U.S. Route 2
U.S. Numbered Highway in the United States, with two disconnected sections
U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway spanning 2,571 miles (4,138 km) across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments on either side of a portion of 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 begins at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) and State Route 529 (Maple Street) in Everett, Washington, and ends at I-75 in St. Ignace, Michigan. The eastern segment of US 2 begins at US 11 in Rouses Point, New York, and ends at I-95 in Houlton, Maine.
As its number indicates, it is the northernmost east–west U.S. Highway in the country. It is the lowest primary-numbered east–west U.S. Highway, 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.
Route description
Western segment
The western segment of US 2 extends west from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan across the northern tier of the lower 48 states.
The public source identifies “U.S. Route 2” as u.S. Numbered Highway in the United States, with two disconnected sections. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Route, Numbered and Highway.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “U.S. Route 2”, the useful work is to connect “u.S. Numbered Highway in the United States, with two disconnected sections” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q406224. VIAF identifies the subject as 315528207. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1926.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
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- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “U.S. Route 2” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.