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 the Michigan segments of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway and the King 's International Highway auto trails in the early 20th century . The state later included these trails as part of M ‑ 12 when the first state highway trunklines were designated in 1919 . Most of M ‑ 12 was redesignated as part of US 2 when the US Highway System was created on November 11 , 1926 . Since the 1930s , several changes have reshaped the highway 's routing through the UP . One such alteration eventually created a business loop that connected across the state line with Hurley , Wisconsin , and others pushed an originally inland routing of US 2 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 Interstate 75 ( I ‑ 75 ) , though in the 1980s , the U.S. Highway was truncated and removed from the I ‑ 75 freeway , resulting in today 's basic form .