It forms a ring road within the city of Munich in Bavaria, is 28 km (17 mi) long, and suffers the worst traffic-jams in the country.

It replaced all the Bundesstraßen that ran through the city center, even Bundesstraße 2, after which it is named (the R stands for Ring).

The A8 to Salzburg), the A9 (to Nuremberg and Berlin) and the A96 (towards Lindau) all have direct access to the Middle Ring.

However, both Bundesstraßen are built to Autobahn standards and signed as such.

Only the A8 towards Stuttgart has a longer connection to the Middle Ring, a 7 km-long section of the Verdistraße and Arnulfstraße.