Mangaung (

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

metropolitan area) like most South African metropolitan areas, uses Metropolitan or "M" routes for important intra-city routes, a layer below

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(N) roads and

Regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

(R) roads. Each city's M roads are independently numbered. Bloemfontein's N and R roads are as follows: The N1, a major

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

running roughly SW to NE from

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

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 Demo ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

largely bypasses this city to the west. The N8 runs east/west connecting Bloemfontein to

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

and

Maseru Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. The ...

, the capital of

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

. Bloemfontein is also the northern end of the N6 road heading roughly southwards to the port of

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. At a

T-junction A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T i ...

just before the city, the N6 becomes the M30, and the intersecting road is designated the N6. This road ends in an interchange with the N1. There are also two two-digit R routes: the R64, which is the old road to Kimberley, via

Dealesville Dealesville is a mixed farming town in the Free State province of South Africa and is surrounded by numerous salt pans. There are many natural springs in the vicinity, most notably Florisbad some 35 km from the town. The town was establishe ...

and

Boshof Boshof is a farming town in the west of the Free State province, South Africa. The town is 55 km north-east of Kimberley on the R64 road. Established in March 1856 on the farm Vanwyksvlei, which had been named after a Griqua who sowed his ...

. It ends at the N1. The R30 ends at the N1 north of the town. It is the road to

Welkom Welkom () is the second-largest city in the Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein which is the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The cit ...

. Three other three-digit R routes have their origin in Bloemfontein. The R706 takes origin from the N8 in the city centre, and heads south-east towards

Jagersfontein Jagersfontein is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. Origin The original farm on which the town stands was once the property of a Griqua Jacobus Jagers, hence the name Jagersfontein. He sold the farm to C.F. Visser in 1854. ...

and

Fauresmith Fauresmith is located 130 km south west of Bloemfontein, South Africa. The town, named after Rev Phillip Faure and Sir Harry Smith, is the second oldest town in the Free State. Fauresmith is the only town in South Africa, and one of only t ...

. The R702 also originates from the N8 in the city centre, but heads south-west towards the towns of

Dewetsdorp Dewetsdorp is a small town in the Free State (province), Free State province of South Africa, 68 km south-east of Bloemfontein. The town was set up, without approval of the Volksraad of the South African Republic, Volksraad, by field-cornet J ...

and

Wepener Wepener is a town in the Free State, South Africa, located near the border of Lesotho. History The town is named after Louw Wepener, the leader of the Boers in their war with the Basotho chief Moshoeshoe I in 1865. It was founded in 1867 on t ...

. The third road, the R700, starts south of the city centre from the M30 and heads north crossing the N8 and N1 towards

Bultfontein Bultfontein is a town in the Free State province of South Africa with a total population of about 23,400 people. It is situated in the Tswelopele Local Municipality, about north of Bloemfontein. The town site was laid out in 1873; it had been d ...

Table of M roads

References

{{reflist Roads in South Africa

Table of M roads

See Also

References