminus shortened to Bryan, Bryan to Indiana state line certified as US 6 *1936: Extended to Indiana state line via the former SR 108 alignment from Hicksville to Bryan, and the former SR 18 alignment from the Indiana state line to Hicksville, with which it was dually certified along this route until 1940. *1939: SR 18 alignment removed from SR 2 alignment west of Hicksville. *1939: Route extended east to Lost Nation Road in Willoughby. *1941: SR 2 from West 6th to East 9th moved from Lakeside Avenue to the Lakefront Highway, later called the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway. Lakeside certified as SR 2 temporary. *1962: Extended east to SR 283 in Painesville;

-to-Painesville alignment upgraded to

. *1967: west of Sandusky to west of Sandusky upgraded to freeway, and rerouted on the bypass around Sandusky on former US 6 alignment. *1967: Route extended to its current eastern terminus at US 20 in Painesville Township *1968: From SR 163 to west of Sandusky upgraded to freeway. *1970: From west of Amherst to SR 83 (SR 76 at that time) upgraded to freeway; from east of Amherst to SR 83 dually certified with I-90. *1973–1975: OH 2 Alt is deleted as discontinuous sections of Route 2 are moved from US 6 to I-90. *1976: From Ceylon to west of Amherst upgraded to freeway. *1977: From SR 83 to Rocky River upgraded to freeway and dually certified with I-90. *August 30, 1990: From Huron to Ceylon upgraded to freeway.

Major intersections

Auxiliary routes

SR 2 Temporary

*State Route 2 temporary was a designation that ran from West 6th to East 9th along Lakeside ave. in downtown Cleveland. The designation was added when the final alignments of SR 2 were moved to the then new Lakeside Highway, later referred to as the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway. The route's eastern terminus was moved to

Public Square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

via Ontario St. in 1957.

SR 2C

*State Route 2C is an unsigned connecting road that runs from State Route 163 to State Route 2 and State Route 53 near Port Clinton in Ottawa County,

. State Route 2C was constructed as an access road for the SR 2–SR 163 interchange.

SR 2D

*State Route 2D is part of a couplet in Wauseon, Ohio that is signed as State Route 2. SR 2D is signed as SR 2 westbound, while SR 2 is signed as SR 2 eastbound, (except west of East Elm Street, where SR 2D meets SR 2 at its western terminus). The route ends at the corner of East Linfoot Street and North Shoop Avenue.

Cultural references

In the 2014 film '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier,'' the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway is used to depict a freeway in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Gallery

File:Ohio State Route 2 in Mentor.jpg, Lakeland Freeway in

Mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

File:Ohio State Route 2 at US 6 in Bryan, Williams County.jpg, Wide variant of State Route 2 signage at US 6 in Bryan File:Bryan Ohio eastside.JPG, SR 2 in Bryan File:Farmer, Ohio as viewed from Farmer Mark Road.JPG, SR 2 in

Farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...

File:Main east of Wilson, Delta.jpg, US 20A / SR 2 in Delta File:North Star BlueScope Steel from US20A.jpg, US 20A / SR 2 along the North Star BlueScope Steel mill located southwest of Delta File:PB020117 Williams Cty Courthhouse (Bryan).JPG, US 127 / SR 2 / SR 15 in Bryan File:View of Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station from Ohio State Route 2.jpg,

viewed from Ohio State Route 2 File:Shoreway and stadium.jpg, Cleveland Memorial Shoreway in 2013 File:MOVING CARS AND PARKED CARS AT POPULAR LAKESIDE BEACH - NARA - 550104.jpg, Cleveland Memorial Shoreway in 1973 (Former parking lot exit pictured) File:Oh2 - Gordon Park.jpg, Abandoned stretch of SR 2 in Gordon Park

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline 002 Transportation in Defiance County, Ohio Transportation in Williams County, Ohio Transportation in Fulton County, Ohio Transportation in Lucas County, Ohio Transportation in Ottawa County, Ohio Transportation in Erie County, Ohio Transportation in Lorain County, Ohio Transportation in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Transportation in Lake County, Ohio Transportation in Toledo, Ohio Transportation in Cleveland U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 20