A2 motorway (Netherlands)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

A2 motorway shield}}

A2 motorway
Rijksweg 2
Location of the A2 motorway
Highway system
The N2 through Maastricht.

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 interchange Amstel, with the Belgian border, near Maastricht (NL) and Liège (B), and the Belgian road A25.

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

Road N2

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

The N2 through Maastricht

Between the interchanges Kruisdonk and Europaplein through Maastricht, the motorway A2 is interrupted. This road section was built as a highway with several at-grade intersections with traffic lights. However, a tunnel underneath the city is under construction, to eliminate at-grade intersections.[1]

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.[2]

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 is being widened from six to ten lanes. Near the city of Utrecht, a system of local-express lanes will be 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 will be maintained for local lanes, which means that all ten lanes will keep the name A2.[3][4]

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.[5]

'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.[6]

'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. [7]

Exit list

Country Province Municipality km mi Exit Destinations Notes
The Netherlands North Holland Amsterdam 31 19 A10 North end of E 35 overlap
Ouder-Amstel 33 21 1 N522
Amsterdam 36 22 2 A9
Utrecht Abcoude 39 24 3
De Ronde Venen 44 27 4 N201
Breukelen 50 31 5
Utrecht 57 35 6 N230
60 37 7
62 39 8 N198
64 40 E 25 / E 35 / A12 South end of E 35 overlap; north end of E 25 overlap
Nieuwegein 68 42 9 N210
71 44 10
Vianen 72 45 11
74 46 A27
79 49 12 N483 / N484
Gelderland Culemborg 81 50 13 N320
Geldermalsen 85 53 14
88 55 15 N327
91 A15
Neerijnen 94 58 16 N830 Gap in km near Waalbrug
Zaltbommel 102 63 17 N322
Maasdriel 105 65 18
107 66 19 N831
North Brabant 's-Hertogenbosch 112 70 A59 North end of A59 overlap
113 70 20
115 71 A59 South end of A59 overlap
Veghel 117 73 21 N279
Schijndel 119 74 22 N617
Vught 120 70 A65 Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
121 75 23 N65 Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
123 76 24
Boxtel 127 79 25
132 82 26
Best 138 86 27
141 88 28
Eindhoven 143–
12
89–
7
A50 Gap in km due to connection with A50
13–
154
8–
96
E 312 / A58 Gap in km due to connection with A58
156 97 29
157 98 30
Veldhoven 159 99 31
?Error: km is not a number 31a Under construction
162 101 32
Eindhoven 163–
19
101–
12
E 34 / A67 Gap in km due to connection with A67; west end of A67 and E 34 overlap
20 12 32a
22 14 33 N69
23–
170
14–
110
E 34 / A67 Gap in km due to connection with A67; east end of A67 and E 34 overlap
Valkenswaard 176 109 34 N396
Heeze-Leende 178 111 35 Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
Cranendonck 183 114 36
185 115 37
Limburg Weert 189 117 38
Nederweert 194 121 39 N275 Gap in km
Leudal 206 128 40 N280
213 132 41 N273
Maasgouw 216 134 42 Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
218 135 43 Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Echt-Susteren 220 140 44 N276
221 137 A73 Northbound exit and southbound entrance
224 139 45
228 142 46 N296
Sittard-Geleen 232 144 47 N297
Stein 239 149 48 N294
241 150 A76
243 151 49
Meerssen 246 153 50
250 160 51 Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Maastricht 254 158 A79 Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
?Error: km is not a number Viaductweg North end of N2 road designation
?Error: km is not a number Scharnerweg South end of N2 road designation
262 163 N278
263 163 55 Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Eijsden 265 165 56
268 167 57 Southbound exit and northbound entrance
270 170 58 Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
Limburg (NL)/ Limburg (BE)
province line
Eijsden / Voeren
municipality line
?Error: km is not a number E 25 / 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

References