[4] The route from Tanzania to Lusaka is Zambia's Great North Road and is part of the Tanzam Highway.

It starts by meeting the northern terminus of the M14 road (which connects to the Mafinga Hills) before passing south-west through the town centre of Nakonde.

From Isoka, the road goes south-west for 263 km (163 mi), bypassing Chinsali (Muchinga Province's Capital), through Shiwang'andu District (where it bypasses Lake Ishiba Ng'andu and the Shiwa Ngandu Estate), to the town of Mpika, where it meets the southern terminus of the M1 road from Kasama and Mbala.

From Serenje, the T2 makes a 200 km (120 mi) journey west-south-west, through the farming town of Mkushi, through the George Kunda SC Toll Plaza,[4] to Kapiri Mposhi.

[2] From Kapiri Mposhi, the road goes for 60 km (37 mi) south-south-west, through the Manyumbi Toll Plaza,[4] to the town of Kabwe, which is Central Province's Capital and home to the Mulungushi Rock of Authority.

[2] 20 km (12 mi) south of Chibombo, at the junction with the M20 road to Mumbwa (this junction is famously known as Landless Corner[11]), the T2 road turns south-east and enters the western part of Chisamba District for a few kilometres (bypassing the farming town of Chisamba to the west; where the D176 provides access to the Chisamba Town Centre[2]), before turning directly south towards Lusaka and passing through the Katuba Toll Plaza,[4] where it re-enters Chibombo District (passing through the Katuba Constituency).

This is where heavy vehicles going northwards are advised to join Lumumba Road to skip the town centre and bypass it to the west.

Seventeen km (11 mi) before Chirundu, the T2 meets the northern terminus of the M15 road, which is the road that provides access to the tourist town of Siavonga on the Zambezi River adjacent to the Kariba Dam and a border connecting to the town of Kariba on the Zimbabwean side.

[17][18] It was constructed in order for north-south traffic that has no need of stopping in Lusaka to bypass the city centre, which is a busy commercial area, to the west.

[20][21] This new dual carriageway would require bypasses around the towns of Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi together with some grade-separated interchanges where necessary.

[22] The total cost of this 320 km road, after several increments, was finalized at $1.2 billion and construction began from Lusaka going northwards.

[25] The deal was made with the China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Cooperation (CJIC) to construct the road.

[22] In August 2021 (just after Zambia's Presidential Election), the newly-appointed Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Minister, Charles Milupi, stated that the road would cost less than $1.2 billion under President Hakainde Hichilema's government.

[27] In early 2022, Hon Charles Milupi stated that completing this dual carriageway was of high importance.

He stated that they would resume works on that road at a reduced cost after the rain season would pass in Zambia.

[31][32] On 26 March 2024 at a contract signing, the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) stated that the Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriageway project is expected to cost $650 million and that it would be completed in 36 months.

[40] On 7 October 2024, the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) stated that the three already-existing toll gates on the 320-kilometre stretch between Lusaka and Ndola (Katuba; Manyumbi; Kafulafuta) will be handed over to the concessionaire (Macro Ocean Investment Consortium) on 30 November 2024.