N2 (South Africa)

The N2, which is also known at this point as the Eastern Boulevard (now Nelson Mandela Boulevard), as it enters the City Bowl of Cape Town.

The N2 begins in central Cape Town at the northern end of Buitengracht Street outside the entrance to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. The first section of the N2 is shared with the beginning of the N1; it is a four-lane elevated freeway that runs along a strip of land between the city centre and the Port of Cape Town. On the eastern edge of the city centre the two roads split, and the N2 turns south as Nelson Mandela Boulevard, crossing above the yards and approach tracks of Cape Town railway station.

The N2 descends to ground level in Woodstock before approaching the major interchange known as "Hospital Bend" because of its proximity to Groote Schuur Hospital. In this interchange, the N2 and the M3 merge to form a massive 10-lane freeway before diverging again. Because Hospital Bend is built on a steeply sloping curve, and lane-changing is often necessary to travel through the intersection, it was notorious for congestion and accidents, until it was upgraded between 2008 and 2010.

After Hospital Bend the N2 turns east to travel across the Cape Flats as a 6-lane freeway to Somerset West; this section is known as Settler's Way. Along this route it crosses the M5, M7 and R300 freeways; it also travels just past the end of the main runway at Cape Town International Airport. It enters the Helderberg region where it passes through Somerset West and is reduced to an undivided highway, passing through several intersections with traffic lights, which cause frequent congestion. After Somerset West it bypasses Strand, Gordon's Bay and Sir Lowry's Pass Village. After Sir Lowry's Pass Village, the N2 climbs Sir Lowry's Pass to enter the Overberg region. It passes near the town of Grabouw on the Hottentots-Holland plateau before descending the Houwhoek Pass to Botrivier. After Botrivier it passes across the agricultural plains through the towns of Caledon, Riviersonderend, Swellendam and Riversdale to re-approach the coast at Mossel Bay, which marks the beginning of the Garden Route.

N2 Freeway between George and Mossel Bay

Just west of Mossel Bay the N2 again becomes a divided freeway, and remains one as far as the intersection with the N9/N12 just outside George. From there it travels across Kaaiman's Pass (see below) to Wilderness and on to Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. After Plettenberg Bay a section of the road is tolled as the Tsitsikamma Toll Route, primarily because of the Bloukrans Bridge; an alternative route used to run through Nature's Valley but this is no longer available due to flood damage.[3] The Bloukrans Bridge marks the border with the Eastern Cape and is the site of the world's highest bridge bungy, Bloukrans Bridge Bungy.[4]

Bloukrans Bridge

In the Eastern Cape the N2 passes as the Sunshine Coast Road near Humansdorp and Jeffrey's Bay before becoming a 4-lane divided freeway through the city of Port Elizabeth, ending at Colchester. The N2 continues in a north-easterly direction from Port Elizabeth, moving away from the coast towards Makhanda; en route the N10 splits from the N2, going northwards towards Middelburg and eventually Namibia. Those driving from Gauteng can join the N9 at Colesberg, and then the N10 at Middelburg.

After passing around Makhanda on a bypass, the N2 passes through the former Ciskei, passing through Peddie. At King William's Town it turns back towards the coast, meeting it at East London. The N2 passes around East London on a 4 lane dual carriageway bypass; it meets the N6 which runs northwards from East London towards Queenstown and Bloemfontein.

After East London, the N2 turns again towards the interior in a northeasterly direction to avoid the difficult terrain of the Wild Coast. It passes through the former Transkei and its former capital Mthatha. There are plans for the N2 to run as a 4 lane dual carriageway highway from Viedgesville to the Ngqeleni Village turn off, bypassing Mthatha to the south, as part of the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road. After passing Mthatha, the N2 passes through the towns of Qumbu, Mount Frere (KwaBhaca) and Mount Ayliff. Near Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal the N2 climbs Brook's Nek to enter the province of KwaZulu-Natal.[5]

At Kokstad the N2 meets the R56 from Matatiele and makes a hard right towards the coast. The R56 separates from the N2 at Stafford's Post, running in a northeasterly direction past Umzimkhulu, Ixopo and Richmond towards Pietermaritzburg. The R56 can be used as an alternative to avoid the toll plaza at Port Shepstone, and one can follow the R56 to Pietermaritzburg, and then using the N3 from Pietermaritzburg to Hillcrest, where one can use the M13 as an alternative to Durban. The N2 eventually meets the coast at Port Shepstone, and is tolled once again. This is also the point where the R61 ends, providing an alternative route to Mthatha through the Wild Coast and eventually Cape Town via Beaufort West and the N1. From Port Shepstone it runs as a freeway past the resort towns of the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, including Hibberdene, Ifafa Beach, Pennington, Park Rynie, Scottburgh, Umkomaas and Amanzimtoti, before passing on a 6-lane bypass around the city of Durban. At the Westville EB Cloete Interchange, the N2 meets the N3 which heads northwest toward Johannesburg. Major upgrades have been made to existing interchanges with the M19 Umgeni Road Interchange, the bridge over the Umgeni River and the M41 Mount Edgecombe/Umhlanga Interchange. Plans are also in place to upgrade the N2 between the Lovu River and Umdloti to a 6-lane highway between the Lovu River and Amanzimtoti, and an 8 to 10-lane highway between Amanzimtoti and Umdloti, with upgrades to the interchanges at Adams Road, Moss Kolnick Road, Prospection Road (R102), Higginson Highway (M1), Solomon Mahlangu Drive (M7), the N3 (EB Cloete) and Queen Nandi Drive (M43).

Newly upgraded Umgeni Interchange

Newly upgraded Mount Edgecombe Interchange

After Durban, the N2 runs as the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast Toll Road from King Shaka International Airport to Mtunzini, passing through Umhlanga, Ballito and Tongaat. The N2 runs close to King Shaka International Airport and a tolled off-ramp provides access to the airport. It is tolled twice before the freeway section ends at KwaDukuza (formerly Stanger), once at Tongaat and again before KwaDukuza. It then continues as a 4-lane single carriageway highway and passes through sugar cane plantations on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. It is tolled once again, and for the final time at Mtunzini and meets the R34 which provides access to Richards Bay to the east and Empangeni and Ulundi to the west. The 34 km stretch of the N2 between Mtunzini and Empangeni has been upgraded to a 4-lane dual carriageway. After Richards Bay, the N2 turns north, moving away from the coast into the heart of Zululand, where it bypasses Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park to the west and runs past the town of Mkuze before running close to the border of Eswatini, passing the town of Pongola.

After leaving Pongola, the N2 makes a direct line for Piet Retief and meets the R33 that links Piet Retief and Pietermaritzburg via Vryheid which is 370 kilometres away. It then heads for Ermelo where it eventually terminates where it meets the N11 at the corner of Voortrekkerlaan and De Emigratie Street in the town centre, just south of the N11's intersection with the N17.

The total length of the road is 2255 kilometres.