It forms Switzerland's main north–south axis from Basel to Chiasso, meandering with a slight drift toward the east.

The A2 motorway leaves Basel heading south toward Olten, Sursee, Luzern, Stans, Altdorf, Erstfeld, Göschenen, Airolo, Biasca, Bellinzona, Lugano and reaches Chiasso.

The St. Gotthard Tunnel lies at the heart of the motorway and makes up its culminating point.

[3] The reconstruction would have lasted for several years in any variant – one variant would push the traffic over the mountain pass, another proposed to load the vehicles onto trains with a new terminal, a third would close the tunnel for several months every year over time range of a decade.

[4] Near Lucerne, this motorway passes through the Sonnenberg Tunnel, which until recently was the world's largest nuclear blast shelter.