M-2 motorway (Pakistan)

Template:Attached KML/M-2 motorway (Pakistan)

KML is not from Wikidata

M-2 motorway
ایم ٢ موٹروے
Route information
Part of AH1
Maintained by National Highway Authority
Length	375 km (233 mi)
Existed	1992–present
History	Completed in 1997
Major junctions
North end	Kashmir Highway Interchange – Rawalpindi
Major intersections	M4
South end	Thokar Niaz Beg, Lahore
Location
Country	Pakistan
Major cities	Chakwal Kallar Kahar Bhalwal Pindi Bhattian Sheikhupura
Highway system
Roads in Pakistan

The M-2 motorway (Urdu: موٹروے 2) is a north–south motorway in Pakistan, connecting Rawalpindi/Islamabad to Lahore. The motorway is 375 km long and located entirely in Punjab. It passes through, Faizpur Pur, Kot Abdull Malik, Kala Shah Kaku, Sheikhupura, Khanqah Dogran, Kot Sarwar, Pindi Bhattian, Salem, Lilla, Kot Momin, Kallar Kahar, Balksar, Nila Dulha and Chakri before ending just outside the twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad. It was the first motorway built in South Asia. At Junction of M2 and M1 there is an interchange which on one side connect Islamabad/Rawalpindi through an expressway of 8 km long, and the new Islamabad international airport through the other side of junction. It then continues on to eventually become the M1 motorway linking the twin cities with Peshawar. The M-2 crosses the junction of the M4 (to Faisalabad) at Pindi Bhattian. It is part of Pakistan's Motorway Network. Chaudhary Ghias Mela recently inaugurated the Sial More interchange which exits at Sial More and provides an alternate route to Sargodha. The motorway is also a part of the Asian Highway AH1.

One of the most expensive motorways in Asia, it has the highest pillared-bridge in Asia at the Khewra Salt Range. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has used the M2 motorway as a runway on three occasions: for the first time in 2000 when it landed an F-7P fighter, a Super Mushak trainer and a C-130 and, again, in 2010. On the last occasion, the PAF used a runway section on the M2 motorway on 2 April 2010 to land, refuel and take-off two jet fighters, a Mirage III and an F-7P, during its Highmark 2010 exercise, the PAF used runway section again in 2017 to practice in hour the of emergency.

The whole motorway after a long period of 15 years renovated and recarpeted by Frontier Works Organization. New tolls plazas are installed on every interchanges with the new and latest e-tag system. The formal Miles board are changed to digital boards at a lots of places.

There are ten service and rest areas on both sides of the whole motorway, having facilities of Insta fueling, Insta Carwash, Insta car repair and restaurants of food and coffee like KFC, McDonald's, Gloria Jeans coffee and others.

Route

The M-2 starts to the west of Lahore, at the Thokar Niaz Baig junction of N-5 (National Highway No. 5). Once it crosses the Ravi River, it diverges from the N-5 (also known as GT or Grand Trunk Road) and heads west towards Sheikhupura. After passing the Sheikhupura Interchange Khanqah Dogran Interchange comes at a distance of 36 km from the Sheikhupura Interchange. After once at Pindi Bhattian, it crosses the M3 junction and turns north-west. It continues all the way to Kallar Kahar, where it enters the Salt Ranges. Once past the Salt Ranges, the M-2 turns north and ends just west of Rawalpindi at the junction between the Islamabad Link Road and the M1. The whole stretch of the M-2 consists of 6 lanes, and there are a number of rest areas along the route, with washroom and eating facilities. The M2 is a motorway in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is 367 km long and begins in Lahore. It then passes through Sheikhupura, Pindi Bhattian, Kot Momin, Salem, bhera, Lilla, Kallar Kahar, Balksar, and Chakri before ending just outside the twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad. It then continues on to eventually become the M1 motorway linking the twin cities with Peshawar.

Interchanges

M2 Motorway Junctions
Interchange	Junction	North bound exits	South bound exits
M2 Zero Point, Lahore	1	Start of motorway	Road continues as Abdul Sattar Edhi Road to Lahore
		N-5 – to Multan	N-5 – to Lahore, Canal Bank Road to Lahore
Babu Sabu Interchange	2	Band Road to Chowk Yatim Khana, LRR	Band Road to Chowk Yatim Khana, LRR
Faiz Pure Interchange	3	Lahore-Jaranwala Road to Jaranwala	Lahore-Jaranwala Road to Shahdara Town, Lahore
Kot Abdul Malik Interchange	4	N-60 – to Sheikhupura	N-60 – to Lahore
Kala Shah Kaku Interchange	5	Lahore Bypass to Kala Shah Kaku & N-5	Lahore Bypass to Kala Shah Kaku & N-5
Sheikhupura Interchange	6	Gujranwala–Sheikhupura Road to Sheikhupura	Gujranwala–Sheikhupura Road to Gujranwala
Hiran Minar Interchange	7	Jandiala–Sheikhupura Road to Hiran Minar, Sheikhupura	Jandiala–Sheikhupura Road to Jandiala Sher Khan
Khanqah Dogran Interchange	8	Khanqah Dogran Road to Khanqah Dogran	Khanqah Dogran Road to Hafizabad
Sukheki Interchange	9	Hafizabad-Sukheki Road to Sukheki	Hafizabad-Sukheki Road to Hafizabad
M-4 Pindi Bhattian-Multan	10	M-4 – Pindi Bhattian-Multan Motorway	M-4 – Pindi Bhattian-Multan Motorway
Pindi Bhattian Interchange	11	Wazirabad Road to Pindi Bhattian, Chiniot & Jhang	Wazirabad Road to Wazirabad
Makhdoom Interchange	12	Sial-Phalia Road to Sial More & Sargodha	Sial-Phalia Road to Phalia & Gujrat
Kot Momin Interchange	13	Kot Momin, Bhalwal	Bhabra
Saalam Interchange	14	Sargodha-Gujrat Road to Bhalwal, Sargodha	Sargodha-Gujrat Road to Mandi Bahauddin
Ali Pur Saydian Interchange	15	Bhera-Jhawarian Road to Jhawarian, Shahpur	Bhera-Jhawarian Road to Bhera, Malakwal
Lilla Sharif Interchange	16	Pind Dadan Khan-Lilla Road to Lilla Sharif, Khushab	Pind Dadan Khan-Lilla Road to Pind Dadan Khan, Khewra
Kallar Kahar Interchange	17	Kallar Kahar	Choa Saidanshah, Katas Raj Temples
Balkasar Interchange	18	Talagang-Chakwal Road to Balkassar, Talagang	Talagang-Chakwal Road to Chakwal
Neelah Dullah Interchange M2	19	Neela-Basti Abdullah Road to Neela	Neela-Basti Abdullah Road to Basti Abdullah and Bhagwal
Chakri Interchange	20	Chakri Road to Chakri	Chakri Road to Rawalpindi
Thalian Interchange	21	Airport Avenue to New Islamabad Airport	Thalian Road to Thalian
M2-M1 Junction, Islamabd	22	Islamabad Motorways Link Road to Islamabad/Rawalpindi	Islamabad Motorways Link Road to Islamabad/Rawalpindi
		Road continues as M-1 to Peshawar	Start of M-2

History

The M-2 was conceived by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his first term(1990–1993) and later inaugurated on November 26, 1997, during his second term. In late 2006, upgrades were made to the portion of the M-2 passing through the Salt Ranges due to increasing complaints of drivers. The upgrades included better marking of the road lines and increased size of road signs for easy visibility. In 2016 M2 got completely new carpeting for a smooth and safer drive. 1. M2 Zero Point, Lahore Thokar Niaz Beg, Lahore

2. Babu Sabu Interchange Eastern Exit to Babu Sabu, City center, Chowk Yatim Khana, Lahore Ring Road, Distt. Courts

3. Faiz Pure Interchange Eastern Exit to Shahdra Town and N-5 Western Exit to Sharq Pure, Nakana Sahib and Jardanwala

4. Kot Abdul Malik Interchange

Exit at Sheikhupura Side and Lahore Side

5. Kala Shah Kaku Interchange Eastern Exit to Kala Shah Kaku, Lahore Link Road and N-5

6. Sheikhupura Interchange Eastern Exit to Gujranwala and N-5 Western Exit to Sheikhupura and Shahkot

7. Khanqah Dogran Interchange Eastern Exit to Hafizabad Western Exit to Khanqah Dogran

8. Sukheki Interchange Eastern Exit to Hafizabad Western Exit to Sukheki

9. Motorway M-4 Pindi Bhattian-Multan Western Exit to Faisalabad

10. Pindi Bhattian Interchange Eastern Exit to Hafizabad, Gujranwala and N-5 Western Exit to Pindi Bhattian, Chiniot and Jhang

11. Makhdoom Interchange Eastern Exit to Gujrat and N-5 Western Exit to Sial More and Sargodha

12. Kot Momin Interchange Eastern Exit to Mela Bhabra

13. Saalam Interchange Eastern Exit to Mandi Bahauddin, Phalia, Gujrat and N-5 Western Exit to Saalam, Bhalwal and Sargodha

14. Bhera Interchange Eastern Exit to Bhera, Malakwal, Sarai Alamgir, Kharian and N-5 Western Exit to Shahpur Saddar and Khushab

13. Lilla Sharif Interchange Eastern Exit to Pind Dadan Khan, Khewra, Jhelum and N-5 Western Exit to Lilla Sharif, Khushab

14. Kallar Kahar Interchange Eastern Exit to Chakwal, Choa Saidan Shah, Khewra Salt Mine, Sohawa and N-5 Western Exit to Kallar Kahar, Talagang, Khushab

15. Balkasar Interchange Eastern Exit to Chakwal, Sohawa, Mandra and N-5 Western Exit to Balkassar, Talagang, Lawa, Mianwali, Pindi Gheb, Jand,

16. Neelah Dullah Interchange M2 Eastern Exit to Chakwal, Dullah and Bhagwal Western Exit to Neelah

17. Chakri Interchange Eastern Exit to Chakri, Rawalpindi and N-5 Western Exit to Pindi Gheb

18. M2-M1 Junction, Islamabd Eastern Exit to Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Islamabad Motorways Link Road, N-5 Western Exit to Gandhara International Airport Road(proposed)

Fuel stations and Service Areas

Fuel Stations are only available at 5 locations on each side of the road (North & South), These places are called Services Area (or قیام و طعام)

• Sukheki Services Area - سکھیکی قیام و طعام
• Sial Services Area - سیال قیام و طعام
• Bhera Services Area - بھیرہ قیام و طعام
• Kalar Kahar Services Area - کلر کہار قیام و طعام
• Chakri - Services Area - چکری قیام و طعام

These services areas are on both sides of the roads, as crossing from inside the motorway is not possible. While coming from Lahore to Islamabad Services Areas are called North Sides (Going towards north) whereas Coming back towards Lahore the services areas are called South Sides ( Going towards South Side). Example: Sukheki North Service Area is when coming from Lahore to Islamabad, Sukheki South Services Area is when going towards Lahore. Average distance between two services are 60–80 km.

Rest Areas

Other than Services Areas for the facilities of commuters, the FWO has granted licences for Rest Areas with some basic services. The Rest Areas are being operated by private investors under the supervision of Frontier Works Organization (FWO). Bake & Bite is operating these Rest Areas The Rest Areas contain following services/amenities on each side of the location.

• Masjid
• Fast Food Restaurant - Take Away
• Tuck Shop
• Rest Rooms
• Work Shops

The location of each Rest Area is as per following.

Bake & Bite Sheikhupura Rest Area - 60 km North and South Bake & Bite Pindi Bhattian Rest Area - 109 km North and South Bake & Bite Dharab Rest Area - 256 km North and South Bake & Bite Baklasar Rest Area - 273 km North and South

Gallery

• 
  M-2 in the Salt Range
• 
  Motorway M2 near Islamabad
• 
  A Beautiful View At Salt Range
• 
  Motorway Taking Sharp Turns In Salt Range
• 
  Mosque At Refreshment Area
• 
  Motorway M2 Refreshment Area
• 
  Islamabad Toll Plaza At Early Morning
• 
  Motorway M2 near Salt Ranges of Khewra
• 
  Motorway M2 near Bhera

See also

• Video of M2 from Islamabad to Lahore in HD
• Video of M2 from Lahore to Islamabad in HD
• Motorways of Pakistan
• National Highways of Pakistan
• National Highway Authority (Pakistan)
• National Highways and Motorway Police

External links

• Official website
• Failed state? Try Pakistan’s M2 motorway DAWN.com (Dead Link)
• Motorway drive from Lahore to Islamabad