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).

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.

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.