U.S. Route 2 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is a 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.

U.S. Highway 2
U.S. 2 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length	264.07 mi[1] (424.98 km)
Existed	November 11, 1926[2]–present
Major junctions
West end	US 2 at the North Dakota state line
	MN 220 at East Grand Forks US 75 at Crookston US 59 at Erskine MN 92 at Bagley US 71 at Bemidji MN 371 at Cass Lake US 169 at Grand Rapids MN 33 at Saginaw MN 194 at Solway Township I-35 at Duluth
East end	US 2 at the Wisconsin state line
Location
Counties	Polk, Clearwater, Beltrami, Hubbard, Cass, Itasca, Aitkin, St. Louis
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate U.S. State Legislative routes ← MN 1 → MN 3

Of the 264 miles (425 km) of U.S. 2 in Minnesota, 146 miles (235 km) have four lanes, mostly located in the northwest part of the state.

Route description

US 2 enters the state from the west at the city of East Grand Forks, at the Red River. From the North Dakota state line to Cass Lake, US 2 is a four lane divided highway for 146 miles (235 km). This expressway portion of US 2 in northwest Minnesota passes through the cities of East Grand Forks, Crookston, Erskine, Fosston, Bagley, Bemidji, and Cass Lake. The portion of US 2 from Bemidji to Cass Lake is officially designated the Paul Bunyan Expressway.

After Cass Lake, US 2 continues east as a two lane roadway for 40 miles to Deer River. East of Deer River, US 2 is a four lane divided highway for seven miles (11 km) until the city of Grand Rapids, where it has a junction with US 169. US 2 then heads southeast as a two lane roadway for 59 miles (95 km) to the unincorporated area of Saginaw, where it has an interchange with State Highway 33 (MN 33). The route then continues east for two miles to its intersection with MN 194 at Solway Township. US 2 then continues southeast for 12 miles (19 km) 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). The route enters the city limits of Duluth, where it has a junction with Interstate 35 (I-35), US 2 joins that route's freeway. US 2 is concurrent with I-35 for two miles (3.2 km) in West Duluth, proceeding down Thompson Hill. US 2 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. US 2 then follows Belknap Street in Superior.

Legally, the Minnesota section of US 2 is defined as Constitutional Route 8 and Legislative Route 106 in the Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.114(2) and 161.115(134). The route is not marked with those numbers.

History

U.S. Highway 2 in Minnesota was authorized on November 11, 1926.[2] It followed the route of old state Trunk Highway 8 in its entirety. At the time it was marked, it was paved along a short concurrency with U.S. Route 75 north of Crookston and from its junction with then-Trunk Highway 11 (present-day U.S. 53) through Duluth. The remainder was graveled or graded, except for a section west of Bagley which was simply a maintained dirt surface.[3]

The route in Minnesota was completely paved in 1939. The last segment to be completed was between then-State Highway 94 (now Highway 194) at Solway Township and the community of Adolph.[4][5]

A few short (four-lane) divided highway segments of US 2 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 miles per hour (105 km/h) speed limit. The highway from Bemidji to Cass Lake was designated the Paul Bunyan Expressway in 1991. That designation originally extended down Trunk Highway 371 to Little Falls, but that section was repealed in 2005.[6]

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

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Red River of the North		0.000	0.000	US 2 west (Gateway Drive NW) – Grand Forks	Continuation into North Dakota
				North Dakota–Minnesota state line
Polk	East Grand Forks	0.830	1.336	MN 220 north (Central Avenue NW) – Alvarado	Western end of MN 220 overlap
		4.393	7.070	US 2 Bus. west – East Grand Forks Business District
	Huntsville Township	5.625	9.053	MN 220 south – Climax	Eastern end of MN 220 overlap
	Lowell Township	23.489	37.802	US 75 south – Moorhead	Western end of US 75 overlap
		24.365	39.212	US 75 north – Warren	Eastern end of US 75 overlap
	Fairfax Township	28.934	46.565	MN 9 south – Ada, Fertile
	Grove Park-Tilden Township	43.038	69.263	MN 32 – Fertile, Red Lake Falls
	Knute Township	58.197	93.659	US 59 – Mahnomen, Thief River Falls	Interchange
Clearwater	Bagley	88.349	142.184	MN 92 (Main Avenue) – Itasca State Park, Clearbrook
Beltrami	Eckles Township	108.149	174.049	MN 89 north – Red Lake, Roseau	Interchange; Southern terminus of MN 89
	Bemidji Township	110.758– 110.827	178.248– 178.359	MN 197 south – Bemidji	Interchange; Northern terminus of MN 197
	Bemidji	111.905– 112.118	180.094– 180.436	US 71 north – International Falls	Interchange; Eastern end of US 71 overlap
	Bemidji Township	115.349– 115.387	185.636– 185.697	Mississippi River
		116.905	188.140	US 71 south / MN 197 north – Park Rapids, Bemidji	Interchange; Western end of US 71 overlap; Southern terminus of MN 197
Hubbard	No major junctions
Cass	Cass Lake	129.982	209.186	MN 371 south – Walker
Mississippi River		160.939– 160.971	259.006– 259.058
Itasca	Morse Township	168.032	270.421	MN 46 north – Northome
	Deer River	169.051	272.061	MN 6 north – Big Falls	Western end of MN 6 overlap
	Deer Lake	174.550	280.911	MN 6 south – Remer	Eastern end of MN 6 overlap
	Grand Rapids	183.479	295.281	MN 38 north – Bigfork, Effie
		183.698	295.633	US 169 south – Aitkin	Western end of US 169 overlap
		184.130	296.329	US 169 north – Hibbing	Eastern end of US 169 overlap
	Swan River	203.049	326.776	MN 65 – McGregor, Nashwauk
Aitkin	Northeast Aitkin	211.261	339.992	MN 200 west – Hill City
St. Louis	Floodwood	220.754	355.269	MN 73 north – Hibbing	Eastern end of MN 73 overlap
	Floodwood Township	221.028	355.710	MN 73 south – Cromwell, Moose Lake	Western end of MN 73 overlap
	Stoney Brook Township	239.099– 239.259	384.793– 385.050	Saint Louis River
	Brevator Township	244.837	394.027	MN 33 – Cloquet, Canyon
	Solway Township	246.786	397.164	MN 194 east – Hermantown
	Duluth	260.579	419.361	I-35 south – St. Paul, Minneapolis	Western end of I-35 overlap, exit 250
		261.141– 261.307	420.266– 420.533	Cody Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only, exit 251A
		261.966	421.593	MN 23 (Grand Avenue)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance, exit 251B
		262.331	422.181	Central Avenue	Exit 252
		263.085	423.394	I-35 north / LSCT north – Duluth	Eastern end of I-35 overlap, exit 253A
Saint Louis Bay		264.089	425.010	Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge; Minnesota–Wisconsin state line
				US 2 east / LSCT – Superior	Continuation into Wisconsin
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

1. "Statewide Trunk Logpoint Listing" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
2. Weingroff, Richard F. (January 9, 2009). "From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
3. Map of Trunk Highway System, State of Minnesota (Map). Cartography by McGill-Warner Co. Minnesota Highway Department. June 1, 1927. § A6-P11. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
4. 1939 Map of Minnesota Trunk Highway System (Map). Minnesota Highway Department. May 1, 1939. § O10. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
5. 1940 Map of Minnesota Trunk Highway System (Map). Minnesota Highway Department. January 1, 1940. § O10. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
6. "Transportation Policy". Article 3, HF No. 140 of July 14, 2005. Minnesota Legislature. Retrieved October 30, 2020.

External links

• Highway 2 at the Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page