Nebraska Highway 2 (N-2) is a state highway in Nebraska consisting of two discontinuous segments. The western segment begins at the South Dakota border northwest of Crawford and ends southeast of Grand Island at an intersection with Interstate 80 (I-80). The eastern segment begins in Lincoln and ends at the Iowa border at Nebraska City. Previously, the two segments were connected via a route shared with U.S. Highway 34 (US 34) between Grand Island and Lincoln.
N-2 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by NDOT | ||||
Length | 422.75 mi[1] (680.35 km) | |||
Western segment | ||||
Length | 370.88 mi[1] (596.87 km) | |||
West end | ![]() ![]() | |||
Major intersections | ||||
East end | ![]() | |||
Eastern segment | ||||
Length | 51.87 mi[1] (83.48 km) | |||
West end | ![]() | |||
Major intersections |
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East end | ![]() | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Nebraska | |||
Counties | Western segment: Sioux, Dawes, Box Butte, Sheridan, Grant, Hooker, Thomas, Blaine, Custer, Sherman, Buffalo, Hall, Hamilton Eastern segment: Lancaster, Otoe | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Route description
editWestern segment
editThe western segment of N-2 begins at the South Dakota border north of Crawford in a concurrency with N-71. The road goes east, southeast, and then south into Crawford. In Crawford, there is a concurrency with US 20. N-2 and N-71 both continue south from Crawford through Marsland, Nebraska. The two highways split west of Hemingford, Nebraska and N-2 turns east towards Hemingford. At Hemingford, N-2 turns southeast towards Alliance. At Berea, N-2 meets US 385 and the two overlap into Alliance.[1][2]
At Alliance, N-2 goes east into the Sand Hills. It goes through several small towns, including Hyannis, Mullen and Thedford. In Thedford, N-2 briefly overlaps US 83. East of Thedford, near Halsey, is the Nebraska National Forest. At Dunning, N-2 intersects N-91 and turns southeasterly towards Broken Bow and Grand Island.[1][2]
After turning southeasterly at Dunning, N-2 meets N-92 in Merna. The two highways overlap through Broken Bow and separate when they meet US 183 in Ansley. N-2 meets N-10 in Hazard, N-68 in Ravenna and N-11 in Cairo. On the northwest edge of Grand Island, N-2 becomes a four-lane divided highway and then encounters US 281. N-2 then follows US 281 along the western edge of Grand Island until it meets US 34 and then those two routes overlap through the southern edge of Grand Island. N-2 and US 34 cross the Platte River and shortly thereafter, they separate and N-2 turns south towards Interstate 80 (I-80). At I-80, the western segment of N-2 ends.[1][2]
Eastern segment
editThe eastern segment of N-2 begins as the Lincoln South Beltway, a freeway south of Lincoln, at a semi-directional T interchange with US 77. Passing by Lincoln to the south, N-2 becomes a four-lane divided highway following a diamond interchange with Nebraska Parkway, its former alignment through the city, southeast of it. It soon encounters several small towns and highways. It meets N-43 north of Bennet and overlaps it for 5 miles (8.0 km), until shortly before Palmyra. Near Syracuse, there is a bypass of that community and there is a freeway exit for N-50. It continues east and near Nebraska City, it meets US 75 and the two highways are together briefly until the southern edge of Nebraska City. Also at this intersection, N-2 Business begins and goes through Nebraska City. After they separate, N-2 heads east and then northeast, meets the eastern end of N-2 Business and crosses the Missouri River over the Nebraska City Bridge and enters Iowa. In Iowa, the highway continues as Iowa Highway 2.[1][3]
The eastern segment of N-2 serves as part of a connecting route, along with US 77, between I-29 in Iowa and I-80 in Lincoln. It allows traffic coming from Kansas City, Missouri to go to Lincoln and points west of Lincoln to bypass Omaha. To better facilitate this link between I-80 and I-29, in February 2020, the Nebraska DOT began a major project to construct the Lincoln South Beltway to carry N-2. This modern divided and controlled access freeway will give a direct route from 120th Street to US 77 near Saltillo. Construction was planned for completion in 2023.[4] The beltway opened to traffic on December 14, 2022, six months ahead of expected in May 2023. However, the interchanges at Bennet Road-Jamaica Avenue and 82nd Street-84th Street are not expected to open until May 2024.[5]
The eastern segment of Nebraska Highway 2 has the commemorative name of Jerome and Betty Warner Memorial Highway. The portion of the highway east of the west U.S. 75 junction to the Nebraska City Bridge in the Nebraska City area is known as the J. Sterling Morton Beltway, in honor of the creator of Arbor Day and the former Secretary of Agriculture.
Major intersections
editAll exits are unnumbered.
County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nebraska–South Dakota line | 0.000 | 0.000 | SD 71 north – Ardmore | Sioux–Fall River county line; western end of N-71 overlap; continuation into South Dakota | |||
Dawes | Crawford | 28.47 | 45.82 | US 20 east – Fort Robinson, Harrison | Western end of US 20 overlap | ||
29.33 | 47.20 | US 20 west (McPherson Street) – Chadron | Eastern end of US 20 overlap | ||||
Box Butte | Dorsey Precinct | 55.17 | 88.79 | N-71 south (Dodge Road) – Scottsbluff | Eastern end of N-71 overlap | ||
Hemingford | 67.32 | 108.34 | L-7E east – Chadron | ||||
Berea | 77.48 | 124.69 | US 385 north – Chadron | Western end of US 385 overlap | |||
Alliance | 85.41 | 137.45 | US 385 south (County Road 61) – Bridgeport | Eastern end of US 385 overlap | |||
87.45 | 140.74 | N-87 north (Flack Avenue) – Hay Springs | |||||
Sheridan | Lakeside | 110.42 | 177.70 | N-250 north – Rushville | |||
Ellsworth | 118.12 | 190.10 | N-27 north (Sheridan Road) – Gordon | ||||
Grant | Hyannis | 145.61 | 234.34 | N-61 north – Merriman | Western end of N-61 overlap | ||
147.32 | 237.09 | N-61 south – Arthur | Eastern end of N-61 overlap | ||||
Hooker | Mullen | 184.81 | 297.42 | N-97 – Valentine, Tryon | |||
Thomas | Seneca | 196.02 | 315.46 | S-86A north (Athens Street) | |||
Thedford | 210.79 | 339.23 | US 83 south – Stapleton, North Platte | Western end of US 83 overlap | |||
212.31 | 341.68 | US 83 north – Valentine | Eastern end of US 83 overlap | ||||
Natick Pricinct | 226.08 | 363.84 | S-86B south | ||||
Blaine | Dunning | 237.61 | 382.40 | N-91 east – Brewster | |||
237.97 | 382.98 | S-5A west (Jewett Avenue) | |||||
Custer | Anselmo | 258.37 | 415.81 | S-21A east (Smith Avenue) | |||
Merna | 269.39 | 433.54 | N-92 west – Stapleton, North Platte | Western end of N-92 overlap | |||
Broken Bow | 278.66 | 448.46 | N-21 south (8th Avenue) – Lexington | ||||
279.83 | 450.34 | N-70 east – Ord | |||||
Ansley | 295.31 | 475.26 | US 183 north / N-92 east – Loup City, Sargent | Eastern end of N-92 overlap; western end of US 183 overlap | |||
295.80 | 476.04 | US 183 south – Miller, Holdrege | Eastern end of US 183 overlap | ||||
Sherman | Harrison Precinct | 316.59 | 509.50 | N-10 – Loup City, Kearney | |||
Hazard | 316.75 | 509.76 | 777 Road to N-10 – Kearney | ||||
Buffalo | Garfield Township | 327.44 | 526.96 | N-68 east (Ravenna Road) – Ravenna | |||
Hall | Cairo | 343.65 | 553.05 | N-11 – Dannebrog, Wood River | |||
Grand Island | 356.00 | 572.93 | US 281 north / Alt. Truck Route to US 30 | Interchange; western end of US 281 overlap; serves Central Nebraska Regional Airport | |||
358.75 | 577.35 | US 30 – Kearney, Downtown | Interchange | ||||
359.78 | 579.01 | US 34 west / US 281 south (Tom Osborne Expressway) to I-80 – Hastings | Eastern end of US 281 overlap; western end of US 34 overlap | ||||
Merrick | Platte River | 365.45 | 588.13 | Bridge | |||
Hamilton | Precinct 5 | 367.31 | 591.13 | US 34 east – Aurora | Eastern end of US 34 overlap | ||
Precinct 5–Precinct 2 line | 370.75– 370.88 | 596.66– 596.87 | I-80 – Lincoln, Kearney | Eastern end of state maintenance; exit 318 on I-80 | |||
Gap in route | |||||||
Lancaster | Yankee Hill–Centerville precinct line | US 77 north (Homestead Expressway) to I-80 | Western end of state maintenance; west end of freeway; semi-directional T interchange, opened to traffic on December 14, 2022[5] | ||||
Centerville Precinct | US 77 south / Saltillo Road – Beatrice | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; semi-directional T interchange, opened to traffic on December 14, 2022[5] | |||||
Saltillo Precinct | Jamaica Avenue / Bennet Road | Dogbone interchange, expected to open in May 2024[5] | |||||
68th Street / 70th Street | Dogbone interchange, opened to traffic on December 14, 2022[5] | ||||||
82nd Street / 84th Street | Parclo AB2 interchange, expected to open in May 2024[5] | ||||||
Grant–Stockton precinct line | Nebraska Parkway – Lincoln 120th Street | Diamond interchange; east end of freeway; Nebraska Pkwy. is former N-2 west, opened to traffic on December 14, 2022[5] | |||||
Stockton Precinct | 466.40 | 750.60 | N-43 south – Bennet | Western end of N-43 overlap; interchange | |||
Otoe | North Palmyra Precinct | 471.66 | 759.06 | N-43 north (County Road 6) – Eagle | Eastern end of N-43 overlap | ||
Palmyra | 472.69 | 760.72 | S-66A south (A Street) – Douglas | ||||
Syracuse Precinct | 484.71 | 780.07 | N-50 (30th Road) – Syracuse | Interchange | |||
Delaware Precinct | 492.63 | 792.81 | N-67 (46th Road) | ||||
Belmont–Four Mile precinct line | 499.31– 499.85 | 803.56– 804.43 | US 75 north (Lewis and Clark Trail north) / N-2 Bus. east (4th Corso) – Omaha, Nebraska City | Interchange; western end of US 75/LCT overlap | |||
Nebraska City | 501.93 | 807.78 | US 75 south / Lewis and Clark Trail south (64th Road) / US 75 Bus. north (11th Street) – Nebraska City, Auburn | Interchange; eastern end of US 75/LCT overlap | |||
Four Mile Precinct | 503.69 | 810.61 | N-2 Bus. west (4th Corso) | ||||
Missouri River | 503.97 | 811.06 | Nebraska City Bridge; Nebraska–Iowa line | ||||
Iowa 2 east to I-29 – Iowa | Continuation into Iowa | ||||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
Nebraska City business route
edit4th Corso | |
Location | Nebraska City, Nebraska |
Length | 4.4 mi[6] (7.1 km) |
Nebraska Highway 2 Business (N-2 Bus.) is a 4.4-mile (7.1 km) business loop of N-2 travelling through Nebraska City. Locally, the highway is also known as 4th Corso.
The entire route is in Otoe County.
Location | mi[6] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belmont–Four Mile precinct line | 0.00– 0.7 | 0.00– 1.1 | N-2 west – Lincoln US 75 / N-2 east (Lewis and Clark Trail) | Interchange; western terminus | |
Nebraska City | 2.8 | 4.5 | US 75 Bus. (11th Street) | Serves CHI Health St. Mary's Hospital | |
Four Mile Precinct | 4.4 | 7.1 | N-2 | Eastern terminus; road continues south as Valmont Drive (67 Road) | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "Nebraska Highway Reference Log Book" (PDF). Nebraska Department of Roads. 2015. pp. 2–10. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
- ^ a b c "overview of Nebraska Highway 2 western segment" (Map). Google Maps. Google. November 10, 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
- ^ "overview of Nebraska Highway 2 eastern segment" (Map). Google Maps. Google. November 10, 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
- ^ "Lincoln South Beltway — Nebraska Department of Transportation".
- ^ a b c d e f g Wegley, Andrew (December 14, 2022). "Decades in the making, Lincoln South Beltway opens to traffic". Lincoln Journal Star. Ava Thomas. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- ^ a b "Overview map of N-2 Business" (Map). Google Maps. Google. April 1, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.