End of US highway 2 (western segment) |
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Summa
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Summa
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1926-1948
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1948-1984
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1984-present
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An original 1926 route, the western segment of US 2 formerly continued north from St. Ignace, roughly along today's I-75, to the Canada border at Sault Ste. Marie:
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c. 1939, Rand McNally
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Today I-75 skirts the west side of town, but Business Spur I-75 connects with Mackinac Trail / Ashmun Street, which historically carried US 2. At Portage Avenue traffic was directed east, as shown on this historic map:
c. 1933, Michigan DoT
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Today the area around US 2's original terminus has changed quite a bit, and from ground level it is hard to get a feel for how things were, but one can get a great overview of the area from the nearby Tower of History, as seen here:
Elliott, Aug. 2016
The view is to the east; the road at lower right is Portage. Just past the ice arena (with the curved roof) is Johnston Street, where US 2 turned left. The next block is Water Street; right where the ore ship is docked (actually a museum now), US 2 turned right into what is now a parking area. Historically that was where people could catch the ferry that went to Sault Ste. Marie Ontario, so that is where the US 2 designation ended.
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When I-75 was opened to traffic in 1962, US 2 traffic was rerouted onto the interstate, and then its east terminus was where I-75 enters Canada. Here is a scan from an old postcard, showing the "End" signage that was formerly posted there:
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In 1984, the east end of the US 2 was truncated to its current terminus in St. Ignace.
Originally US 2 went only as far west as Bonners Ferry ID. There is some question as to the original route of US 2 between Bonners and Moyie Springs, and therefore the location of its junction with US 95 as well...
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c. 1927, Rand McNally
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c. 1927, Rand McNally
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...but the answer may not be relevant to the endpoint of US 2, because according to this Boundary County census map, US 2 did not end at its junction with US 95, but instead overlapped with it into Bonners Ferry:
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c. 1937
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At the time, US 95 used Main Street all the way through town. So it is possible that the US 2 designation ended on Main near the courthouse, but that is only speculation.
In 1948 the west end of US 2 was extended to Everett WA. That was right about the time that US 99 was re-routed such that it used Broadway through most of town (instead of Rucker), so US 2 would have begun there: |
c. 1953, USGS
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Here is modern signage posted on northbound Broadway at Hewitt Avenue:
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Elbert, Feb. 2005
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Everett's original west beginning of US 2 was to the right. But after I-5 was built and US 99 was decommissioned, US 2's western terminus became a little less well-defined. Heading westbound, there is no "End" sign, but this photo shows the last US 2 sign on the road:
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Wiley, 2000
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Going that direction, WSDoT makes it look like US 2 ends at its junction with I-5:
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Elbert, Feb. 2005
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However, the US 2 designation officially continues ahead via the roadway signed "Everett", a bit past the southbound I-5 onramp. This winds up on California Street, and US 2 ends at its junction with Maple Street (which is designated as WA hwy. 529). That intersection is shown here:
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Field/Nitzman, Aug. 2006
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The sign ahead says "Residential Street - Speed Limit 25". Eastbound US 2 uses Hewitt, which is one block to the south (left). So if a driver turns left from there, they will see the sign shown in this next photo:
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Wiley, 2000
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That was on southbound Maple at Hewitt. The overhead sign is still there, as is the one just visible at far left; here are some close-ups:
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Elbert, Feb. 2005
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Elbert, Feb. 2005
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These next photos were taken looking the opposite direction (north on Maple at Hewitt):
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Wiley, 2000
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Elbert, Feb. 2005
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When a driver turns that direction, the view under the I-5 overpass used to look like this:
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SRweb
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Note how Hewitt used to head due east to an elevated portion which joined US 2 traffic coming from I-5. That is no longer the case:
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Elbert, Feb. 2005 (same as of 2019)
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Hewitt is now just a surface road ahead. US 2 traffic is directed to turn left (as the red car in the middleground is doing). That merges with I-5 traffic and then curves back to join the US 2 bridge over the Snohomish River (visible in the distance). The first eastbound confirming marker is posted on that bridge:
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Elbert, Feb. 2005
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Research and/or photo credits: Mark Bozanich, Chris Elbert; William Elliott; Andy Field; Alex Nitzman; Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa; Gary Voshol; Mike Wiley
Page originally created 2000;
last updated Oct. 6, 2019.
last updated Oct. 6, 2019.
