N2 Freeway

The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of makes it the longest numbered route in South Africa.

Route

Major towns and cities along the route of the N2 include Cape Town, Somerset West, Caledon, Swellendam, Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Humansdorp, Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, Qonce (formerly King William's Town), Bhisho, East London, Mthatha, Kokstad, Port Shepstone, Durban, KwaDukuza, Empangeni, Piet Retief and Ermelo.

Western Cape

Cape Metropole
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.

Leaving the Central Business District (CBD), the N2 descends to ground level after the R102 Christiaan Barnard on-ramp in Woodstock. Continuing roughly east-southeast, the N2 intersects a few roads in the Woodstock area, most notably Roodebloem Road, which provides access to the M4 Main Road and University Estate, located on the north-western slopes of Devil's Peak. After leaving the Woodstock area, the N2 meets the M3 Phillip Kgosana Drive, from the southern City Bowl. Atop Mowbray Ridge in Observatory, these two roads merge into a massive 10-lane highway and bend around the University of Cape Town Medical Campus and Groote Schuur Hospital before splitting at the bottom of the ridge, with the M3 running toward the University of Cape Town and the Southern Suburbs. This intersection, called Hospital Bend, was the scene of frequent bottlenecks and accidents due to the lack of pre-selection lanes. However, this stretch of road has been extensively upgraded and made safer.

After Hospital Bend, the N2 turns east and forms the border between Observatory and Mowbray, intersecting Main Road, Liesbeek Parkway, the M5 Black River Highway, and Raapenberg Road. These intersections are in very close proximity and are the source of congestion on this stretch of road. However, the closing of intersections (especially that with Main Road) was deemed undesirable due to the negative impact this would have on businesses. After leaving the Southern Suburbs, the N2 travels across the Cape Flats as a 6-lane freeway towards Somerset West. It travels just past the southern end of the main runway at Cape Town International Airport, crosses the M7 and R300 highways (both of which link the N2 with Mitchells Plain in the south and Bellville and Brackenfell in the north). After the R300, the N2 becomes a 4-lane freeway, passing nearby Khayelitsha and Macassar. It enters the Helderberg region where it passes through Somerset West and is reduced to an undivided highway after the R44 intersection, which links the N2 with Stellenbosch and the Winelands. Here it passes 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.

Overberg

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