 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality | ||||
| Length | 25.7 km (16.0 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| North-west end |   M13 / M31 in Pinetown | |||
| South-east end |  R102 in Mobeni, Durban | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | South Africa | |||
| Towns | Pinetown, Chatsworth, Durban | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
The M1 is a metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa, linking Pinetown to Mobeni in Durban via Chatsworth.
The M1 officially starts at the M13 interchange (Exit 19) with the M31 Josiah Gumede Road, west of the Pinetown Central Business District (CBD) as Henry Pennington Road (previously Richmond Road). It proceeds southwards past the suburbs of Ashley, Surprise Farm, Alexander Park and Westmead before meeting the N3 highway (to Durban and Pietermaritzburg) at the Exit 23 interchange. [1]
The M1 proceeds to turn in a southwesterly direction traversing through the suburbs of Mariannhill Park, Mariannhill, Mariannheights and Mariannridge before meeting the Old Richmond Road (to Eston and Richmond). It then proceeds to traverse the suburbs of Nsiswakazi (where it bends eastwards), St Wendolins Ridge, Phumphele, Savannah Park and Mawelewele (where it bends southwards) before leaving Pinetown and entering Chatsworth. [1]
The M1 enters Chatsworth as a single-carriageway freeway named Higginson Highway, passing over the Moorcross Drive/Moorton Drive interchange and thereafter heading in an east-south-east direction. [2] [3] Shortly after, it splits into a dual carriageway, passing over the Moorcross Drive/Arena Park Drive interchange, the Shallcross Road interchange, north of Chatsworth's CBD, the Astral Drive/Florence Nightingale Drive interchange and the 42nd Avenue/Lenny Naidu Drive interchange. After 42nd Avenue, the M1 ends as a freeway and intersects with Havenside Drive before leaving Chatsworth to enter Durban in the suburb of Mobeni Heights. In Mobeni Heights, it intersects Mobeni Heights Drive before intersecting the N2 highway (to KwaDukuza and Port Shepstone) at the Exit 154 interchange. After the N2, it proceeds into the industrial suburb of Mobeni West, ending at the intersection with the R102 South Coast Road. [1]
The Higginson Highway was named for a leader of the Durban City Co-Operation Housing Committee that encouraged the relocation of Indian people from white-only areas of Durban to Chatsworth, along the highway's corridor. [4] There is a community-led effort to rename the highway to instead honour Amichand Rajbansi, an Indian leader in the community. [5]
The Higginson Highway is known for the numerous fatal accidents that happen on the road on a reoccurring basis. Some local residents attribute this to a ghost named "Sheila", thought to be a woman that hitchhikes on the road that may have died in one of the accidents, [6] or may have committed suicide by running into traffic. [7] A 2014 movie The Curse of Highway Sheila addressed this legend. [8] [9]
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.
Hillcrest is a town in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa that forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and is situated approximately 32 km north-west of Durban and 53 km south-east of Pietermaritzburg.
Pinetown is a city that forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, based just inland from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The town is situated 16 km north-west of Durban and 64 km south-east of Pietermaritzburg.
Queensburgh is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa that is situated inland (southwest) from Durban and now forms part of eThekwini, the Greater Durban metropolitan area.
Westville is an area in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and is just west and 10 km inland from the Durban CBD. It was a formerly independent municipality however it became part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in 2002.
Umlazi is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. Organisationally and administratively it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and its South Municipal Planning Region.
The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha, Port Shepstone and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of 2,255 kilometres (1,401 mi) makes it the longest numbered route in South Africa.
Chatsworth is a large township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa established in the 1950s to segregate the Indian population and create a buffer between the white suburbs of Durban to the north and the black townships of Durban to the south. Located in the Southern Durban basin and roughly bordered by the Umhlatuzana River in the North and Umlaas River in the South, the suburb is made up mainly of Indian/Asian and Black African people.
Bluff or The Bluff is a geographical area, containing eight suburbs in Durban, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The Bluff forms a large part of the South Durban Basin, a sub-region located south of Durban.
The M13 or King Cetshwayo Highway is a metropolitan route in the Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. For part of its route, it is a highway and it acts as an alternative route to the N3 Highway for travel between the suburbs closer to the Durban CBD and the Outer West Suburbs (Assagay).
The M7 is a metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa, connecting Pinetown to Brighton Beach in the Bluff.
The M5 is a long metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. It starts in KwaMashu in the north-western townships of Durban. It passes through the townships of KwaMashu, Newlands East, Newlands West, Ntuzuma and KwaDabeka. It then passes through the industrial town of New Germany and the leafy towns of Pinetown and Queensburgh before entering Durban and ending with the R102 in the Umbilo industrial area.
The M19 is a metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa, connecting Pinetown to Springfield Park in Durban.
Mobeni is a suburb of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and forms part of the heavily industrialised South Durban Basin, a sub-region south of Durban.
The M25 is a metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa linking the R102 in KwaMashu to Inanda, north-west of Durban. The M25 serves as one of the most important commuter routes in Greater Durban connecting two of its largest townships to Durban.
The M41 is a metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa linking uMhlanga to Mount Edgecombe and Phoenix, north of the city of Durban.
The M12 is a major metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa, beginning in uMhlanga Rocks and heading southwards through Durban North and Stamford Hill before ending just north of the Durban CBD.
The M65 also named Dube Boulevard is a short metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa linking the N2 and R102 to King Shaka International Airport and Dube TradePort in La Mercy, north of Durban.
The M21 is a metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa linking Durban with Phoenix via Newlands West and KwaMashu.
The M30 also named Griffiths Mxenge Highway is a metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa linking the city of Durban with Umbumbulu, south-west of the city via Umlazi.
