U.S. Route 2 | |
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US 2 highlighted in red
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Route information | |
Length: | 2,571 mi (4,138 km) |
Existed: | November 11, 1926 – present |
Western segment | |
Length: | 2,112 mi (3,399 km) |
West end: | I‑5 in Everett, WA |
Major junctions: |
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East end: | I‑75 in St. Ignace, MI |
Eastern segment | |
Length: | 460 mi (740 km) |
West end: | US 11 in Rouses Point, NY |
Major junctions: |
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East end: | I‑95 in Houlton, ME |
Location | |
States: | Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine |
Highway system | |
U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning 2,571 miles (4,138 km) across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, which are disconnected into segments because of encroaching Interstate Highways, the two portions of US 2 were designed to be separate in the original 1926 highway plan.
The western segment of US 2 has its western terminus at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) and State Route 529 (Maple Street) in Everett, Washington, and its eastern terminus at I-75 in St. Ignace, Michigan. The eastern segment of US 2 has its western terminus at US 11 in Rouses Point, New York and its eastern terminus at I-95 in Houlton, Maine.
As its number indicates, it is the northernmost east–west U.S. Route in the country. It is the lowest primary-numbered east–west U.S. Route, whose numbers otherwise end in zero, and was so numbered to avoid a US 0. Sections of US 2 in New England were once New England Route 15, part of the New England road marking system.
The western segment of US 2 extends from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan across the northern tier of the lower 48 states. Most of the western route was built roughly paralleling the Great Northern Railway. US 2 adopted the railway's route nickname "The Highline" as the most northern crossing in the U.S.