The entire length is concurrently designated as European route E19.

In conjunction with the A1 autoroute and the Belgian A7 it is the main route between Paris and Brussels.

From Combles to Cambrai, the autoroute is managed by the Société des Autoroutes du Nord et de l'Est de la France (SANEF) and is a toll road, with no exits on the southernmost 22.8 kilometres (14.2 mi) of the A2 between the A1 and the A26 at Graincourt-lès-Havrincourt.

From Cambrai onward it is a non-toll autoroute managed by the government of the Nord department.

The first stage from junction 15 to the Belgian border opened on 28 March.