US Highway 2 (US 2) is a part of the

United States Numbered Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these ...

that runs from

Everett, Washington Everett (; ) is the county seat and most populous city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the Seattle metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett ...

, to

St. Ignace, Michigan St. Ignace ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,306 at the 2020 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city; the two are administered separat ...

. In

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, 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 Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

, where it enters from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, east to the

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

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 Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with US 53. The section concurrent with US 53 is a Wisconsin Corridors 2020 Backbone route.

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 State Trunk Highway 35 (STH-35, WIS 35) is a Wisconsin state highway running north–south across western Wisconsin. It is 412.15 miles in length, and is the longest state highway in Wisconsin. Portions of WIS 35 are part of the ...

(WIS 35). US 2 then continues east for 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 . After the intersection with Moccasin Mike Road, 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 ...

segment begins for US 2/US 53 as the highway leaves the city of Superior together. US 2/US 53 has an interchange with WIS 13 near Parkland; WIS 13 begins its course around the

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

shoreline at this point. 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. US 2 then continues independently again as a two-lane road, passing through Wentworth, Poplar, and

Maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

as it heads east to the

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

– Bayfield county line at Brule. Just west of Brule, US 2 crosses the Brule River State Forest. WIS70WIS101NorthAndEastTerminusUS2US141Florence

WIS70WIS101NorthAndEastTerminusUS2US141Florence

In Bayfield County, US 2 passes through Iron River then proceeds east-southeasterly through the

Chequamegon National Forest Chequamegon Bay ( ) is an inlet of Lake Superior in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the extreme northern part of Wisconsin. History A Native American village, known as ''Chequamegon'', developed here in the mid-17th century. It was developed b ...

and to Ino where it turns east and meets US 63's northern terminus at about 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. 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. the highway junctions with WIS 169 east of the county line then turns eastward to

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

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, continuing for

Eastern segment

US 2 re-enters Wisconsin from

Iron County, Michigan Iron County is one of two landlocked County (United States), counties in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 11,631. The county sea ...

concurrently with US 141 and turns southeastward to

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. 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, the highway turns south and passes by

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

then turns east and passes through the community of Spread Eagle. The highway returns into Michigan east of Spread Eagle.

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. The entire eastern segment was designated as old WIS 69 in 1918. 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.

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 2 In Wisconsin 02 Wisconsin Lake Superior Circle Tour Transportation in Douglas County, Wisconsin Transportation in Bayfield County, Wisconsin Transportation in Ashland County, Wisconsin Transportation in Iron County, Wisconsin Transportation in Florence County, Wisconsin