The M3 is an
expressway in
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 ...
,
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 ...
, connecting the upper part of the
City Bowl
The City Bowl is a part of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a natural amphitheatre-shaped area bordered by Table Bay and defined by the mountains of Signal Hill, Lion's Head, Table Mountain and Devil's Peak.
The area includes the central bu ...
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.
Route
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
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
; 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
Philip Ata Kgosana (Born in now Makapanstad, North West, South Africa 12 October 1936 – 19 April 2017) was a leader of the Pan Africanist Congress in South Africa, and was known for leading a march at the age of 23 on 30 March 1960, where 30,00 ...
Drive, named after an activist who led a peaceful march along the road in 1960. Prior to 2017, this section was named De Waal Drive, after
Sir Frederic de Waal
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...
, the first Administrator of the
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...
, who commissioned the road.
This section of the M3 runs eastwards across the north face of
Devil's Peak to
Hospital Bend
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 ...
, located immediately next to
Groote Schuur Hospital
Groote Schuur Hospital is a large, government-funded, teaching hospital situated on the slopes of Devil's Peak in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It was founded in 1938 and is famous for being the institution where the first human-to-huma ...
, where it intersects with the
N2 Nelson Mandela Boulevard section (formerly Eastern Boulevard).
Around Hospital Bend, the M3 is
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
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
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
. This section of the highway forms the western boundary of the suburbs of
Mowbray,
Rosebank,
Rondebosch
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.
History
Four years after the first Dutch s ...
, and part of
Newlands. It separates these suburbs from the
Table Mountain National Park
Table Mountain National Park, previously known as the Cape Peninsula National Park, is a national park in Cape Town, South Africa, proclaimed on 29 May 1998, for the purpose of protecting the natural environment of the Table Mountain Chain, and ...
, except where the Upper Campus of the University is located west of the freeway.
In
Newlands, the M3 turns away from
Table Mountain
Table Mountain ( naq, Huriǂoaxa, lit= sea-emerging; af, Tafelberg) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the ...
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
Simon van der Stel (14 October 1639 – 24 June 1712) was the last commander and first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony, the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope.
Background
Simon was the son of Adriaan van der Steland Maria Lievens, ...
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
False Bay (Afrikaans ''Valsbaai'') is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa. The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarcat ...
coast to
Muizenberg
Muizenberg ( , Dutch for "mice mountain") is a beach-side town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is situated where the shore of the Cape Peninsula curves round to the east on the False Bay coast. It is considered to be the main surfing spo ...
,
Fish Hoek
Fish Hoek ( af, Vishoek, meaning either Fish Corner or Fish Glen) is a coastal town at the eastern end of the Fish Hoek Valley on the False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape, South Africa. Previously a separate municipality, Fish ...
, and
Simon's Town
Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern ...
; and with
Ou Kaapse Weg
Ou Kaapse Weg (Afrikaans for ''Old Cape Way''), numbered as route M64, is a mountain pass in the Cape Peninsula that connects the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town with the Fish Hoek Valley. It traverses the Steenberg mountains and passes throu ...
(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:
*
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 ...
CBD
*
Gardens
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
*
Vredehoek
Vredehoek (Afrikaans: "corner of peace" or "peace corner") is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa located in the City Bowl, on the slopes of Table Mountain, between Devil's Peak Estate and Oranjezicht. The suburb was proclaimed after the first w ...
*
Zonnebloem
Zonnebloem (Dutch for sunflower) is a suburb in City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa, previously part of District Six.
It was a farming estate until the early 19th century, when it became a su ...
*
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...
*
Observatory
*
Mowbray
*
Rosebank
*
Rondebosch
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.
History
Four years after the first Dutch s ...
*
Newlands
*
Claremont
*
Bishopscourt
*
Wynberg
*
Constantia
*
Meadowridge
*
Bergvliet
*
Tokai
*
Kirstenhof
References
{{Cape Town, built
Roads in Cape Town
Highways in South Africa
Streets and roads of Cape Town
Metropolitan routes in Cape Town