The rarest of the rare images of limited access highways seem to be those of South Africa's N-roads. Google around, and you'll find a few low-resolution thumbnails, but that's about it.

What's out there? Surely someone on SkyscraperCity has documented the freeways of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban?

Yuu.

Nice useless post and NSFW links. If you don't have anything to say, don't post it.

Are there moderators here? Hello? Anyone?

Guess there's no moderators here. If anyone can close this post so there's no more idiotic replies I'd appreciate it.

well if you chack the South African Thread and then look under infrastructure you will see pictures of the N1 -runs North to South from basically the Zimbabwe border to Cape Town, N2- From Northern natal/Mozambique border to Cape Town through Durban
, N3 from Durban to Johannesburg andfthe N4 from Johannesburg to Nelspruit.

try this link for more detail (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=419671).
Here's a few for a start:-

Cape Town

http://static.flickr.com/66/228091259_389c6bfe50_b.jpg

R24 from Johannesburg International Aiport
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/146/361437551_963b1aaf53_b.jpg

The N1 concrete highway in Johannesburg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/103/278965800_d605ce0795_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/143/320482950_3f5b6c2025.jpg?v=0

M1 double decker highway in Johannesburg

http://static.flickr.com/142/320676122_8d50d40e03.jpg?v=0

http://k43.pbase.com/u14/bmcmorrow/upload/38655825.jnb084.JPG


http://encyclopedia.quickseek.com/images/M1_Johannesburg_Eightlane_highway.jpg


http://weblogs.csmonitor.com/notebook_africa/just_like_la_2.jpg

N3 highway in Johannesburg, leads to Durban, SA's habour city, next to it is earth works for one of the stations for a High Speed Rail link being constructed in time for the 2010 World Cup called Gautrain. See http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=445241

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/182/402360513_922066382b_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/143/320482950_3f5b6c2025.jpg?v=0

ooh its one of those cell phone trees :)

ooh its one of those cell phone trees :)
yes, for a long time, i was fooled into thinking it was a real tree

me too

when i was there in 2002 - i always saw those super tall trees and i was like wow and than i looked closer and noticed it wasn't real :lol:

The M4 in Durban, South Africa's 3rd largest city and my personal favorite city

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/132/324127794_ac9ed0a757_b.jpg

Toll roads, this toll gate is somewhere in Nelspruit (towards Kruger National Park)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/128/406651090_9f92821224_o.jpg

N1 in Cape Town, Paarl

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/257175799_31f1fdb819_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/97/253571147_dab12abfc3_b.jpg

Traffic management system

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/98/235389420_e0ab32f7bb.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/411361530_82562c9a66_o.jpg

Cape Town highways back in 1968

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/346396249_57ffaff0dc_o.jpg

The Gouritz River Highway Bridge is a striking example of a concrete box girder supported on inclined piers. The 557 foot span was built in 1977.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/118/277512470_fd7d3ebcea_o.jpg

Highway from Pretoria heading to Johannesburg...somebody is moving

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/83/248483461_e9c7a474ce_o.jpg

highway in Port Elizabeth

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/66/170333581_4498db693b_o.jpg

M1 highway in Johannesburg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/169/411296253_6fcdfe1fee_o.jpg

a highway in northern Johannesburg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/108/298246650_a89c27c7cd_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/87/278965932_530b03e85a_b.jpg

Traffic patrol car on the far right.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/112/278966137_cb561f8aeb_b.jpg

highway closed on a sunday to allow cyclists to do their thing

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/24/66431602_ea05fb2901_o.jpg

N3 towards Durban, South Africa's habour city

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/43/105190256_aa769a689a_o.jpg

have you seen the movie DHOOM 2? Its a bollywood movie - they filmed a helicopter scene on that highway or one of the durban ones cause you can see Durban in one of the signs

have you seen the movie DHOOM 2? Its a bollywood movie - they filmed a helicopter scene on that highway or one of the durban ones cause you can see Durban in one of the signs

No, i haven't seen it. I will check it out

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/418737489_447e2e3075_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/140/418737575_2c673d0fa1_b.jpg

MORE MORE THESE ROADS ARE BEAUTIFUL MORE MORE

Nice pictures :okay:

Highways from Soweto

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/127/411392134_ab66ceaca4_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/145/411392150_ab49d23213_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/411382838_1a6deff9de_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/127/411382840_46afdf3edb_b.jpg

This is how N1 highway looks about 250 kilometers away from Johannesburg en route to Polokwane, Limpopo

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/127/411382819_a1922dcc4b_b.jpg

Fly-overs seen from Soweto

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/127/404984016_bc71d47ddd_b.jpg

More highways seen from an SAA plane

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/404763475_03e14c0928_b.jpg

N3 highway, headed towards OR Tambo airport and ultimately to Durban

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/411417682_670cf1b282_b.jpg

Construction all over the place

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/154/411417676_e957507207_b.jpg

To Botswana

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/411427664_d41724578e_b.jpg

WOWOWOW beautiful! Thank you!

highway network around Johannesburg CBD

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/91/232416509_8feb109ca1_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/169/421728389_25570502e4_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/411392138_8c27cdae41_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/109/283929191_517d7f78a9_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/113/283930741_bf7fed7e9d_b.jpg

yellow line re-defined to accomodate trucks

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/31/99124875_43ff7c609c_o.jpg

traffic jams on the N1 motorway

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/126/320544064_8222843276_o.jpg

the highway from Airport to Joburg (R24)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/320474145_2ba7d5b8b1_o.jpg

Northern Johannesburg highways

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/138/320474142_f9fa4f8336_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/145/361436674_887990672a_b.jpg

approaching the OR Tambo international airport on R24

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/361972803_d4c11ea034_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/148/361972920_e8060c79ab_o.jpg

Now for Cape Town highways, pictures of these are scarce though

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/183/428019143_f8cbd9333c_b.jpg

That stadium you see there is the Greenpoint stadium. Will be demolished in a few weeks to make way for a brand new $400 million 2010 World Cup stadium (68,000 seater with retractable roof)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/161/407994753_f3c2ce881d_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/74/153882598_d150b37bd3_b.jpg

These South African highways are beautiful.

more fly-overs in Cape Town

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/50/114629378_37f8b3d8d8_b.jpg

this truck looks like its broken down, Traffic cop at the scene

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/40/114632119_90c57084e9_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/146/409352235_75a4ab7695_b.jpg

the highway in the karoo

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/182/405461528_bcc6138c1c_b.jpg

Good looking motorways! :okay: I also noticed that South Africa uses the same sign for Zentrum as Germany.

nice ride on the highway

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/184/425620572_b36f8620d6_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/86/241680687_aaf2947b16_b.jpg

So nice!

Good looking motorways! :okay: I also noticed that South Africa uses the same sign for Zentrum as Germany.

Yeap, german influence is very big in South Africa. Germany is one of SA's biggest trading partners. So the highways are modeled very much after the beautiful german autobans. Its a pity they didn't go far enough with the speed limit. :)

They look much better than I expected,South Africa is great!

one of the fly-overs in Johannesburg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/227/514808222_4ef618b12e_b.jpg

A new coat of asphalt is applied on the concrete N1 highway between Johannesburg and Pretoria. A new bus lane seems to be added on the shoulders of the highway.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/202/514815151_1b3be52b61_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/182/385971070_cdf91e3b39_b.jpg

South Africa certainly has one of the best freeway networks in the world, although there were some ambitious plans that were never completed !! The famous PWV9 freeway - where it is supposed to meet up with the mabopane freeway there is an incomplete cloverleaf interchange, and as for the four strips of tar for the short interlink to get from this freeway to the main road into Pretoria one will never know.

The other is the golden highway section that runs through vanderbijlpark, it's freeway standard, but then just somes to an end on the northern side with the R42.

I am trying to locate pictures however of the freeways in SA, pre 1985, particularly of the old road signs that were used!! The NRA don't have anything as it's a new organisation, and I am not sure what happened to the old provincial records. I hope someone can assist ...

South Africa certainly has one of the best freeway networks in the world, although there were some ambitious plans that were never completed !! The famous PWV9 freeway - where it is supposed to meet up with the mabopane freeway there is an incomplete cloverleaf interchange, and as for the four strips of tar for the short interlink to get from this freeway to the main road into Pretoria one will never know.

The other is the golden highway section that runs through vanderbijlpark, it's freeway standard, but then just somes to an end on the northern side with the R42.

I am trying to locate pictures however of the freeways in SA, pre 1985, particularly of the old road signs that were used!! The NRA don't have anything as it's a new organisation, and I am not sure what happened to the old provincial records. I hope someone can assist ...

According to the Environemental Impact Assessment for the Gautrain, it appears that the PWV9 project was postponed in favour of first implementing the Gautrain Rapid Rail system.

Mr Jack van der Merwe replied that the theoretical capacity of the system would be around 60 000 passengers per hour, under a 3 minute headway, using 20 trains, and 9 carriages per train. In terms of the PWV road network, he mentioned that at moment there are six million passenger trips per day in Gauteng that need to be accommodated. If the Gautrain carries a 100 000 passengers trips per day, there is still 5.9 million passenger trips that need to be accommodated. The development of the PWV road network would thus still continue.

SA National Roads Agency has grand plans to upgrade SA's road network

By Nicky Smith

Government is finally putting resources aside to address the chronic backlog and poor state of repair of SA's roads. It's predicted that about 40% of the country's critical road network will reach the end of its structural life within the next five years.

The budget of the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral), which looks after national and toll roads, has accelerated from R2,1bn in 2005/2006 to a projected R11,5bn in 2009/2010. Altogether, national treasury has budgeted R62bn to be spent on roads over the next three years.

Last year the SA Institute of Consulting Engineers (Saice) published a report card on the country's infrastructure and gave national roads a C grade and all other roads a D grade. Saice said inadequate funding and management systems had led to maintenance neglect.

WHAT IT MEANS
Delays and shortages raise costs
Future national roads will be tolled

SA has about 370 000 km of national and regional roads and a further 17 000 km of urban streets, which, according to Saice, carry a replacement value of R200bn and R60bn respectively. However, just 16 000 km - the part of the network looked after by Sanral - carries 70% of all SA's road freight.

The assets under its care are expected to grow to 20 000 km by 2008, almost triple what it oversaw when the agency was created in 1998.

maintenance. The cost of maintaining or repairing a road increases exponentially if it is left to deteriorate.

Sanral is confident that the increased budgets and the sophisticated asset management techniques available to it will prevent widespread failures of the road network. But Koos Smit, Sanral's engineering executive, says backlogs and inconsistencies between national and provincial departments make the agency's work more difficult.

Added to this, he says, the 2010 Fifa World Cup has spawned a multitude of new road projects. "SA doesn't spend anything for years and years and then in three years we want to spend it all," Smit says.

The result is shortages of crushers, bitumen and cement, and increasingly expensive steel and labour in the mad rush to meet 2010 expectations. He predicts that in some instances prices on contracts will go up as much as 100%, though the average escalation will be between 30% and 50%.

Sanral finance director Inge Mulder says it can't all be blamed on 2010 - the economy is running strongly, she says - but cost escalations are a concern. "In the past we would have as many as eight companies tendering on a project; now we get about two," she says, "and you wouldn't believe the margins they are charging."

Delays in getting regulatory approval, mostly because of environmental impact studies, are also proving expensive. For example, the N17 between Springs and Ermelo has been waiting four years to get the go-ahead. The current cost is projected to be R1,4bn, more than double the initial R700m price tag.

Intensity of road use varies greatly in SA. The country's busiest freeway, the Ben Schoeman, carries about 120 000 vehicles between Johannesburg and Pretoria every 24 hours. With about 700 000 new cars on SA's roads every year, it is little wonder that the network is taking strain.

The failure of Spoornet to cater to the economy's growth has also resulted in a great migration of freight from rail to road. Road carries 82% of the freight transported between Johannesburg and Durban. Two decades ago this proportion was the reverse.

Sanral is resorting to technology to regulate the ever-increasing flow of traffic. Part of the Ben Schoeman highway is being used as a trial site for the department of transport's (DoT) intelligent transport system (ITS), which is managed by Sanral.

Launched in September last year at a cost of R80m, the ITS consists of a series of 50 closed-circuit TV cameras and electronic notice boards. The idea is to give drivers better information about traffic conditions to cut travel time and improve safety. For example, the electronic boards will warn motorists entering a blind corner whether there is a build-up of traffic ahead.

During peak periods the shoulder lane may be used. Any accidents are picked up by camera and emergency services are co-ordinated from the banks of screens in the ITS control room.

DoT claims that the system has been successful in cutting travel times between the two cities. The project has a five-year test period before a decision is made to extend the technology to other cities.

The ITS project is one of two big projects in Gauteng. The second, the Gauteng Freeway Project (GFP), is Sanral's most ambitious to date, adding 300 km of toll roads, mostly between Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Mulder says the budget for this project is between R10bn and R15bn and will be funded through bond issues. Sanral has three corporate bonds which trade on the Bond Exchange of SA.

She says public input on the GFP project will be sought between September and next January, after which the environmental impact assessment should begin. "Hopefully the first tenders can go out late next year," Mulder says. Project completion is scheduled for 2013.


Sanral says the bulk of future national road network expansions will be financed using the toll road model, as a result of budget constraints. Sanral administers some of the toll roads and has concessioned others to three private-sector consortia over the past decade.


Smit says that over the next five years Sanral will build 300 km of new national toll roads and upgrade a further 180 km and turn them into toll roads. Projects include the PWV 9, parallel to the Ben Schoeman, and a new Johannesburg airport link road, the N13. Longer-term plans include the Polokwane ring road, a Nelspruit bypass and the contentious N2 Wild Coast toll road.

http://free.financialmail.co.za/07/0...ures/ffeat.htm

most of the freeways were built to accomodate traffic that did not want to pass through johannesburg or pretoria, however these have now become the main aterial routes carrying the very traffic it was never designed to accomodate. i would propose that

a ) the current freeways be upgraded, but remain untolled, as options for traffic moving within johannesburg.
b ) a new system of bypasses be put together to accomodate traffic that simply aims to pass through johannesburg and not get caught in the inter city traffic. these can be tolled, since they provide a convenience to those using them.

i do not think that it is feasible that we have freeways that try to satisfy both purposes!

secondly , i thought that if a toll road was to be built, then a suitable alternative route needed to be in place. it seems that this is no longer the case, if the main arterial highways are simply to have tolls placed on them!

thirdly, hope that sanral / nra look think about the roads that are to be built before just tolling existing ones. there are some key problems that I see, and a lot of infrastructure changes need to be made to the existing roads if there are going to be any upgrades possible.

For example, the N12 Witbank has all of it's bridges to maximum capacity with the current 3 lanes of traffic from Gillolies to the Altas Road Interchange - there is no onther alternative freeway to the east currently! Surely there must be a better way to merge traffic from the r59 north onto the N3 than the current arrangement - a cloverleaf of 1 lane effectively then joining into all the traffic from alberton and the N3 north.

I've tried to make a list of all the freeways in SA (please let me know if there are any i've forgotten).

N1: Cape Town (intersection with M5) to Paarl
N1: Bloemfontein Bypass
N1: Kroonstad Bypass
N1: Intersection with R59 Sasolburg/Parys to Intersection with R33 Marble Hall/Nylstroom - the longest section in SA
N2: Cape Town to Somerset West
N2: Mossel Bay to George
N2: Intersection of turnoff to Hankey to Coega Interchange (PEliz Bypass)
N2: Intersection of turnoff to Berlin to Gonubie Interchange (EL Bypass)
N2: Port Shepstone Bypass (5km)
N2: Hibberdene to Stanger
N3: Buccleuch Interchange to Villiers
N3: Keeversfontein Interchange to Durban - could compete as longest !!
N4: Middelburg West Interchange to just west of Rosslyn (part is also N1)
N7: Intersection with N1 to just north of Milnerton offramp
N7: Malmesbury Bypass (all 2,5km)
N12: old intersection with Old Potch Road to intersection with N4
N14: Pretoria to just south of Muldersdrift offramp (M5)
N17: from Johannesburg to just east of Tonk Meter Road Intersection

Other Routes: -

M3 - Van der Stel Freeway
M5 - intersection with N1 to Wynberg
R300 (N21) Kuilsriver Freeway
R75 - Uitenhage Bypass
M4 - Port Elizabeth
M4 Northen Freeway (Durban)
M4 Southern Freeway (Durban)
M7 - From M13 to N2 (Queensburgh Freeway)
M13 - Old N3 over Field's Hill - but continues to Westville.
M19 - From N2 to Pinetown
R80 - Mabopane Freeway
R21 - From N12 to interchange with M10 (Pta)
R24 - From Eastgate to R21
R59 - From Viljoenskroon to termination at M38 (Jhb south)
R57 (old R568) - Golden Highway to intersection with R82 (Sasolburg Bypass)
M1 - Johannesburg
M2 - Johannesburg

I have not included the sections which are regarded as single carrigeway freeways or limited access dual carriageways (generally toll road sections), mainly N3 Villiers to Warden, N2 North Coast Toll Road, N1 Great North Toll Road, N1 Kroonvaal Toll Road, N2 PE to Plettenburg Bay, N1 Bloemfontein to Orange River. These have green road signage which implies not being freeway.

Also, with the renumbering of national roads a lot of the numbers changed. i.e. N12 used to be R29 / N13 / R22
R59 used to be R26/R42
N14 used to be R28
N17 used to be R77

if one looks hard enough you can still find signs with the old route numbers :-)

Did you include the N1N4 Bakwena toll-road from Brits to Botswana ( i believe its dual carriageway up to Rustenburg)

North-West province's highway network

http://www.bakwena.co.za/resources/img/map_northwest.jpg

Limpopo province's highway network

http://www.bakwena.co.za/resources/img/map_limpopo.jpg

this map of gauteng's provincial highway networks shows some of the highways listed by martinsa.

http://www.bakwena.co.za/resources/img/map_gauteng.jpg - http://www.bakwena.co.za/resources/img/map_sa1.jpg

FYI: Gauteng (which means place of gold in Setswana) is one of South Africa's 9 provinces and is home to the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

the N1N4 bawkena tollroad is a dual carriageway / freeway until the half diamond interchange just outside Rosslyn, thereafter it becomes a single carriageway all the way through to Rustenburg. If you travel the route you will see that some of the older bridges which formed the old R27 allow for two carriageways - when there was obviously a plan to build a freeway through to Rustenburg, however the newer bridges all allow only a single carriageway road. So the N4 is therefore freeway from middleburg to pretoria - but then continues as Bakwena until just south of rosslyn.

however i did forget a freeway from my list - this is a real anomaly - it is the section of the N4 which starts in Pretoria West as Vom Hagen Avenue, and runs through to Haartbeespoort Dam - it is also a toll road - however it then stops just outside Pelindaba. It appears as though the freeway was meant to continue, but i believe the plans were then changed ... it is only about 20km long. If anyone has information why this plan changed, please let me know.

Somewhere in Durban

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/209/508195003_3c7b064caf_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/208/481618443_87b74e1321_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/231/467162809_7349403285_b.jpg

Cape Town

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1246/526505106_3212e5768c_o.jpg

Towards Muizenberg in Cape Town

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/205/517422197_740d34d20c_b.jpg

Traffic, traffic always....in Johannesburg during peak hours!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/207/470267367_d2db84b32f_b.jpg

just some information on where the various pics of kulani were taken: -

1. this is at the first junction of the M19 freeway - the western end - in pinetown (durban). the view is eastwards to durban - the freeway ends at the N2.
2. this is looking westwards along the M13 freeway - it is the junction directly after the M13 / M7 Queensburgh junction - the next junction westwards is the M1 into Pinetown.
3. junction of M13 and M7 - lokking southbound on the M7 as it becomes freeway - this takes you to the N3, Queensburgh - the freeway ends at the N2, where it becomes Edwin Swales VC Drive. (out of interest - I believe that the M7 used to be the R617 - if you find old freeway signs you will see the "R61" has been patched over with an "M").

The CapeTown ones are self explanatory.

For the Jhb one - this was a bit tricky, but it is looking westwards along the R561 or M39 towards Kyalami - probably 2km or so before the T junction with the R55 - on the right hand side is Vorna Valley.

If I've made any mistakes, please let me know ...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/506115879_789ecc113d_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1432/537287239_cf56ec0a19_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1005/537286949_4e5f4b487f_b.jpg

more highways in Durban

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1013/632863368_10a15b05bc_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1124/632017531_c2de95f148_b.jpg

^^ Picture 1 above - Heading East on the N3 arriving near the Spagetti Junction interchange with the N2

Picture 2 - Heading on the N3 West out of the central Durban ring near the Pavillion/Westville offramp

all pics are red X, so sad.

all pics are red X, so sad.
Sorry, maybe you came at the wrong time when flickr is down or your
connection was letting you down. Its all there. Every single picture, i can
see.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/113/283930741_bf7fed7e9d_b.jpg

that must be fourways - i spent the day there once - i walked from the mall to the mcdonalds to the casino back to that other shopping place and than to mall again

i had about 8-10 hours to kill there

that must be fourways - i spent the day there once - i walked from the mall to the mcdonalds to the casino back to that other shopping place and than to mall again

i had about 8-10 hours to kill there

That's correct, that whole area is undergoing re-development with extensions to Montecasino and other developments, Pity the Gautrain rapid rail link is not coming to Fourways yet, but i hope in the near future, they will have a fourways link as the whole area is really clogged up with traffic.