U.S. Route 2 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway2 (US2) is a United States Numbered Highway in northwest and northeast Minnesota, which runs from the Red River at East Grand Forks and continues east to Duluth, where the route crosses the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge over the Saint Louis Bay. The route connects the cities of East Grand Forks, Bemidji, Grand Rapids, and Duluth.

Of the 264 miles (425km) of US2 in Minnesota, 146 miles (235km) have four lanes, mostly located in the northwest part of the state.

Route description

US2 enters the state from the west at the city of East Grand Forks, at the Red River. From the North Dakota state line to Crookston, US2 is a four-lane divided highway built to expressway standards for 26 miles (42km). Upon entering Crookston, US2 follows the city streets of North Main, North Broadway, and East Robert streets.

Once US2 leaves Crookston, it becomes a four-lane divided highway built to expressway standards for 83 miles (134km). This expressway portion of US2 in northwest Minnesota passes through the cities of Mentor, Erskine, Fosston, Bagley, and the west of Bemidji.

After the Minnesota State Highway 197 (MN197) interchange, US2 becomes a four-lane freeway for nine miles (14km) as it bypasses Bemidji. US71 joins the freeway after 1.5 miles (2.4km) and runs concurrently with US2 for 4.5 miles (7.2km). The freeway crosses the Mississippi River after 115 miles (185km).

The freeway ends at an at-grade junction with Animal Land Drive south of Bemidji. US2 continues as a four-lane divided highway built to expressway standards for 12 miles (19km) to Cass Lake. The portion of US2 from Bemidji to Cass Lake is officially designated the Paul Bunyan Expressway.

After Cass Lake, US2 continues east as a two-lane roadway for 40 miles (64km) to Deer River. East of Deer River, US2 is a four-lane divided highway for seven miles (11km) until the city of Grand Rapids, where it has a junction with US169. US2 then heads southeasterly as a two-lane roadway for 59 miles (95km) to the unincorporated area of Saginaw, where it has an interchange with MN33. The route then continues east for two miles (3.2km) to its intersection with MN194 at Solway Township. US2 then continues southeasterly for 12 miles (19km) before entering the city of Proctor, where it is the main street through town. The route widens to a three-lane roadway as it approaches its intersection with Boundary Avenue (County Road 14 [CR14]). The route enters the city limits of Duluth, where it has a junction with Interstate35 (I-35), US2 joins that route's freeway. US2 runs concurrently with I-35 for two miles (3.2km) in West Duluth, proceeding down Thompson Hill. US2 then exits the I-35 freeway in West Duluth and crosses the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge over the Saint Louis Bay, entering the state of Wisconsin and the city of Superior. US2 then follows Belknap Street in Superior.

Legally, the Minnesota section of US2 is defined as Constitutional Route8 and Legislative Route106 in the Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.114(2) and 161.115(134). The route is not marked with those numbers.

History

US2 in Minnesota was authorized on November 11, 1926. It followed the route of old state Trunk Highway8 in its entirety. At the time it was marked, it was paved along a short concurrency with US75 north of Crookston and from its junction with then-Trunk Highway11 (present-day US53) through Duluth. The remainder was graveled or graded, except for a section west of Bagley which was simply a maintained dirt surface.

The route in Minnesota was completely paved in 1939. The last segment to be completed was between then-State Highway94 (now MN194) at Solway Township and the community of Adolph.

A few short (four-lane) divided highway segments of US2 were constructed west of Bemidji during the 1960s. In the present day, from East Grand Forks to Cass Lake, this route is built to expressway standards and a posted 65-mile-per-hour (105km/h) speed limit. The highway from Bemidji to Cass Lake was designated the Paul Bunyan Expressway in 1991. That designation originally extended down MN371 to Little Falls, but that section was repealed in 2005.

From Cass Lake to Duluth, there are only a couple of short four-lane divided highway segments, but the nonurban portions of this segment are a posted 60-mile-per-hour (97km/h) speed limit.

Major intersections

External links