The A2 highway is a road in

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

running from the

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n border at

Buitepos Buitepos () is a small settlement in the Omaheke Region in eastern Namibia. It is situated on the national road B6 road (Namibia), B6 which is part of the Trans-Kalahari Highway, and a border post between Namibia and Botswana. The proposed Trans- ...

through

Jwaneng Jwaneng is a town located in the Southern District of Botswana, but it is not part of this, being a separate district, with its own Town Council. History The town was formed around the Jwaneng diamond mine, considered the richest in the world ...

, Kanye and

Lobatse Lobatse is a town in south-eastern Botswana, 70 kilometres south of the capital Gaborone, situated in a valley running north towards Gaborone and close to the border with South Africa. Lobatse has a population of 29,772 as of 2022. The town is ...

to the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n border at Pioneer Gate, thus connecting 3 countries. The A2 is a major component of the

Trans-Kalahari Corridor The Trans-Kalahari Corridor is a paved highway corridor that provides a direct route from the port of Walvis Bay and Windhoek in central Namibia, through Botswana, to Pretoria in Gauteng province in South Africa. It initially cost approximately 8 ...

, which is a highway corridor that provides a direct route from

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

to central Namibia, in particular to

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

and the port of

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay (; ; ) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the List of cities in Namibia, second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of of land. The bay is a ...

. There are potholes scattered around the road, causing immediate danger.

Route

The A2 begins at the

border with

, where it is designated as the B6 road on the Namibian side towards Gobabis and

. It begins by heading eastwards for 165 kilometres to meet the south-western terminus of the

A3 road The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road or London Road in sections, is a major road connecting the City of London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classifie ...

about 45 kilometres south-west of Ghanzi in the

Ghanzi District Ghanzi (sometimes Gantsi) is a Districts of Botswana, district in western Botswana, bordering Namibia in the west and extending east into much of the interior of the country. The district's administrative centre is the town of Ghanzi. Most of the e ...

. The A2 turns to the south-east and heads for 380 kilometres, through Kang, to enter Sekoma, where it meets the north-eastern terminus of the A20 road. It continues east-south-east for 157 kilometres, through

, to enter the town of Kanye, where it meets the south-western terminus of the A10 road. It continues south-east for 50 kilometres to reach a junction with the A1 road just south of

. It continues eastwards for 11 kilometres to reach its end at the Pioneer Gate border with

, where it becomes the N4 road (

Platinum Highway The Platinum Highway is part of the N4 route, and a major South African highway built under concessions with a private contractor. In 2001, the project was voted Infrastructure Deal of the Year by Project Finance International Magazine. It took e ...

) on the South African side towards

Zeerust Zeerust is a commercial town situated in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district of North West Province, South Africa. It lies in the Marico valley, approximately 240 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg. It lies on the N4, the main road link betwee ...

. The border on the South African side is called Skilpadshek.

Incidents

On 29 April 2024, 7 South African nationals died in a crash while driving on this road.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:A002 highway Roads in Botswana af:Trans-Kalahari-Grootpad de:Trans-Kalahari-Highway ru:Транскалахарская автомагистраль