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.
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. Freeways are sometimes called highways or motorways colloquially.
The Johannesburg Ring Road is a major part of the freeways that circle the city of Johannesburg, South Africa and services the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. The entire Ring Road is an e-toll highway.
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 N12 Southern Bypass is a section of the Johannesburg Ring Road that forms a beltway around the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the N12. The freeway was the last section of the Ring Road to be built, with the final section opening in 1986. As part of the old South African Freeways, It was initially called the N13.
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.
The R21 / P157 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 / P157 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 / P157 freeway further south and the freeway may be linked with the current eastern terminus of the M2 in Germiston in future.
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 R103 is a Regional Route in South Africa that is the designation for some of the old sections of roads that were previously the N3, prior to upgrading. It only has 3 sections, from Hillcrest to Ladysmith, from Warden to Villiers and from Heidelberg to Johannesburg.
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 Central Business District eastwards where it connects with the N3. The north–south M1 intersects with the M2 just to the west of the 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 a former Minister of Transport Ben Schoeman, and is undoubtedly the busiest road in South Africa.
The M43 is a major metropolitan road in Johannesburg, South Africa which begins in Vosloorus, southern Johannesburg and heads northwards to Birchleigh, Kempton Park on the East Rand.
The M31 is a metropolitan route in Johannesburg, South Africa. The road connects the southern suburbs of Alberton with Johannesburg's northern suburbs. The routes eastern bypass in the Johnannesburg CBD connects the M2 motorway at the Heidelberg Interchange with M1 North motorway in Houghton and then the route follows the M1 motorway northwards until the M31 ends in Bramley.
The M37 is a metropolitan route in 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 Johannesburg, South Africa. It connects Kyalami with Germiston via Midrand, Kempton Park & Isando.
The M46 is a short metropolitan route in Johannesburg, South Africa. It connects Tulisa Park in Johannesburg South with Springs via Germiston, Boksburg and Brakpan.
N1 Buccleuch Interchange
M60 Marlboro
M54 Alexandra
R25 Greenstone
M16 Edenvale
N12 / R24 Bedfordview
M52 Bedfordview
M2 Germiston