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. 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 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 to the unincorporated area of Saginaw, where it has an interchange with State Highway 33. The route then continues east for two miles to its intersection with MN 194 at Solway Township. US 2 then continues southeast for 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. The route enters the city limits of Duluth, where it has a junction with Interstate 35, US 2 joins that route's freeway. US 2 is concurrent with I-35 for two miles 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 and 161.115. The route is not marked with those numbers.
History
U.S. Highway 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 U.S. Route 75 north of Crookston and from its junction with then-Trunk Highway 11 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 at Solway Township and the community of Adolph. A few short 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 speed limit. 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 speed limit.
