Jan Smuts Avenue is a major street in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It begins in

Randburg Randburg is an area located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly a separate municipality, its administration devolved to the newly created City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, along with neighbouring Sandton and Roodepoort, ...

, and passes through important business areas like Rosebank. It passes the Johannesburg Zoo, Zoo Lake and

Wits University The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

before becoming Bertha Street, and the Nelson Mandela Bridge near the

Johannesburg CBD The Central Business District, commonly called Johannesburg CBD, is one of the main business centres of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the densest collection of skyscrapers in Africa, however, due to white flight and urban blight, many of the b ...

. It has been described as "the most important road for a tourist" in Johannesburg. It forms part of Johannesburg's M27 route.

Route

This major northbound Johannesburg road is roughly 12 km long and is mostly a two or three lane dual carriageway. Jan Smuts Avenue begins in Braamfontein's ridge as an extension northwards of Bertha Street around Stiemens Street. It passes the East campus of the

University of Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

on its left and Helpmekaar College on the right before descending into the leafy suburb of Parktown where it crosses over a major intersection, the M71, Empire Road. After crossing Empire Road, passes over the M1

De Villiers Graaff Sir De Villiers Graaff, 2nd Baronet, (8 December 1913 – 4 October 1999) (first name De Villiers, surname De Graeff, Graaff) known as Div Graaff, was a South African politician who succeeded his father, Sir David Graaff, 1st Baronet, Sir David ...

motorway with several entrances and exits at this intersection. Leaving Parktown, the road begins to drop as it descends Parktown Ridge through the hilly and leafy suburbs of Westcliff and Forest Town. As it enters Parkview, it passes through the Herman Eckstein Park, with the Johannesburg Zoo to the right and the left Zoo Lake. Narrowing to single lanes in

Saxonwold Saxonwold is an affluent suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is situated in what was once the Sachsenwald Forest in the early 20th century. It is located in Region E of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. History The suburb ...

, Jan Smuts Avenue splits northwards at the Cotswold Drive (R25) winding its way out off Saxonwold and into Parkwood. It resumes as a dual carriageway as it climbs into the retail suburb of Rosebank and leafy Parktown North before dropping down into

Dunkeld West Dunkeld West is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along th ...

as a single carriageway. A short while later it resumes as a dual carriageway passes into Hyde Park where at a major intersection close to the

Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to its major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was designed by Decimus Burton. Six streets converge at the j ...

shopping centre, the road splits north-west when it intersects the start of the William Nicol Drive (M81). It passes through

Craighall Craighall is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa and is bordered by Hyde Park, Dunkeld and Parkhurst. It sits in between the busy arterial routes of Jan Smuts Avenue and William Nicol highway and is located in Region B of the City of Johann ...

and Craighall Park crossing the

Braamfontein Spruit The Braamfontein Spruit (from the Afrikaans for "spring of brambles") is the longest stream in Johannesburg, South Africa. It originates in Barnato Park High School, Braamfontein. It is covered and canalised near its source, but once the river run ...

. It then enters the old Randburg suburbs of Blairgowrie and Bordeaux intersecting Bram Fischer Drive, Ferndale and where Jan Smuts Avenue ends.

History

Jan Smuts Avenue is named after the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

general

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

and Prime Minister of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...

. On 3 July 1917, the Federation of Ratepayers Association recommended to the

City of Johannesburg The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city. Z ...

that two main roads in Johannesburg be named after Louis Botha and

, in honour of their service to the British Empire during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Prior to the road's renaming in 1917, it was known as the Pretoria Road.

References

Streets and roads of Johannesburg Jan Smuts {{Johannesburg-stub