Johannesburg is heavily dependent upon freeways for transport around the city due to its location 1,500 metres above sea level, far from the coast or any major bodies of water. There are 10 freeways in the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area: the N1, N3, N12, N14, N17, R21, R24, R59, M1 and M2. In addition, three new freeways are planned: the G5, G9 and G14.[ citation needed ] Freeways are sometimes called highways or motorways colloquially.
The Johannesburg Ring Road that circles the city is formed by the N1 (Western Bypass), N3 (Eastern Bypass) and N12 (Southern Bypass). [1] The N14 connects the West Rand with Pretoria. The N17 connects the Johannesburg Central Business District and southern parts of the city with Springs on the East Rand and the province of Mpumalanga. The R21 connects the East Rand and OR Tambo International Airport with Pretoria. The R24 connects central Johannesburg to the airport. The R59 connects Johannesburg with Vereeniging in the Vaal Triangle. The M1 runs the length of the city north–south, from Soweto to Buccleuch, where it becomes the N1. The Johannesburg-Pretoria highway is also called the Ben Schoeman Highway and is part of the N1. The M2 runs the length of the central part of the city east–west, from Germiston to Main Reef Road (R41 Road) in Crown, just south-west of the Johannesburg Central Business District.
The N1 (Ben Schoeman Highway) between Johannesburg and Pretoria is now becoming severely overloaded. Reports suggest that the road carries 180,000 vehicles a day between the two cities.[ when? ] [2] The road is heavily congested as traffic enters Johannesburg in the mornings and leaves at night, as many people work in Johannesburg but live in Pretoria. As a result, the Gauteng Provincial Government has put in motion plans to alleviate heavy traffic congestion, which is likely to worsen. One plan that was partially completed before South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup is the Gautrain: a rapid rail system with a north–south line between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and an east–west line between OR Tambo International Airport and Sandton. The east–west line opened in June 2010, just before the World Cup. [2] The north–south line opened from Pretoria to Rosebank in August 2011; after delays caused by excessive water seepage in a major tunnel, the Rosebank–Johannesburg section opened in July 2012.
The Star and Engineering News report that three new freeways have been planned for Johannesburg:[ citation needed ]
In addition, there were plans afoot to extend the N17 from its end in Johannesburg South, to Krugersdorp, which would have allowed motorists to traverse the metropolitan area in under an hour in free-flowing traffic. [3]
The N3 is a national route in South Africa that connects Johannesburg and Durban, respectively South Africa's largest and third-largest cities. Johannesburg is the financial and commercial heartland of South Africa, while Durban is South Africa's key port and one of the busiest ports in the Southern Hemisphere and is also a holiday destination. Durban is the port through which Johannesburg imports and exports most of its goods. As a result, the N3 is a very busy highway and has a high volume of traffic.
The Pretoria Ring Road, also known as the Pretoria Bypass, is a collection of two bypasses that together form a partial ring road around the city of Pretoria, South Africa. It consists of a section of the N1 Highway as well as a section of the N4 Highway. It is entirely in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.
The N3 Eastern Bypass is a section of the Johannesburg Ring Road that forms a beltway around the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the N3. The first section of the freeway opened in 1971, from Buccleuch to the interchange with Main Reef Road in Germiston. This is one reason why Germiston is listed as the southbound destination of this route, from the Buccleuch to Geldenhuys Interchanges, rather than to the Elands Interchange south of Germiston. The remaining section from Main Reed Road to Black Reef Road, which included the construction of the Geldenhuys Interchange, was opened in 1977, linking the Eastern Bypass with the N3 freeway to Heidelberg. The interchange at Main Reef Road was removed.
The Western Bypass is a section of the N1 and the Johannesburg Ring Road located in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Known at the time as the Concrete Highway, the freeway was initially opened in 1975 as a route to avoid the city centre of Johannesburg and to provide access to the western areas of the Witwatersrand. From the south, the Western Bypass begins at the Diepkloof Interchange in Soweto, where it splits from the N12 freeway and ends at the Buccleuch Interchange, where it merges with the N3 Eastern Bypass, M1 South and N1 Ben Schoeman freeways.
The N1 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Polokwane to Beit Bridge on the border with Zimbabwe. It forms the first section of the famed Cape to Cairo Road.
Alberton is a town situated on the southern part of the East Rand of the Gauteng Province in South Africa and is situated very close to the major urban centre of Johannesburg.
The R21 is a major north–south provincial route in eastern Gauteng Province, South Africa. Built in the early 1970s, it remains one of two freeways linking Pretoria with Johannesburg, via the R24. As the eastern of the two freeways, it links the Pretoria city centre with OR Tambo International Airport, the N12 freeway, and Boksburg. Between the Solomon Mahlangu Drive on-ramp in Monument Park, Pretoria, and the N12 in Boksburg, the R21 is an 8 lane highway and motorway (freeway), with 4 lanes in each direction. It has off-ramps leading to Irene, Olifantsfontein, Benoni, and Kempton Park, including a partial offramp to Atlas Road. The route intersects the N1 Highway near Centurion, the R24 near the airport, the N12 and N17 in Boksburg, and the N3 near Vosloorus on the East Rand, where it ends. The section from the N12 to the N3 is not a freeway. As early as the 1970s there were proposals to extend the R21 freeway further south and the freeway may be linked with the current eastern terminus of the M2 in Germiston in future. It is also designated as the P157.
The R24 is a major East-West provincial route in the Gauteng and North West provinces that links OR Tambo International Airport with Rustenburg via Johannesburg, Krugersdorp and Magaliesburg. The process of renaming the streets and freeway that form the route from Krugersdorp eastward to OR Tambo International after anti-apartheid stalwart Albertina Sisulu was completed in 2013.
The R28 is a provincial route in Gauteng, South Africa that connects Krugersdorp with Vereeniging via Randfontein. The R28 used to connect with Pretoria, but that section of the road is now part of the N14.
The R41 is a provincial route in Gauteng, South Africa, that connects Johannesburg with Randfontein via Roodepoort.
The M1 De Villiers Graaff motorway is a metropolitan route and major freeway in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. The highway connects the southern areas with the city centre and extends further north through Sandton into the Ben Schoeman Highway towards Pretoria. Construction began in 1962 and resulted in the demolition of many properties and houses including numerous historical Parktown Mansions.
The M2 is a major highway and metropolitan route in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is named the Francois Oberholzer Freeway. It runs just to the south of the Johannesburg Central Business District eastwards where it connects with the N3 and enters Germiston, ending near its CBD. The north–south M1 intersects with the M2 just to the south-west of the Johannesburg CBD.
The N12 is a national route in South Africa which runs from George through Beaufort West, Kimberley, Klerksdorp and Johannesburg to eMalahleni.
The N17 is a national route in South Africa which runs from Johannesburg to Oshoek (Ngwenya) on the border with Eswatini. It passes through Springs, Bethal and Ermelo.
The Ben Schoeman Freeway or Ben Schoeman Highway is the main freeway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and consists of portions of the M1, N1, and N14. Opened in 1968, it is named after former Minister of Transport Ben Schoeman, and is undoubtedly the busiest road in South Africa.
The R554 is a Regional Route in Gauteng, South Africa. The road connects the southern suburbs of Soweto with Springs on the East Rand via Lenasia, Alberton and Brakpan.
The M43 is a major metropolitan road in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa which begins in Vosloorus and heads northwards to Birchleigh, Kempton Park on the East Rand.
The M57 is a major metropolitan route in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. A north/south route, it connects Germiston with the south-eastern suburbs of Pretoria via Kempton Park and Olifantsfontein. For most of its length, it is an alternative route to the R21 freeway.
The M37 is a metropolitan route in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. It connects the N3 at Greenstone Shopping Mall with Katlehong via Edenvale and Germiston.
The M39 is a long metropolitan route in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. It connects Kyalami with Germiston via Midrand, Kempton Park & Isando.