U.S. Route 2 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) 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 mi of US 2 in Minnesota, 146 mi 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 Crookston, US 2 is a four-lane divided highway built to expressway standards for 26 mi. Upon entering Crookston, US 2 follows the city streets of North Main, North Broadway, and East Robert streets.

Once US 2 leaves Crookston, it becomes a four-lane divided highway built to expressway standards for 83 mi. This expressway portion of US 2 in northwest Minnesota passes through the cities of Mentor, Erskine, Fosston, Bagley, and the west of Bemidji.

After the Minnesota State Highway 197 (MN 197) interchange, US 2 becomes a four-lane freeway for 9 mi as it bypasses Bemidji. US 71 joins the freeway after 1.5 mi and runs concurrently with US 2 for 4.5 mi. The freeway crosses the Mississippi River after 115 mi.

The freeway ends at an at-grade junction with Animal Land Drive south of Bemidji. US 2 continues as a four-lane divided highway built to expressway standards for 12 mi to 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 mi to Deer River. East of Deer River, US 2 is a four-lane divided highway for 7 mi until the city of Grand Rapids, where it has a junction with US 169. US 2 then heads southeasterly as a two-lane roadway for 59 mi to the unincorporated area of Saginaw, where it has an interchange with MN 33. The route then continues east for 2 mi to its intersection with MN 194 at Solway Township. US 2 then continues southeasterly for 12 mi 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 [CR 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 runs concurrently with I-35 for 2 mi 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
US 2 in Minnesota was authorized on November 11, 1926. 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 US 75 north of Crookston and from its junction with then-Trunk Highway 11 (present-day US 53) 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 Highway 94 (now MN 194) at Solway Township and the community of Adolph.

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 mph speed limit. The highway from Bemidji to Cass Lake was designated the Paul Bunyan Expressway in 1991. That designation originally extended down MN 371 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 mph speed limit.