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| Bundesautobahn 2 Route of the German federal motorway system |
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| Total length: | 486 km (302 mi) |
| States of Germany: | North Rhine-Westphalia Lower Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Brandenburg |
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Exits and constructions
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Bundesautobahn 2 (translates from German as Federal Motorway 2, short form Autobahn 2, abbreviated as BAB 2 or A 2) is an autobahn in Germany that connects the Ruhr area in the west to Berlin in the east. The A 2 starts at the western city of Oberhausen, passes through the north of the Ruhr valley, through the Münsterland and into Ostwestfalen, crossing the former inner-German border and continuing through the Magdeburger Börde to merge into the Berliner Ring shortly before reaching Berlin. Major cities such as Magdeburg, Braunschweig, Hannover and Dortmund are situated very close to the A 2. The A 2 was modified in the late 1990s, and completely rebuilt in the former East Germany. Of its 486 km (304 miles), 90% have 3 travel lanes and a breakdown lane in each direction. The surface is mostly concrete. The A 2 is one of the most important autobahns, connecting several large industrial areas with each other. Congestion is likely between exits 16 and 20. This is the only section between the Ruhrgebiet and Berlin that has only 2 travel lanes and it is generally in a bad state. Widening work there has started and is scheduled for completion in 2010.
History
Parts of the A 2 were among the first Reichsautobahns to be built and were completed as early as the late 1930s. The A 2 passes the A 1 at the Kamener Kreuz, Germany's first cloverleaf exchange. During the division of Germany, the A 2 played, together with the A 24, an important role as a transit corridor to West Berlin, with allied checkpoints at Helmstedt and Dreilinden-Drewitz (on the A 10) respectively. Between the towns of Helmstedt and Marienborn one can still see the former border control points which were turned into a museum in the 1990s.
Trivia
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (April 2008) |
The junction Dortmund-Lanstrop has only been built to give access to the nearby landfill. Garbage trucks will approach it via the autobahn, then exit via secondary roads. The landfill is easily recognizable by the Lanstroper Ei, an old water tower standing on a hill approximately 400 m (.25 miles) away from the Autobahn.
Due to its importance as a major thoroughfare for commercial transit and as a trade route connecting the western parts of Germany to neighbouring Central European countries such as Poland, it is often nicknamed Warsaw Avenue or simply Poland Highway.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bundesautobahn 2 |
- Bundesautobahn 2 – Detailed route plan (German)
- lostplaces.de - border crossing Helmstedt-Marienborn (German)
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