N2 (South Africa)


The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha, Port Shepstone 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.
Prior to 1970, the N2 designation only applied to the route from Cape Town to Durban.
There are plans to realign the N2 national route from Port Shepstone to Mthatha along a shorter stretch of road that passes through Port Edward, Lusikisiki and Port St. Johns.
The project was initially scheduled for completion in 2024 and is expected to reduce the length of the route by. Combined with the existing N2 route from Mthatha to East London, the realigned route will form the Wild Coast Toll Route (N2WCTR)|Wild Coast Toll Route].

Route

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, 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.M57 Liesbeek Parkway, M5 Black River Highway, and Raapenberg Road. After leaving the Southern Suburbs, the N2 travels across the Cape Flats as a six-lane freeway towards Somerset West. It travels just past the southern end of the main runway at Cape Town International Airport and crosses the M7 and R300 highways.
After the R300, the N2 becomes a four-lane freeway, passing nearby Khayelitsha and Macassar. It enters the Helderberg region where it passes through Somerset West and ceases to be a freeway after the R44 intersection, which links the N2 with Stellenbosch and the Winelands in the north. 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 to Botrivier. It then 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.

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 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 was closed in November 2007 after flood damage. The Bloukrans Bridge marks the border with the Eastern Cape.

Eastern Cape

Sunshine Coast Road

After crossing the Bloukrans Bridge, the N2 becomes the Sunshine Coast Road, passing through the Southern edge of the Tsitsikamma Nature Reserve, and regains freeway status between Nompumelelo and Witsiebos.
It runs eastward as a two-lane single carriageway highway, bypassing the resort towns of Jeffreys Bay and St. Francis Bay, as well as the town of Humansdorp. It becomes a four-lane dual carriageway freeway at the Van Stadens Bridge, which marks its entrance into the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. It proceeds eastwards to the city of Gqeberha.

Nelson Mandela Bay

After the Van Stadens Bridge, the N2 meets the R102, which provides access to KwaNobuhle and Kariega via the R334. It then enters Gqeberha as a four-lane dual carriageway freeway. It runs eastward past the suburbs of Kabega Park and Tulbargh before making a north-easterly turn just after the R102 Kragga Kamma Road/Cape Road intersection in More Grove.
It then bypasses the suburbs of Newton Park and Korsten before meeting the R75 at the Commercial Road Intersection, with the R75 linking to the Gqeberha city centre in the south and to Kariega and Graaff-Reinet in the north.
It then passes through northern Sidwell, intersecting the M8 Kempston Drive, and the M4 Settlers Way Highway.
The N2 then leaves the city of Gqeberha running northwards towards Colchester, adjacent to the Indian Ocean, first passing across the estuarine area of the Swartkops River before passing through Bluewater Bay. After Bluewater Bay, it meets the R335 and bypasses the Coega Special Economic Zone, with a major intersection with Neptune Road linking the harbour with the N2. It loses freeway status after the R334 Addo South Gate intersection, and becomes a two-lane single-carriageway highway after passing through Colchester.

Colchester - Qonce

After Colchester, the N2 leaves the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality and turns north-eastwards, meeting the southern terminus of the N10 and the western terminus of the R72 before moving away from the coast towards Makhanda.
After passing around Grahamstown on a bypass, the N2 passes through the former Ciskei, including Peddie, to enter the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality.

Buffalo City (Qonce- East London)

At Qonce (King William's Town) in Buffalo City, it meets the R63 and after several traffic-light intersections, the N2 turns east-south-east towards the coast, meeting it at East London.
The N2 becomes a four-lane dual carriageway road after leaving Qonce, and regains freeway status at the La Rochelle Street intersection in Berlin, just outside East London. It runs past Fort Jackson and the Mdantsane township. It then enters the city of East London as it passes to the north of Amalinda. After the M4 Amalinda Main Road intersection, it runs north of Vincent, intersecting the M1 Western Avenue. It then descends into the Nahoon River Valley, meeting the southern terminus of the N6 and the eastern terminus of the R72 after just crossing the Nahoon River.
The N2 then passes through Beacon Bay, partially intersecting the M8 Beacon Bay Road, and exits the city of East London before bypassing Gonubie to the north of the city. The N2 then becomes a two-lane single-carriageway highway after the R102/M10 Main Road intersection, which is also the proposed start of the Wild Coast Toll Route (N2WCTR)|Wild Coast Toll Road]. It then continues as a freeway until shortly after the R102 Brakfontein intersection, after which it leaves the Buffalo City Metro.

Former Transkei

After East London, the N2 turns again towards the interior in a northeasterly direction to avoid the difficult terrain of the Wild Coast. It passes through the former Transkei and its former capital, Mthatha, where it meets the R61 route. There are plans for the N2 to run as a four-lane dual carriageway highway from Viedgesville to the Ngqeleni Village turn off, bypassing Mthatha to the south, and then continuing eastwards on the R61, as part of the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road. After passing Mthatha, the N2 continues north-east through the towns of Qumbu, Mount Frere and Mount Ayliff. Near Kokstad, the N2 climbs Brook's Nek to enter the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

KwaZulu-Natal

Brooks Nek - Port Shepstone

The N2 enters KwaZulu-Natal atop Brooks Nek, after which it bypasses Kokstad to the south and meets the R56 from Matatiele. The N2 and the R56 are co-signed for eastwards until which the R56 splits from the N2 at Stafford's Post. The N2 then runs east-south-east past the rural towns of Harding and Izingolweni, to enter Port Shepstone from the west through its suburb of Marburg, meeting the eastern terminus of the R61 highway at the Oribi Toll Plaza. This interchange with the R61 is to be the eastern end of the N2 Wild Coast Toll Route from East London via Mthatha and Port Edward.

Port Shepstone - Durban (South Coast Highway)

The N2 then turns to the north at the Oribi Toll Plaza to become the South Coast Highway, first running as a dual carriageway freeway for, then losing dual carriageway status after the Umtentweni off-ramp, before regaining dual carriageway status just after Hibberdene. It passes through the rural areas of Southern KwaZulu-Natal, with the rural towns of Mthwalume, Umzinto and Dududu, and the resort towns of Pennington, Park Rynie and Scottburgh lying to the west and east of the N2, respectively.

eThekwini Metropolitan Area (Durban)

The N2 enters the eThekwini Metropolitan Area south of Durban as a dual carriageway freeway just north of Scottburgh. It runs past the towns of Umkomaas and Umgababa, before entering the built-up urban area of eThekwini at Kingsburgh and Amanzimtoti. It runs past Isipingo and the old Durban International Airport, before meeting the southern terminus of the M4 freeway at Umlazi; with the M4 providing access to the Durban CBD.
After the M4 interchange, the N2 runs as an eight-lane dual carriageway freeway around the city of Durban known as the Outer Ring Road, bypassing the suburbs of Mobeni, Chatsworth, Sarnia, Ridgeview and Chesterville, with the M1 Higginson Highway intersection and the M7 Solomon Mahlangu Drive interchange providing access to these suburbs as well as the town of Queensburgh.
After leaving Chesterville, the N2 meets the N3 highway at the EB Cloete Interchange at Westville. It then passes through the suburbs of Clare Hills and Reservoir Hills, meeting the M19 Umgeni Drive at a large intersection just outside of Reservoir Hills.
It then continues northwards past Parlock, Riverhorse Valley, Briardene and Sea Cow Lake, with the M43 Queen Nandi Drive and the R102 KwaMashu Highway providing access to these places, thereafter exiting the city of Durban and continuing towards Mount Edgecombe and uMhlanga, meeting the M41 at the Mount Edgecombe Interchange where the Durban Outer Ring Road ends.
It then runs to the east of Verulam and to the west of eMdloti, passing by the King Shaka International Airport in La Mercy. The airport off-ramp marks the beginning of the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast Toll Road. After the airport, it is tolled at oThongathi before leaving eThekwini.

North Coast Highway

After eThekwini, the N2 runs toward Mtunzini, passing through Ballito before being tolled again at the Mvoti Toll Plaza before KwaDukuza. It meets the R74 near KwaDukuza. It then continues as a four-lane single carriageway highway and passes through sugar cane plantations on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. It is tolled for the final time at Mtunzini and meets the R34, which provides access to Richards Bay to the east and Empangeni and Ulundi to the west.
Just after the R34 off-ramp, the N2 ceases to be a dual carriageway and turns north, moving away from the coast into the heart of Zululand, where it bypasses Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park to the west and runs past the town of Mkuze before turning to the north-west and running close to the border of Eswatini, passing the town of Pongola.

Mpumalanga

After leaving Pongola, the N2 makes a direct line for Piet Retief and meets the R33 to be co-signed with it as the main road through the town centre before splitting 12 km north of the town. It then heads north-west to Ermelo, where it enters as Voortrekker Lane and terminates at a junction with the N11 in the town centre, just south of the N11's intersection with the N17.
The total length of the road is. Although the dual carriageway sections of the N2 are discontinuous, when combined — including segments such as Cape Town to Somerset West, George to Mossel Bay, Gqeberha, East London, Port Shepstone, Hibberdene to KwaDukuza, and Mtunzini Toll Plaza to Richards Bay — the N2 technically has the longest total length of dual carriageway among South African national roads.

Toll Plazas

Toll plazas on the N2 include:

Tsitsikamma Toll Route

South Coast Toll Route

North Coast Toll Route

Disruption to route

Heavy rains in 2006 triggered a mud-slide on the Kaaiman's pass section of the N2 between George and Wilderness. This caused the road to be temporarily closed from 26 August. As a result of the slide, a section of roadway sagged and large cracks appeared on the road surface. After an inspection by a team of engineers a single lane was reopened on 29 August for vehicles with a gross mass of under.
An alternative route following the Saasveld road was put into use, but this road only allows for a single lane of traffic and light vehicles. Heavy vehicles have to take an alternative route via the R62 and Langkloof pass effectively lengthening the distance from George to Wilderness from 11 to over 60 km. The road has since reopened.
Traffic on the N2 has also been disrupted on numerous occasions because of protests. On 10 September 2007, residents of Joe Slovo Informal Settlement blockaded the N2 Freeway in Cape Town near Langa. Police responded with rubber bullets, injuring over 30 residents. On 4 December 2008, a few thousand residents of eMachambini, between KwaDukuza and Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, blockaded the N2 Freeway in protest against the proposed AmaZulu World Themepark. Police opened fire and injured about 23 residents and arrested about 10.
On 20 October 2012, a section of the N2 was closed after heavy rainfall caused a collapse about outside Grahamstown.
On 5 November 2024 around 11h00, a section of the N2 was indefinitely closed due to a section of bridge partially collapsing on the southbound carriageway crossing the Embokodweni river next to the Amanzimtoti country club. One of the concrete bearings supporting the roadway failed, causing the surface of the southbound lanes to become uneven.
The road closure has caused severe traffic disruptions into Amanzimtoti, Prospecton, Isipingo and the surrounding areas. Motorists travelling on the N2 southbound were being diverted onto the R102 and M35. It is also suspected that previous damage from the 2022 KwaZulu-Natal floods went undetected according to local officials.

Safety

Cape Town

The section of the N2 freeway that runs past Cape Town International Airport is notoriously dangerous. Over the years, there have been many incidents of objects being thrown at vehicles from the side of the road, robberies, and hijackings. Other illegal disruptions have included offramps being blockaded, spikes being placed on the road, and criminals posing as fellow road users to make up stories and distract innocent motorists.
The goal by criminals is usually to force vehicles to pull over to the side of the road, so that occupants can be robbed, and/or their vehicles can be stolen. Locals know to avoid the stretch of the N2 whenever possible, and use alternative routes. Tourists are advised to do the same.
In December 2025, the City of Cape Town announced plans to combat safety issues on the N2. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis stated that the City would construct a new high-security wall between the highway and the surrounding areas, thereby making it much harder for criminals to attack road users before quickly disappearing into the surrounding townships.
For years, the City maintained the N2 highway, which falls under the domain of the South African National Roads Agency and the provincial government. SANRAL is formally responsible for maintaining national roads' footbridges, fences, and road mediums. However, more recently, it has stated that because of the violence, it has decided to intervene, regardless of whose mandate fixing the issue is.
Mayor Hill-Lewis said that the existing security fence along the N2 was completely dilapidated, and that it wasn’t fair to the thousands of residents who use the N2 to have to deal with criminal elements on their commute. The Mayor further stated that he cares deeply about commuter safety, but also that the embankment along the N2 would be repaired as part of the project, to make it more dignified for the communities living along the highway.
The project, which has a budget of R180 million, was reaffirmed by the City in January 2026. Aside from a security barrier, the project will facilitate new pedestrian crossings, new lighting, embankment landscaping to help prevent fires and floods, and access control measures.
The broader project will also include safety barriers for designated recreational areas in nearby communities, promoting safer grazing and urban agriculture practices, minimizing illegal dumping, and exploring other opportunities that will emerge from upcoming engagements with communities along the N2.

N2 Wild Coast Toll Route (N2WCTR)

There are plans to realign the N2 national route from Port Shepstone to Mthatha, on a shorter stretch of road, and designate the entire stretch from Port Edward through Mthatha to East London as a toll road. The project was started in September 2016. It was initially scheduled for completion in 2024 and this new N2 route will take over the entire section of the current R61 route from Port Shepstone to Mthatha, with realignment between Port Edward and Lusikisiki.
This new route, known as the Wild Coast Toll Route, will extend from East London to Port Shepstone and extend further north-east through Park Rynie to the Isipingo Interchange, south of Durban. There will be two new "greenfields" sections, one between Ndwalane and Lusikisiki, and the other between Lusikisiki and Port Edward. The latter greenfields section will provide a shorter and more direct route between Port Edward and Lusikisiki while the current R61 passes through Flagstaff and Bizana on the route between the two towns.
The greenfields sections will include two new toll plazas, namely the Mthentu Toll Plaza between Lusikisiki and Port Edward, and the Ndwalane Toll Plaza just outside of Port St. Johns. There were also initially plans to place two toll plazas on the stretch from East London to Mthatha: the Ngobozi Toll Plaza just north of the Great Kei Bridge and the Candu Toll Plaza just north-east of Idutywa. Plans to toll this section between East London and Mthatha have been cancelled.
In this project, there are plans to widen the N2 from Port St. Johns to East London to a four-lane undivided highway. The new greenfields section between Lusikisiki and Port Edward will also include a four-lane undivided highway, with a four-lane dual carriageway through Lusikisiki. Bypasses around the towns of Butterworth, Idutywa and Mthatha are to be constructed after the completion of the new toll road. According to Traveller24, this new route will be around shorter than the current N2 and will be a faster route by about 3 hours for heavy vehicles.
Once this new 'Wild Coast Highway' is complete, the distance between Durban and East London will be reduced to and the overall route between Durban and Cape Town will be reduced to, making the newer N2 the shorter route between Durban and Cape Town. The old N2 route passing through Harding, Kokstad and KwaBhaca would then be designated as the R102.
The new greenfields sections in the Eastern Cape were categorized into seven packages. Package 1 is from Ndwalane to Ntafufu, Package 2 is from Ntafufu to the Bambisana turn-off, Package 3 is from the Bambisana turn-off to Lingeni, Package 4 is from Lingeni to the Msikaba Bridge, Package 5 is from the Msikaba Bridge to the Mtentu Bridge, Package 6 is from the Mtentu Bridge to Kulumbe and Package 7 is from Kulumbe to the C. H. Mitchell Bridge.
As of 2021, the road signs on the section of the R61 from Port Shepstone to Port Edward have already been changed to signs indicating the N2, indicating that this road from the Oribi Toll Plaza in Port Shepstone southwards will officially no-longer be designated as the R61.
Also, as of August 2024, parts of the road in the Eastern Cape are under construction, including Package 4 and Package 5. The Msikaba Bridge is expected to be completed by the end of 2025 while the Mtentu Bridge, after several delays, is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

Opposition and criticism

South Africa's national road agency, SANRAL, also initially planned to do some work on the existing section of the N2 highway from Port Shepstone to Durban as part of this project, including installing toll plazas at Park Rynie and at Isipingo.
SANRAL received opposition from the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality council as well as several businesses in the area over the proposed Isipingo Toll Plaza due to concerns over expenses for drivers in Durban South and traffic in the same area. Those businesses also didn't want any toll plazas found within KwaZulu-Natal to be used to finance the construction of the new greenfields section of road, which is in a different province.
Several companies in the area, led by Toyota South Africa, took SANRAL to court, and the proposed Isipingo tollgate was cancelled. The decision was made to scrap the plan to build any toll gate on the KwaZulu-Natal section of the Wild Coast Highway, which meant that the plan to construct a toll plaza at Park Rynie was also cancelled.
The Amadiba Crisis Committee has also expressed issues with the planned road and the Wild Coast region in which the road is to pass through, stating that it would divide the communal farming and grazing lands. They advised SANRAL to reroute the proposed section between the C. H. Mitchell Bridge and the Mtentu Bridge inland, away from the coastline. They held a protest in October 2024 at the Mtentu Bridge site.