Bratislava's geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a natural crossroads for international trade traffic. Various ancient trade routes, such as the Amber Road and the Danube waterway have crossed the territory of today's Bratislava. Today Bratislava is a road, railway, waterway and airway hub.

D4 is a motorway in southwestern Slovakia. The planned highway is commonly referred to as the Bratislava bypass. For decades, there was only a short stretch from Austrian border at Jarovce to the junction with D2, construction of which started in 1996 and was opened in 1998. Construction of various other parts started in the late 2010s, with several openings throughout 2020 and 2021. The extension to the motorway D1 between Bratislava and Senec is underway, in order to connect the southern bypass of Bratislava to the country's main traffic artery. The bypass also intersects with expressway R7, parts of which are already open as well.