The A2 motorway () is a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, around 180 km long, connecting the Karawanks Tunnel (at the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n border) via the capital city

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

to Obrežje (at the

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n border, near

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

). It connects several major Slovene cities, including

Kranj Kranj (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fourth-largest city in Slovenia and the largest urban center of the traditional region of Upper Carniola (northwestern Slovenia) and the Slovene Alps. It is located approximately northwest o ...

, Ljubljana, and

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; ; also known by #Name, alternative names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, seventh-largest city of Slovenia. It is the economic and cultural centre of the traditional region of Lower Carniola (southeastern Slovenia) and ...

, and is part of

Pan-European Corridor X The Corridor X is one of the pan-European corridors. It runs between Salzburg in Austria and Thessaloniki in Greece. The corridor passes through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Greece. It has four branches: Xa, Xb, ...

. The route of the motorway largely follows the path of the

Brotherhood and Unity Highway The Brotherhood and Unity Highway (; ; ), officially classed as the M-1 highway, was a highway that stretched over across Yugoslavia, from the Austrian border at Jesenice in the northwest via Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade and Skopje to Gevgelija ...

, which was a two-lane non-divided road constructed as the main traffic artery within

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. With the construction of the divided motorway, most of the previous road was demolished. A notable exception can be seen on the southern A2 segment between

Grosuplje Grosuplje (; )''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 108. is a town in central Slovenia, in the northwest of the traditional region of Lower ...

and

Višnja Gora Višnja Gora (; ,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 96, 99. also ''Weichselburg'', ''Weichselberg'') is a town in the Municipality of ...

, where the previous road was grandfathered into the motorway system; it lacks a

hard shoulder A shoulder (American English), hard shoulder (British English) or breakdown lane (Australian English) is an emergency stopping lane by the verge on the outer side of a road or motorway. Many wider freeways, or expressways elsewhere have should ...

and has sharp turns and an exit ramp with a 10%

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

. The northern segment between

and

follows a completely different path, with three traffic lanes and a relatively lower grade.

Junctions, exits and rest area

Tunnels and covered cuts

From the northwest to the southeast, the A2 motorway features the following

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s and covered cuts: ; Tunnels * Karawanks Tunnel (; , with portal) * Ljubno Tunnel (; right: , left: ) * Šentvid Tunnel (; right: , left: ) * Šentvid Junction (; arm B: , arm C: ) * Fat Hill (; right: , left: ) * Little Peak (; right: , left: ) * Leščevje Tunnel (; right: , left: ) ; Covered cuts * Moste *

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

– Šentvid * '' Šentvid Junction'' (arm A and arm D) * Medvedjek (I and II) * Dolge Dole * Doline ( Karteljevo) * Dobrove (

Otočec Otočec (, ) is a settlement on the left bank of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistica ...

) * Čatež (right and left)

External links

A2 Karavanke - Obrežje at DARS
the national motorway operator of Slovenia

{{Highways in Slovenia Highways in Slovenia