M-2 motorway | |
---|---|
ایم ٢ موٹروے | |
لاہور-اسلام آباد موٹروے | |
Route information | |
Part of ![]() ![]() | |
Maintained by National Highway Authority | |
Length | 375 km (233 mi) |
Existed | 1997–present |
Major junctions | |
North end | ![]() |
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South end | ![]() |
Location | |
Country | Pakistan |
Major cities | Chakwal Mandi Bahauddin Kallar Kahar Bhalwal Pindi Bhattian Sheikhupura Kot Abdul Malik |
Highway system | |
The M-2 Motorway or the Lahore–Islamabad Motorway (Urdu: لاہور-اسلام آباد موٹروے) is a north–south motorway in Pakistan, connecting Rawalpindi/Islamabad to Lahore, and is the first motorway to have been built in South Asia.[1] The M-2 is 375 km long and located entirely in Punjab. It continues on to eventually become the M-1 motorway, which terminates in Peshawar. The M-2 crosses the junction of M-4 (to Faisalabad) at Pindi Bhattian and M-3 (to Multan) at Dera Saithan Wala. The motorway is also a part of the Asian Highway AH1. The motorway was constructed during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's rule and cost over Rs. 60 billion (equivalent to US$2.8 billion in 2023) and was opened in November 1997. One of the most expensive motorways in Asia, it also has one of the highest pillared-bridges in Asia at the Khewra Salt Range section.[2]
There are ten service and rest areas on both sides of the motorway, with fueling, car wash, and car-repair facilities, and fast-food restaurants such as KFC, McDonald's, and Gloria Jean's Coffees, among others.[3]
In 2016, the entire motorway was resurfaced—work that stretched over several months. New toll plazas were installed on every interchange. They are payable with a new M-tag system that was introduced in December 2021.[4]