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.

State Highway 2 marker
State Highway 2
Map
N-2 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NDOT
Length422.75 mi[1] (680.35 km)
Western segment
Length370.88 mi[1] (596.87 km)
West end N-71 / SD 71 north of Crawford
Major intersections
East end I-80 southeast of Grand Island
Eastern segment
Length51.87 mi[1] (83.48 km)
West end US 77 south of Lincoln
Major intersections
East end Iowa 2 at Missouri River in Nebraska City
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNebraska
CountiesWestern segment: Sioux, Dawes, Box Butte, Sheridan, Grant, Hooker, Thomas, Blaine, Custer, Sherman, Buffalo, Hall, Hamilton
Eastern segment: Lancaster, Otoe
Highway system
N-1 N-4

Route description

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Western segment

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The 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

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The 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

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All exits are unnumbered.

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
NebraskaSouth Dakota line0.0000.000 
 
SD 71 north – Ardmore
SiouxFall River county line; western end of N-71 overlap; continuation into South Dakota
DawesCrawford28.4745.82 
 
US 20 east – Fort Robinson, Harrison
Western end of US 20 overlap
29.3347.20 
 
US 20 west (McPherson Street) – Chadron
Eastern end of US 20 overlap
Box ButteDorsey Precinct55.1788.79 
 
N-71 south (Dodge Road) – Scottsbluff
Eastern end of N-71 overlap
Hemingford67.32108.34 
 
L-7E east – Chadron
Berea77.48124.69 
 
US 385 north – Chadron
Western end of US 385 overlap
Alliance85.41137.45 
 
US 385 south (County Road 61) – Bridgeport
Eastern end of US 385 overlap
87.45140.74 
 
N-87 north (Flack Avenue) – Hay Springs
SheridanLakeside110.42177.70 
 
N-250 north – Rushville
Ellsworth118.12190.10 
 
N-27 north (Sheridan Road) – Gordon
GrantHyannis145.61234.34 
 
N-61 north – Merriman
Western end of N-61 overlap
147.32237.09 
 
N-61 south – Arthur
Eastern end of N-61 overlap
HookerMullen184.81297.42  N-97 – Valentine, Tryon
ThomasSeneca196.02315.46 
 
S-86A north (Athens Street)
Thedford210.79339.23 
 
US 83 south – Stapleton, North Platte
Western end of US 83 overlap
212.31341.68 
 
US 83 north – Valentine
Eastern end of US 83 overlap
Natick Pricinct226.08363.84 
 
S-86B south
BlaineDunning237.61382.40 
 
N-91 east – Brewster
237.97382.98 
 
S-5A west (Jewett Avenue)
CusterAnselmo258.37415.81 
 
S-21A east (Smith Avenue)
Merna269.39433.54 
 
N-92 west – Stapleton, North Platte
Western end of N-92 overlap
Broken Bow278.66448.46 
 
N-21 south (8th Avenue) – Lexington
279.83450.34 
 
N-70 east – Ord
Ansley295.31475.26 
 
 
 
US 183 north / N-92 east – Loup City, Sargent
Eastern end of N-92 overlap; western end of US 183 overlap
295.80476.04 
 
US 183 south – Miller, Holdrege
Eastern end of US 183 overlap
ShermanHarrison Precinct316.59509.50  N-10 – Loup City, Kearney
Hazard316.75509.76 
 
777 Road to N-10 – Kearney
BuffaloGarfield Township327.44526.96 
 
N-68 east (Ravenna Road) – Ravenna
HallCairo343.65553.05  N-11 – Dannebrog, Wood River
Grand Island356.00572.93 
 
 
 
  US 281 north / Alt. Truck Route to US 30
Interchange; western end of US 281 overlap; serves Central Nebraska Regional Airport
358.75577.35  US 30 – Kearney, DowntownInterchange
359.78579.01 
 
 
 
 
 
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
MerrickPlatte River365.45588.13Bridge
HamiltonPrecinct 5367.31591.13 
 
US 34 east – Aurora
Eastern end of US 34 overlap
Precinct 5Precinct 2 line370.75–
370.88
596.66–
596.87
  I-80 – Lincoln, KearneyEastern end of state maintenance; exit 318 on I-80
Gap in route
LancasterYankee HillCenterville 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 PrecinctJamaica Avenue / Bennet RoadDogbone interchange, expected to open in May 2024[5]
68th Street / 70th StreetDogbone interchange, opened to traffic on December 14, 2022[5]
82nd Street / 84th StreetParclo AB2 interchange, expected to open in May 2024[5]
GrantStockton precinct lineNebraska 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 Precinct466.40750.60 
 
N-43 south – Bennet
Western end of N-43 overlap; interchange
OtoeNorth Palmyra Precinct471.66759.06 
 
N-43 north (County Road 6) – Eagle
Eastern end of N-43 overlap
Palmyra472.69760.72 
 
S-66A south (A Street) – Douglas
Syracuse Precinct484.71780.07  N-50 (30th Road) – SyracuseInterchange
Delaware Precinct492.63792.81  N-67 (46th Road)
BelmontFour Mile precinct line499.31–
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 City501.93807.78 
 
 
 
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 Precinct503.69810.61 
 
 
N-2 Bus. west (4th Corso)
Missouri River503.97811.06Nebraska City Bridge; NebraskaIowa 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

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State Highway 2 Business
4th Corso
LocationNebraska City, Nebraska
Length4.4 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.

Locationmi[6]kmDestinationsNotes
BelmontFour Mile precinct line0.00–
0.7
0.00–
1.1
 
 
N-2 west – Lincoln
  
 
US 75 / N-2 east (Lewis and Clark Trail)
Interchange; western terminus
Nebraska City2.84.5 
 
  US 75 Bus. (11th Street)
Serves CHI Health St. Mary's Hospital
Four Mile Precinct4.47.1  N-2Eastern terminus; road continues south as Valmont Drive (67 Road)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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  U.S. Roads portal

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b c "overview of Nebraska Highway 2 western segment" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  3. ^ "overview of Nebraska Highway 2 eastern segment" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  4. ^ "Lincoln South Beltway — Nebraska Department of Transportation".
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b "Overview map of N-2 Business" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
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