Metropolitan route M3 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by the City of Cape Town | ||||
Length | 23 km (14 mi) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
North end | M62 Buitengracht Street in the Cape Town CBD | |||
South end | M42 Steenberg Road in Westlake | |||
Location | ||||
Country | South Africa | |||
Highway system | ||||
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The M3 is an expressway in Cape Town, South Africa, connecting the upper part of the City Bowl to the Southern Suburbs and ending in Tokai. For most of its route it parallels - though further to the south and west - the M4 (Main Road), which was the original road connecting central Cape Town with the settlements to the south.
The M3 begins at a traffic light on Buitengracht Street (the M62) and runs south-east as Buitensingel Street, a dual-carriage roadway. For the next three kilometres it runs south and then east through Gardens; it changes names regularly, being named Orange Street, Annandale Road, Mill Street and Jutland Avenue. At Roeland Street, which is numbered as Exit 1, the M3 becomes a grade separated dual carriageway and takes on the name Philip Kgosana Drive, named after an activist who led a peaceful march along the road in 1960. [1] Prior to 2017, this section was named De Waal Drive, after Sir Frederic de Waal, the first Administrator of the Cape Province, who commissioned the road. [2]
This section of the M3 runs eastwards across the north face of Devil's Peak to Hospital Bend, located immediately next to Groote Schuur Hospital, where it intersects with the N2 Nelson Mandela Boulevard section (formerly Eastern Boulevard).
Around Hospital Bend, the M3 is concurrent with the N2 for approximately a kilometre as a highway with 5 lanes in each direction; when the N2 branches off to the east as Settlers Way, the M3 runs south as Rhodes Drive past the University of Cape Town. This section of the highway forms the western boundary of the suburbs of Mowbray, Rosebank, Rondebosch, and part of Newlands. It separates these suburbs from the Table Mountain National Park, except where the Upper Campus of the University is located west of the freeway.
In Newlands, the M3 turns away from Table Mountain and the grade separation ends; there are 5 traffic lights along this section. In this area it is named variously Union Avenue, Paradise Road and Edinburgh Drive. As it passes over Wynberg Hill, the M3 attains freeway status again. This section is known officially as the Simon van der Stel Freeway and colloquially as the Blue Route. It proceeds southward through Constantia and Tokai, terminating at exit 23, an intersection with Steenberg Road (the M42). Steenberg Road connects the terminus of the M3 with Main Road (the M4) in the east, which continues southwards along the False Bay coast to Muizenberg, Fish Hoek, and Simon's Town; and with Ou Kaapse Weg (the M64) in the west, which crosses the Silvermine mountains to Noordhoek.
Original plans were for the M3 to continue southwards as a freeway, as can be seen by the unfinished strips of tar under the bridge.
The M3 passes through the following suburbs:
Bellville is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The residential suburb of Bellville lies approximately 23 km north-east of Cape Town and 38 km south-west of Paarl set amongst the Tygerberg hills, with breathtaking views over the Durbanville winelands and the Cape Fold Mountains.
Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town.
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.
Tokai, a large residential suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, is situated on the foothills of the Constantiaberg, and is bordered by Steenberg and Kirstenhof to the south, Bergvliet to the east, Constantia to the north and the SAFCOL pine tree plantations against the mountain to the west.
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.
Wynberg is a southern suburb of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape, South Africa. It is situated between Plumstead and Kenilworth, and is a main transport hub for the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town.
The City of Cape Town is the local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026.
The M5 is an expressway in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. It connects Milnerton on the Western Seaboard in the north to Muizenberg in the south, and crosses both the N1 and the N2. For part of its length, from the N1 interchange to Plumstead, it is a limited-access freeway (motorway). From Mowbray to Muizenberg, it is parallel to the M4 Main Road.
The Liesbeek River is a river in Cape Town in South Africa. It is named after a small river in the Netherlands. The first "free burghers" of the Dutch East India Company were granted land to farm along the river in 1657, shortly after the first Dutch settlers arrived in the Cape. The river was originally called the Amstel or Versse Rivier. It is the first river that Jan van Riebeeck named.
The Southern Suburbs are a group of Anglophone suburbs in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. This group includes, among others, Observatory, Mowbray, Pinelands, Rosebank, Rondebosch, Rondebosch East, Newlands, Claremont, Hanover Park,Lansdowne, Kenilworth, Bishopscourt, Constantia, Wynberg, Ottery, Plumstead, Diep River, Bergvliet and Tokai. The area is also commonly referred to as the Cape Peninsula, often including the towns further South such as Fish Hoek.
The Diocese of Cape Town is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) which presently covers central Cape Town, some of its suburbs and the island of Tristan da Cunha, though in the past it has covered a much larger territory. The Ordinary of the diocese is Archbishop of Cape Town and ex officio Primate and Metropolitan of the ACSA. His seat is St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town.
Mowbray is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa and lies on the slopes of Devil's Peak. Mowbray is at a junction of several major Cape Town highways and has an important multi-modal public transport interchange at Mowbray railway station. Its original name was Driekoppen.
Rosebank is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa, located between the suburbs of Mowbray and Rondebosch.
The Southern Line is a commuter rail line operated by Metrorail Western Cape, connecting Cape Town station in central Cape Town, South Africa with the Southern Suburbs and the towns on the west coast of False Bay, terminating in Simon's Town.
Hospital Bend is a major freeway junction, located to the east of the central business district of Cape Town, South Africa. It is the junction between the N2 national route and the M3 metropolitan expressway. Its unusual design led to notoriety as a traffic bottleneck and a frequent accident location; between March 2008 and early 2010 it underwent major roadworks to address these issues. It takes its name from it curving around the grounds of Groote Schuur Hospital.
Steenberg is a small community in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It has a population of slightly more than 4,000 and mainly includes those belonging to the Cape Coloured community. The main center of the suburb is Military Road, which runs from west connecting Tokai and Kirstenhof at the M4 Main Road and then east into the M5 which provides access to Muizenberg and various other northern suburbs including Bellville and Century City. Military Road has many small businesses lining its south side but also one of South Africa's largest retailers, Shoprite, which has a branch located close to the M5.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cape Town:
The M4 is a long metropolitan route in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa. It connects the Cape Town CBD with the Cape Peninsula via Wynberg, Muizenberg and Fish Hoek. Originally, it was the main route connecting the Cape Town CBD with the Southern Suburbs. From the CBD to Kirstenhof, it is parallel to the M3 Freeway.
The M10 is a metropolitan route in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. It connects the town of Bellville in the Northern Suburbs with Philippi on the Cape Flats.
The M12 is a long metropolitan route in the City of Cape Town, South Africa. It connects Burgundy Estate with Stellenbosch via Parow, Elsie's River and Kuils River.