D2 motorway (Slovakia)

D2 is a motorway (Slovak: diaľnica) in Slovakia. It connects the Czech border at Kúty with the Hungarian border at Čunovo, passing through (ordered north to south) Malacky, Bratislava and Jarovce. It is part of the European routes E65 and E75 and of the Pan-European Corridor IV. The construction of the 80-kilometre-long (50 mi) highway started in 1969 and concluded in 2007. It is the only complete highway in Slovakia.

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D2 Motorway
Diaľnica D2
     Completed
Route information
Part of E58 E65 E75
Length80.5 km (50.0 mi)
Major junctions
From D2 border with the Czech Republic
Major intersections
To M15 border with Hungary
Location
CountrySlovakia
RegionsTrnava Region, Bratislava Region
Major citiesMalacky, Bratislava
Highway system
D1 D3

History

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The first plans on D2 motorway/freeway appeared in the 1960s, from the Czechoslovak government act in 1963 to build the 117 km long motorway from Brno to Bratislava, with 58.4 km in today's Slovakia. The construction started in April 1969, with the first section from Bratislava to Malacky, which was open in November 1973. In 1974, construction also started on the Czech side from Brno, with the two ends of the motorways joining on 8 November 1980, a day, when also the D1 motorway in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was completed, joining the three most important cities in the country (Prague, Brno and Bratislava). A new planned segment from Bratislava to the Hungarian border was added in 1987. Construction continued with the building of the Lafranconi Bridge in Bratislava and the junction with D1 motorway junction and temporary end in Petržalka in the years 1985 - 1991 and after its opening, construction stopped for five years.

Construction resumed only in 1996, with the sections from the temporary end to Hungary and Austria, with all being opened in 1998 and with the 8.5 km segment from D4 junction to the Hungarian border being widened in 2002. Today, the motorway is complete, with the last 3 km in Bratislava opened on 24 June 2007. This section contained the only tunnel, the Sitina Tunnel, in its entire length.

As of 2012, part of the D2 highway is still not officially finished as it was put into temporary use 12 years ago and the paperwork to legalize the section of the highway near Jarovce is unobtainable due to excessive noise levels.[1][2] There are plans to widen the motorway to a six lane motorway with 3 lanes going one way and this is to be done by 2033.

Sections of the motorway

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Section order Section designation Section length in km Start of construction of section Opening of section Exits and intersections
1. state border Czech Republic/Slovakia - Kúty 5 1976 1978 (right half)
1979 (left half)
1. Kúty
2. Kúty - Malacky 24.3 1973 1978 2. Malacky
3. Malacky - Lozorno 11.5 1969 1973 3. Lozorno
4. Lozorno - Stupava 8.8 1969 1973 4. Intersection D2xD4, Stupava
4. Lozorno - Stupava, extension to 3 + 3 lanes 8.8 2030 2033 4. Intersection D2xD4, Stupava, reconstruction
5. Stupava - Bratislava, Lamač 9.2 1969 1973 5. Bratislava - Lamač

6. Bratislava - Harmincova

5. Stupava - Bratislava, Lamač, extension of the section to the Bratislava - Lamač exit, to 3 + 3 lanes 5.4 2030 2033 5. Bratislava - Lamač, reconstruction
6. Bratislava, Lamač - Bratislava, Staré Grunty 3,3 2003 2007 Section without exits
7. Bratislava, Staré Grunty - Bratislava, Viedenská 2.8 1985 1990 (right half)
1991 (left half)
7. Bratislava - Mlynská dolina

8. Intersection D2xD1, Bratislava - Pečňa

8. Bratislava, Vienna - Bratislava, Jarovce 6.3 1996 1998 9. Intersection D2xD4, Bratislava - Jarovce
9. Bratislava, Jarovce - state border Slovakia/Hungary 9.3 1996 (right half)
2001 (left half)
1998 (right half)
2002 (left half)
Section without exits

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Diaľnica ničí Jarovčanom úrodu (The highway is destroying crops in Jarovce)". SME. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Starostovia o obchvate Bratislavy: Len s protihlukovými stenami a tunelom! (Mayors about the D4 highway: Only with anti-noise walls)". Nový Čas. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
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