Nether highways

Map of the Nether highway (without spawn region highway section) system as of 3 December 2021 created by FreedomHolland

⠀​	Paved Obsidian Highway,

⠀​	6x4 / 7x4 diagonals

⠀​	3x3 tunnel

Nether highways are a series of highways on 2b2t running from (0, 0) in the Nether. The highways have a distinct design and a not entirely documented history. Maintenance of the highways is done by various groups as well, and they are the most prominent source of travel on the server.

Part of a series on
Highways
Type
Overworld highways Nether highways End highways
Groups
Highway Workers Union Motorway Extension Gurus
Former Groups
Spawn Infrastructure Group Nether Highway Group Independent Interstate Society -X Diggers

General history and highway meta

2b2t’s nether highways are known as a safe and fast method to travel since one block in the Nether equals eight blocks in the Overworld. The paved highways are made out of obsidian to avoid griefing. The highways consist of flat blocks to walk on and two guardrails, one on each side.

The main highways (which are dug either in 6x4 format for straight or 7x4 format for diagonals) are categorized as follows:

1. The Major Axes: The most frequently travelled on, these highways start at spawn (0, 0) along the major axes (+X, +Z, -X, -Z) and all four are dug until the Nether world border. They are paved with obsidian until at least 1 Million nether, and the +X highway is paved to the Overworld World Border (Nether X: +3,750,000, Z: 0).
2. The Diagonals: These highways, much like the major axes, start at spawn (0, 0) and follow the diagonals all the way till the nether world border. All of them are paved till atleast (X: +/- 1,000,000, Z: +/- 1,000,000) in the nether.
3. The Square Ring Roads: They are ring roads around origin running perpendicular to the major axes, with each of the eight legs running from a major axis to a diagonal highway. They are dug in different radii around spawn. The paved highways include (but are not limited to) every one thousand blocks till 30k, followed by 35k, 40k, 45k, 50k, 125k). The unpaved ring roads include 62.5k, 100k, 250k, 500k, 750k, 1M, 1.25M, 1.875M, 2.5M and 3.75M (the world border ring road).
4. The Diamond Ring Roads: These ring roads run diagonally from one major axes to another, intersecting a diagonal perpendicularly at half the radius. This allows faster travel around the axes without needed to venture into spawn. The paved highways include 5k, 25k and 50k, while the unpaved ones include 125k, 250k, 500k, 3.75M.
5. The 100,000 x 100,000 Grid: Built in mid 2023 by HWU, a grid of highways were built with 50,000 blocks of spawn (equivalent to 400,000 in overworld) and consist of 20 highways parallel to X axis highway, as well as 20 highways parallel to the Z axis highway, each spaced 5,000 blocks apart on both directions, forming a grid. This allows easy access to any part of the world within 400,000 blocks of spawn.

It is common to see many players on the highways, both maintenance personnel as well as travellers to or from spawn. Highways near Spawn are always griefed, blocked, or obliterated due to the chaotic nature of 2b2t's various spawns. Multiple spawnfags fly idle, waiting for unsuspecting newfags to come into their render distance on the highways to massacre them.

An updated version of the highway map can be seen here in the website of HWU: https://highways2b2t.net/map.html

Groups

Digging, building, and maintaining highways are done by several groups. Most notably are:

Active

• Highway Workers Union (HWU) since September 10, 2020.

• Motorway Extension Gurus (MEG) since October 15, 2019.

Disbanded

• -X Diggers – disbanded
• Independent Interstate Society (IIS) – disbanded, merged with Highway Workers Union (HWU)
• Nether Highway Group or The Diggers – disbanded
• Spawn Infrastructure Group (SIG) – a Vortex Coalition subdivision, disbanded
• Spawn Cleaners Coalition (SCC) – disbanded

Griefers

• Rageland Renovations
• Team Sexy
• The Quarantine
• The Watchmen

Cardinals and ordinal directions

Main axis (Cardinals directions)

The main axis hold the dimensions 6x4 and are as following:

• -X (West)
• +X (East)
• -Z (North)
• +Z (South)

The diagonals (Ordinal directions)

The diagonals hold the dimensions 7x4 and are as following:

• -X, -Z (North West)
• -X, +Z (South West)
• +X, -Z (North East)
• +X, +Z (South East)

Main axis achievements/history

The main axis highways extend from 0,0 to each of the four cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) to the overworld world borders. Main axis highways are 3.75 million blocks or 3.75 kilometres long.

+X (East)

• March 26, 2017: The +X axis highway has always been at the forefront of highway development due to it being the most travelled highway. It was the first highway to reach 1,000,000 in the Overworld when it was dug primarily by omaliymix in 2012, as detailed in THEJudgeHolden's comics. The highway was the site of Byrnsy's mission to reach the Overworld world border (see his album), which his group the Nether Highway Group achieved.

• March/April 2020: IIS paved the highway up to 125k in the Nether.
• August/September 2020: MEG widened the tunnel to 3×3 up to the Overworld world border.
• December 14, 2020: HWU extended the obsidian-paved highway to 1 million out in the Nether.
• June 2021: The Nether world border (30,000,000 blocks out) has been reached with a 1x2 tunnel.
• April 2021: MEG extended the +X 6x4 to 3.75M (Overworld world border)
• July 2021: HWU extended the obsidian-paved highway to the Overworld world border.

-X (West)

• December 23, 2017: -X was dug in 1x2 format.
• February 2020: MEG finished the highway to 3.75M (Overworld border) the project took 2 months to complete.
• February 13, 2021: HWU extended the obsidian-paved highway to 1 million out in the Nether.

+Z (South)

The +Z Highway was the second highway to reach the Overworld world border following the +X Highway.

• January 22, 2021: HWU extended the obsidian-paved highway to 1 million out in the Nether.

-Z (North)

The -Z nether highway is heavily maintained by IIS (Independent Interstate Society) and also to a lesser degree by SIG (Spawn Infrastructure Group) which maintains a high standard for the nether highway until 0, -128,000. The highway consists of 4 wide obsidian blocks with 1 wide guardrail on each side and 3 blocks high just below the bedrock roof. The IIS repairs most griefs on the highway, which makes the -Z nether highway ideal for elytra travel.

The -Z Highway was the last to reach the world border.

• August 7, 2017: gRiNdLoRd successfully flew under the nether floor from spawn out to -3.75 million. He was able to get back above the bedrock, build a nether portal, and reach the -Z world border before the -Z highway was completed. Two days later there was a plug-in installed on the server to prevent players from flying under the nether floor. He still has an account there and continues to play around there.
• February 09, 2021: HWU extended the obsidian-paved highway to 1 million out in the Nether.

Diagonal highways history

The diagonal highways extend from 0,0 to each of the four ordinal directions (northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest) to the overworld world borders. Diagonal highways are 5.3 million blocks or 5,303 kilometres long. MEG's achievements on diagonal highways can be found here.

-X -Z (North West)

This was the server's and MEG's first completed diagonal highway which was dug from spawn to the -X, -Z world border.

• May 26, 2020: -30M, 30M world border was reached. This dig was completed by Citadel2222, illville502, VeryVon, DantezWrath, KevinKC2014, and harritaco.

+X +Z (South East)

This was the server's and MEG's second completed diagonal highway, which was dug from spawn to the +X, +Z world border.

• June 2017: 35k - 135k was dug primarily by BoomerangVillage and Breithan.

• September 4, 2020: 30M, 30M world border was reached. This dig was completed by KevinKC2014, Jonanen, harritaco, Paragon, and 5K5K.

+X, -Z (North East)

This was the server's and MEG's third completed diagonal highway, which was dug from spawn to the +X, -Z world border.

• October 14, 2020: 30M, -30M world border was reached. This dig was completed by illville502, Citadel2222, and tycrek.

-X, +Z (South West)

This was the server's and MEG's fourth and final completed diagonal highway. The completion of this highway marks all diagonal highways dug to the world border at MEG's 3x3 minimum tunnel size.

• March 6, 2017: 65k was reached.
• February 13, 2021: -30M, 30M world border was reached. This dig was completed by Roy4lRondi, tycrek, Citadel2222, Juderenee, jumboman32, Parzi and Duke_Arktouros.

Rings Roads (RR)

Ring roads encircle 0,0 in a square shape, hence their name. Dozens of these roads exist at various intervals. They are used for traveling out from the main axis or diagonal highways to more remote areas. They are also commonly used to avoid 0,0 by going around it. For most of their existence, these were just bare Netherrack tunnels, sometimes 1x2 sized. In their obsidian form, the larger ring roads around 5K, 10K, 15K, 25K were originally constructed by the Independent Interstate Society (IIS), and are now being expanded by the Motorway Extension Gurus (MEG) and maintained by the Highway Workers Union (HWU). MEG added more ring roads further out such as 125K, 250k, 500k, 750K, 1Million, 3.75Million (World Border ring road) connecting all axis world border monuments and world corners to one another.

Nether spawn region (100K overworld / 12.5K nether)

• 1000 (1Krr): One ring road that is well-known today is the ring road which was built 1000 blocks away from 0,0 and was toured by BarrenDome in a YouTube video.

• 2Krr

• 2.5Krr

• 3131rr

• 5Krr

• 10Krr

Greater Spawn

• 15Krr
• 20Krr
• 25Krr
• 30Krr

• 50Krr: dug by IIS

• 75Krr

• 125Krr: dug by MEG in 3x3 format (August 1st, 2020) then paved by the same group along with HWU (January 13th, 2021).

• 250Krr: dug by MEG in 3x3 format (January 17th, 2021) and later on widened to 6x4 format by the same group (July 25th, 2021). Paved by HWU with the help of MEG (June 7th, 2022).

• 500Krr: dug by MEG in 6x4 format (July 29th, 2021).
• 750Krr: dug by MEG in 6x4 format (September 29th, 2021).
• 1Mrr: dug by MEG in 6x4 format (November 23th, 2021).
• 3.75Mrr: dug by MEG in 6x4 format (July 28th, 2021), also known as the World Border ring road.

Diamond Highway

Map of Diamond Highway in orange.

The Nether Diamond Highway is another ring road that connects all straight highways at 50k from spawn (crossing the diagonals at 25k), but it is rotated by 45 degrees compared to the regular ring roads. Its purpose is to reduce traveling time if killing back to spawn is not an option.

The 50k and 25k Diamond Highways has been completely dug and paved with obsidian by the Highway Workers Union on the 7th of February 2021.

In early 2023, AlqUU and Skai256 initiated a new project with Highway Workers Union with the goal of mining 125k, 250k, and 500k diamond roads. They successfully mined these roads in less than a month, and you can find the highway map by clicking here.

Honorable mentions

-4444 Highway

The -4444 Highway starts at the coordinates 0x -4444z and goes in the eastern direction. It extends for more than 2 million blocks in the overworld and several bases were built on its overworld side. It was probably constructed before the Rusher War. This highway is famous among the old players.

Konata Izumi Road

On May 2021, the Nether World Border was reached using this highway. The road coordinates are: Z: 28500 (28.5k) and Y: 5 Nether.

The length of the road is 30 million blocks, it starts at the southern canal (0, 5, 28.5k) and ends at the Nether world border (30M, 5, 28.5k).

The road was created only by Hare_Hare_Yukai using 2 alts. This project took around half a year to complete and the digging was done in 77 days. A special method of repairing pickaxes was developed during the construction of this road.

Together with the +X Axis Nether Highway, it is the longest road on 2b2t.

Point Less highway

The Highway dug by the X+ Diggers starting at the X+ World Border (Point Nemo) and goes for 30,000,000 Overworld blocks to the X+ Z+ World Corner (Point Less) become known as the first highway to connect an axis world border base to the world corner. This Highway also has many monuments and milestones. It is currently a part of the 3750000 ring road.

Griefing

Since 2019, many withers have been placed from 0 to 50k. However, all of the potholes from the withers have been restored by the IIS and the withers remain on the floor of the nether. As of October 2022, the highway is in great condition and the withers pose no real threat to any traveller. There are spawn PvP groups who are active, making quick work of anyone at 0,0, as well as the constant flow of repairs on the highway by the Highway Workers Union. In March 2022, bots were spotted griefing the highways, by mining blocks from the highway and and placing them on the highway, making them difficult to travel on. These bots have since been deactivated.

In April 2023, a group started by ChiefBeefLoko called the Highway Removers Union was founded. Since ChiefBeekLoko had beef with AlqUU, a fellow member of the Highway Workers Union, he sought to remove him from the group. ChiefBeekLoko initiated griefing on the highway, expressing the intention to continue until AlqUU was expelled from the Highway Workers Union. However, AlqUU remains a member of Highway Workers Union despite these actions. Their goal was to do massive damage to the Nether Highways around spawn. They did significant damage to the rings roads around Nether Spawn as well as placing many withers within 50k of Nether spawn on the 8 main roads. These withers have since dug down to below the roads, and the damage repaired. The Highway Removers Union has since disbanded.

Nether Highways on Youtube

FitMC: 2b2t's War Against Nether Highways, March 25, 2020

SalC1: The Longest Road Ever Built in Survival Minecraft (The 2b2t Nether Highways), May 30th, 2020

SalC1: I Went to 2b2t's World Border, January 30th, 2021

FastVincent1: How One 2b2t Group Revolutionized Diagonal Nether Highways, March 29, 2021

FitMC: 2b2t's Nether World Border Has Been REACHED (30 Million Minecraft Blocks), July 3rd, 2021