US 2 runs through the Upper Peninsula (UP) in two segments, entering the state at Ironwood and ending at St. Ignace; in between, US 2 briefly traverses the state of Wisconsin. As one of the major transportation arteries in the UP, US 2 is a major conduit for traffic through the state. Two sections of the roadway are included as part of the Great Lakes Circle Tours. The highway runs through rural sections of the UP, passing through two national and two state forests in the process. The route of what became US 2 was used as part of two Indian trails before European settlers came to the UP, and as part of two auto trails in the early 20th century. The highway was originally M‑12 when system was first signed in 1919. Most of M‑12 was redesignated as part of US 2 when the US Highway System was created in 1926. Since the 1930s, several changes have reshaped the highway's routing through the UP, including reroutings that pushed an originally inland alignment closer to the Lake Michigan shoreline. With the creation of the Interstate Highway System, part of US 2 was rerouted to coincide with the new I‑75, before US 2 was truncated to its present form in the 1980s. ( more...)
US 2 runs through the Upper Peninsula (UP) in two segments, entering the state at Ironwood and ending at St. Ignace; in between, US 2 briefly traverses the state of Wisconsin. As one of the major transportation arteries in the UP, US 2 is a major conduit for traffic through the state. Two sections of the roadway are included as part of the Great Lakes Circle Tours. The highway runs through rural sections of the UP, passing through two national and two state forests in the process. The route of what became US 2 was used as part of two Indian trails before European settlers came to the UP, and as part of two auto trails in the early 20th century. The highway was originally M‑12 when system was first signed in 1919. Most of M‑12 was redesignated as part of US 2 when the US Highway System was created in 1926. Since the 1930s, several changes have reshaped the highway's routing through the UP, including reroutings that pushed an originally inland alignment closer to the Lake Michigan shoreline. With the creation of the Interstate Highway System, part of US 2 was rerouted to coincide with the new I‑75, before US 2 was truncated to its present form in the 1980s. ( more...)