page_title: N2 (South Africa)
section_title: Western Cape
hierarchical_section_title: N2 (South Africa) / Route / Western Cape
caption_attribution_description: English: Taken by myself, Andres de Wet, 30 December 2006 The N2 national road crossing the Klein Brak river
context_page_description: The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its total distance of 2,255 kilometres makes it the longest numbered route in South Africa.
context_section_description: 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.
  The N2 descends to ground level in Woodstock before approaching the major interchange known as "Hospital Bend" because of its proximity to Groote Schuur Hospital. In this interchange, the N2 and the M3 merge to form a massive 10-lane freeway before diverging again. Because Hospital Bend is built on a steeply sloping curve, and lane-changing is often necessary to travel through the intersection, it was notorious for congestion and accidents, until it was upgraded between 2008 and 2010. 
  After Hospital Bend the N2 turns east to travel across the Cape Flats as a 6-lane freeway to Somerset West; this section is known as Settler's Way. Along this route it crosses the M5, M7 and R300 freeways; it also travels just past the end of the main runway at Cape Town International Airport. It enters the Helderberg region where it passes through Somerset West and is reduced to an undivided highway, passing 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. 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 to Botrivier. After Botrivier it passes across the agricultural plains through the towns of Caledon, Riviersonderend, Swellendam and Riversdale to re-approach the coast at Mossel Bay, which marks the beginning of the Garden Route.
  Just west of Mossel Bay the N2 again becomes a divided freeway, and remains one as far as the intersection with the N9/N12 just outside George. From there it travels across Kaaiman's Pass (see below) to Wilderness and on to Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. After Plettenberg Bay a section of the road is tolled as the Tsitsikamma Toll Route, primarily because of the Bloukrans Bridge; an alternative route used to run through Nature's Valley but this is no longer available due to flood damage. The Bloukrans Bridge marks the border with the Eastern Cape and is the site of the world's highest bridge bungy, Bloukrans Bridge Bungy.
caption: N2 Freeway between George and Mossel Bay
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