The R2 is a high-quality and safe toll road  that runs for 62 kilometers between the M40 and Guadalajara. It consists of two sections that, together, make up the fastest and safest way to enter and leave Madrid through the Henares corridor.

The interior section goes from the M40 to the M50 and is the best alternative for the constant traffic jams of the A1 at the height of S. S. De los Reyes and Alcobendas, as well as the most direct access to the new Terminal 4 of Barajas Airport.

The outer section is the best way to avoid the traffic of the A2 between Guadalajara and the M50, passing by the traffic jams that form at the height of Alcalá, Torrejón, San Fernando and Coslada.

The Radial 2 is an alternative toll road to the existing N-II National Highway in the north east area of Madrid. This additional road was built to reduce congestion in the existing N-II motorway corridor in the north east of the geographically central capital of the country (Madrid), and was conceived in the late 1990s. The Spanish government opted to use the road scheme as an initial trial for a privately financed toll road program known as Radiales de Madrid.

The concession includes the tolled R-2 motorway and a non-tolled section of the M-50 loop, although there is a shared last section, tolled for long distance drivers and non-tolled for local drivers, depending on the entrance point.

The concession project comprises a length of 80.7 km in the north east, of which the toll road R-2 is 62.3 km long. The concession also includes an 18.4 km long section of the M-50 loop in the eastern part of the city, between the existing A-2 and A-4 roads.

The R-2 starts at the R-40 ring road and ends at the N-II, the national highway to Barcelona, east of Guadalajara city. The motorway has two parts, the first inner one between the M-40 and M-50 ring roads with a length of 10 km; and the second outer one from the M-50 to the N-II joining at P.K. 62, with a length of 52.3 km. This includes a common 7.5 km section of the M-50 that is tolled for R-2 drivers and non-tolled for drivers using only the M-50.

The motorway contains 11 junctions, one service area and feeder roads, and a maintenance and control area. The toll system includes 8 barriers: 4 on the main carriageway and 4 on the access links.

The toll road provides an alternative access route from the periphery to the city centre, and a suburban distributor for a length of 62 km, ending and merging in the M-50 beltway for the last section.

The R-2 was awarded in 2000 to a consortium led by Spanish construction firms ACS and Acciona Group. The initial construction budget was EUR 500M. However due to additional payments related to land acquisition, the investment amount is still increasing and is projected to be near EUR 900M.

After negotiations with the grantor the concession period, originally expected to end in 2024, was extended until 2039 to partially compensate for the additional works and other cost overruns in the price of land acquisition.

The R-2 opened to traffic in 2003. Traffic gradually escalated to an average of 11,034 vehicles per day in 2007.