A2 motorway (Netherlands)

The A2 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands. It is one of the busiest highways in the Netherlands. The road connects the city of Amsterdam, near the Amstel interchange with the Belgian border, near Maastricht (NL) and Liège (B), and the Belgian A25 road.

A2 motorway
Rijksweg 2
Motorways in the Netherlands with A2 and N2 bolt
Route information
Part of E25 / E34 / E35
Maintained by Rijkswaterstaat^[1]
Length	217.098 km^[2] (134.898 mi)
Major junctions
North end	E19 / E35 / A 10 / S 110 in Amsterdam
Major intersections	A 9 in Amsterdam-Zuidoost E25 / E30 / E35 / A 12 in Utrecht E311 / A 27 in Vianen E31 / A 15 near Deil A 59 in 's-Hertogenbosch A 65 in Vught A 50 in Eindhoven E312 / A 58 in Eindhoven E34 / A 67 in Eindhoven A 73 near Echt E314 / A 76 near Geleen A 79
South end	E25 / A25 at Belgium border
Location
Country	Kingdom of the Netherlands
Constituent country	Netherlands
Provinces	North Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland, North Brabant, Limburg
Highway system
Roads in the Netherlands Motorways E-roads Provincial City routes
← A 1 → N 3

The N2 through Maastricht.

The route of the A2 motorway is shared with two major European routes. Between its start, at Amstel Interchange, near Amsterdam, and the Interchange Oudenrijn, near Utrecht, European route E35 follows the A2 motorway. From the Oudenrijn Interchange towards the Belgian border just south of Maastricht, European route E25 follows the route of the A2. Local and express lanes on A2 have different speed limits. The speed limit on express lanes is 120 km/h (75 mph) and locals is 100 km/h (63 mph).

Route description

Road N2

In the past, the motorway A2 was interrupted at one location, near Maastricht. This section was referred to as N2, to make a distinction between the motorway (A2) and the non-motorway (N2).

The N2 through Maastricht

Until recently, the motorway A2 was interrupted between the interchanges Kruisdonk and Europaplein through Maastricht. This road section was built as a highway (N2) with several at-grade intersections with traffic lights. In December 2016 the Koning Willem-Alexandertunnel was opened to traffic, a 4-lane tunnel built in two layers, which put an end to this situation.

The N2 around Eindhoven

The beltway around the city of Eindhoven, the so-called Randweg between the interchanges Ekkersweijer and Leenderheide, uses a system of local-express lanes. The inner two lanes do not have any exits, so it is exclusively for express traffic passing the city of Eindhoven; it is considered a motorway (A2) with a maximum speed of 120 km/h (75 mph). The outer two lanes are used by vehicles to and from Eindhoven and the neighbouring towns. It does not meet the Dutch standards of a motorway (steeper grades near intersections and smaller bend radiuses), and has a maximum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). These outer lanes have road number N2, to distinguish the local lanes from the express lanes.^[3]

History

Other reconstruction projects

The A2 motorway was subject to multiple reconstruction projects. Next to the project around Eindhoven, as described above, the A2 was being rebuilt at the following locations:

Amsterdam - Utrecht

Between interchanges Holendrecht and Oudenrijn, the road has been widened from six (2x3) to ten (2x5) lanes. It has enough space to expand the road to fourteen (2x7) lanes. Near the city of Utrecht, a system of local-express lanes has been applied, with the inner three lanes serving express traffic, and the outer two lanes serving local traffic. Unlike the situation near Eindhoven, the motorway status is maintained for local lanes, which means that all ten lanes will keep the name A2.^[4][5]

Between 1954 and 1986, a level crossing operated on the motorway.

Utrecht - 's-Hertogenbosch

Between interchanges Oudenrijn and Everdingen, the A2 was expanded to 2x4 lanes. Between interchanges Everdingen and Deil, the road is widened from four (2x2) to eight lanes (2x4); the section between interchanges Deil and Empel was expanded from four to six lanes.^[6]

's-Hertogenbosch beltway

The A2 around the city of 's-Hertogenbosch was rebuilt similarly to the future situation near Utrecht. However, there are only just four express lanes, instead of the six near Utrecht, so the road has 4x2 lanes.^[7]

's-Hertogenbosch - Eindhoven

Since both the 's-Hertogenbosch and Eindhoven beltways were finished in 2009, a new bottleneck appeared between both cities. The motorway has only 2x2 lanes while both beltways are having twice the capacity. Construction of expanding this section to 2x3 lanes started on December 13, 2011. ^[8]

Exit list

Country	Province	Municipality	km	mi	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
The Netherlands	North Holland	Amsterdam	31	19	—	Interchange Amstel	E19 / E35 / A 10 / S 110	North end of E 35 overlap
		Ouder-Amstel	33	21	1	Oudekerk aan de Amstel	N 522
		Amsterdam	35	22	—	Holendrecht interchange	A 9
			36	22	2	Amsterdam-Zuidoost	S 111	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
	Utrecht	Abcoude	39	24	3	Abcoude
		De Ronde Venen	44	27	4	Vinkeveen	N 201
		Breukelen	50	31	5	Breukelen	N 401
		Utrecht	57	35	6	Maarssen	N 230
			60	37	7	Utrecht-Leidsche Rijn-Centrum
			62	39	8	Utrecht-Centrum	N 198
			64	40	—	Oudenrijn interchange	E25 / E35 / A 12	South end of E 35 overlap; north end of E 25 overlap
		Nieuwegein	68	42	9	Nieuwegein	N 210
			71	44	10	Nieuwegein-Zuid
		Vianen	72	45	11	Vianen
			74	46	—	Everdingen interchange	E311 / A 27
			79	49	12	Everdingen	N 483 / N 484
	Gelderland	Culemborg	81	50	13	Culemborg	N 320
		Geldermalsen	85	53	14	Beesd
			88	55	15	Geldermalsen	N 327
			91	57	—	Deil interchange	E31 / A 15
		Neerijnen	94	58	16	Waardenburg	N 830	Gap in km near Waalbrug
		Zaltbommel	102	63	17	Zaltbommel	N 322
		Maasdriel	107	66	19	Kerkdriel	N 831
	North Brabant	's-Hertogenbosch	112	70	—	Empel interchange	A 59	North end of A59 overlap
			113	70	20	Rosmalen
			115	71	—	Hintham Interchange	A 59	South end of A59 overlap
		Veghel	117	73	21	Veghel	N 279
		Schijndel	119	74	22	Sint-Michielsgestel	N 617
		Vught	120	75	—	Vught interchange	A 65	Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
			121	75	23	Tilburg	N 65	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
			123	76	24	Vught
		Boxtel	127	79	25	Boxtel-Noord
			132	82	26	Boxtel
		Best	138	86	27	Best-West
			141	88	28	Best
		Eindhoven	143– 12	89– 7.5	—	Ekkersweijer interchange	A 50	Gap in km due to connection with A50
			13– 154	8.1– 96	—	Batadorp interchange	E312 / A 58	Gap in km due to connection with A58
			156	97	29	Eindhoven-Airport
			157	98	30	Eindhoven-Centrum		Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
			158	98	30a	Meerhoven-Zuid
		Veldhoven	159	99	31	Veldhoven
			162	101	32	Veldhoven-Zuid
		Eindhoven	163– 19	101– 12	—	De Hogt interchange	E34 / A 67	Gap in km due to connection with A67; west end of A67 and E 34 overlap
			20	12	32a	High Tech Campus
			22	14	33	Waalre	N 69
			23– 170	14– 110	—	Leenderheide interchange	E34 / A 67	Gap in km due to connection with A67; east end of A67 and E 34 overlap
		Valkenswaard	176	109	34	Valkenswaard	N 396
		Heeze-Leende	178	111	35	Leende		Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
		Cranendonck	183	114	36	Maarheeze
			185	115	37	Budel
	Limburg	Weert	189	117	38	Weert-Noord
		Nederweert	194	121	39	Nederweert	N 275	Gap in km
		Leudal	206	128	40	Kelpen-Oler	N 280
			213	132	41	Grathem	N 273
		Maasgouw	216	134	42	Wessem		Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
			218	135	43	Maasbracht		Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
		Echt-Susteren	220	140	44	Sint Joost	N 276
			221	137	—	Het Vonderen interchange	A 73	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			224	139	45	Echt
			228	142	46	Roosteren	N 296
		Sittard-Geleen	232	144	47	Born	N 297
		Stein	239	149	48	Urmond	N 294
			241	150	—	Kerensheide interchange	E314 / A 76
			243	151	49	Elsloo
Meerssen		246	153	50	Ulestraten
		250	160	51	Meerssen		Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Maastricht		254	158	52	Maastricht-Noord		Southbound entrance and exit only
		254	158	—	Kruisdonk interchange	A 79	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
				—			North end of A2 / N2 road designation
		258	160	53	Maastricht-Centrum Noord		Southbound entrance still under construction
		261	162	54	Maastricht-Centrum Zuid	N 278	Northbound entrance and southbound exit still under construction
				—			South end of A2 / N2 road designation
		263	163	55	Maastricht-Zuid		Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Eijsden		265	165	56	Gronsveld
		268	167	57	Oost-Maarland		Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		270	170	58	Eijsden		Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
The Netherlands / Belgium country line	Limburg (NL) / Limburg (BE) province line	Eijsden / Voeren municipality line			—		E25 / A25	Border with Belgium; this road continues as the Belgian A25; south end of E 25 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition

References

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rijksweg 2.

1. "Wegbeheerders". Rijkswaterstaat. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
2. "Actuele Wegenlijst Julie 2015" (PDF). Rijkswaterstaat. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
3. A2: vernieuwing randweg Eindhoven, Rijkswaterstaat June 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch)
4. A2: verbreding knooppunt Holendrecht – aansluiting Maarssen, Rijkswaterstaat April 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch)
5. A2: verbreding Maarssen tot knooppunt Oudenrijn, Rijkswaterstaat September 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch)
6. A2: verbreding Everdingen - Deil, Rijkswaterstaat April 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch)
7. (in Dutch)
8. infrasite.nl