The N11 is a national route in

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 ...

which runs from the

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

border at

Groblersbrug Groblersbrug (known as Grobler's Bridge in English) is a border crossing between South Africa and Botswana on the Limpopo River in Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which for ...

, through

Mokopane Mokopane, also known as Potgietersrus, is a town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The town name was changed to Mokopane in 2003 in honour of a local Ma Nrebele leader, King Mghombane Gheghana , who ruled the area before being conquered ...

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

, Ermelo and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

to end at the N3 just after

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...

Route

Limpopo

The N11 begins at the

Border with

(Grobler's Bridge in English) on the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountain ...

. On the Botswana side of the Limpopo River, the border is known as Martin's Drift. It begins by running south-east through

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

province for 190 kilometres to

. Just before entering

, the N11 is joined by the R518 and they form one road into Mokopane Central. At the junction with the R101 Road (Thabo Mbeki Drive), the N11 and the R518 join the R101 southwards. At the second junction afterwards (by Mokopane Mall), the R518 becomes its own road eastwards towards

Zebediela Zebediela is a group of villages in Capricorn District Municipality of Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is situated south-east of Polokwane next to Lebowakgomo. It is well known for the production of citrus fruits (mainly oranges). The prope ...

, leaving the R101 and the N11 as the road southwards (Thabo Mbeki Drive). After 11 kilometres, the N11 becomes its own road towards the south-south-east and meets the N1 Highway (southbound only) at the next junction just north of the N1's Nyl Toll Plaza. The N11 continues southwards for 72 kilometers to reach an intersection with the R33 Road. They become one road southwards into the town of

Marble Hall Marble Hall is a town in the south of the Limpopo province of South Africa. It was formerly in Mpumalanga province. Marble Hall is a village 26 km north-west of Groblersdal and 96 km south-south-east of Mokopane on the N11 National R ...

(15 kilometres), where they meet the north-eastern terminus of the R573 from

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

and

KwaMhlanga KwaMhlanga is a fast growing town in the North Western corner of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. It is the spiritual home of the Ndebele tribe that settled here in the early 18th century. Kwamhlanga now consists of Kwamhlanga, Mandela, Phol ...

. The R33 and N11 remain as one road for another 27 kilometres south into the town of

Groblersdal Groblersdal is a farming town situated 32 km north of the 178 million m³ Loskop Dam in the Sekhukhune District of Limpopo. The town is South Africa's second largest irrigation settlement. The main crops in this man-made floodplain are cott ...

. At the junction with the north-eastern terminus of the R25 Road (4-way junction;

staggered junction An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections a ...

) in Groblersdal, the R33 becomes the road eastwards, leaving the N11 as the road southwards. The N11 continues southwards for 85 kilometers, following the Olifants River, to cross into the Mpumalanga Province and reach the city of

Mpumalanga

It enters the city of Middelburg as Walter Sisulu Street. At the junction with Cowen Ntuli Street, the N11 meets the R555 and the R104 and they all become the road eastwards on Cowen Ntuli Street, which is the main road through Middelburg Central. Just after meeting the R35 Road's northern terminus, the R555 becomes its own road north-eastwards, leaving the R104 and N11 as the road eastwards. Just after the Eastdene Suburb, the N11 splits from the R104 to become the road towards the south-east. After the Nazareth and Rockdale suburbs, it meets the N4 Highway (

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,0 ...

Highway;

Maputo Corridor The Maputo Corridor is a major trade corridor which connects the Gauteng, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa with Maputo, which is a port and the capital of Mozambique. The corridor comprises roads - including the N4 toll road (from ...

). The N11 proceeds south-south-east for 55 kilometres to the town of Hendrina, where it intersects with the

R38 road The R38 is a provincial route in 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 ...

in the town centre. It proceeds south-east for 50 kilometres to the city of Ermelo, where it meets the N17 from Eswatini (Swaziland). N11-pad_tussen_Hendrina_en_Ermelo,_Mpumalanga,_a

N11-pad_tussen_Hendrina_en_Ermelo,_Mpumalanga,_a

At the Fourie Street junction, the N17 joins the N11 southwards up to the junction with Joubert Street, where the N17 continues westwards. At Voortrekker Street south of Ermelo town centre, the N11 meets the terminus of the N2 from

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. From Ermelo, it runs south for 97 kilometres, through

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

(where it meets the R35 Road again), to the town of

Volksrust Volksrust is a town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa near the KwaZulu-Natal provincial border, some 240 km southeast of Johannesburg, 53 km north of Newcastle and 80 km southeast of Standerton. History The town was la ...

, where it meets the south-eastern terminus of the R23 Road and becomes the

Laing's Nek Laing's Nek, or Lang's Nek is a pass through the Drakensberg mountain range, South Africa, immediately north of Majuba, at at an elevation of 5400 to . It is the lowest part of a ridge which slopes from Majuba to the Buffalo River, and before ...

Pass. Just after, the N11 enters KwaZulu-Natal.

KwaZulu-Natal

From Volksrust, the N11 proceeds south for 45 kilometres to reach the city of

. Just before Newcastle, the N11 is joined by the

R34 R34 may refer to: * R34 (New York City Subway car) * R34 (South Africa) * HM Airship ''R.34'', a rigid airship of the Royal Air Force * , a destroyer of the Royal Navy * Nissan Skyline (R34), a mid-size car * Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34), a sports ca ...

for 7 kilometres until they split at an off-ramp north-east of the city centre, where the N11 becomes the Newcastle Eastern Bypass. After bypassing the city centre, the N11 proceeds south for 95 kilometres as the Ikhupe Pass, meeting the western terminus of the R68 (which connects to Dundee), to reach the city of

. It turns westwards in the city centre and crosses the

Klip River The Klip River is the main river draining the portion of Johannesburg south of the Witwatersrand, and its basin includes the Johannesburg CBD and Soweto. The mouth of the river is at Vereeniging where it empties into the Vaal River, which is a tri ...

to reach an off-ramp intersection with the R103 Road adjacent to the

Ladysmith Airport Ladysmith Airport is an airport serving Ladysmith, a town in the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. Facilities The airport is located on the outskirts of town just below Platrand at at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one r ...

. The N11 joins the R103 and they are one road south-south-west for 2 and a half kilometers before the N11 becomes its own road westwards. The N11 heads westwards for 13 kilometres, meeting the north-eastern terminus of the R600 (which connects to Winterton), to reach its end at an off-ramp junction with the N3 Highway just south of the N3's Tugela Toll Plaza. West of this junction, it is known as the R616 to

Bergville Bergville is a small town situated in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was established as Bergville Mountain Village in 1897 and is now the commercial centre for a 2,500 km2 dairy and cattle ranchin ...

Road Status

The N11 is an alternate route between

and KwaZulu-Natal to the N3 freeway. (Avoiding

and

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 ...

; avoiding

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

Province; being an alternative national route towards

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 ...

when coming from the port of

) (while the route through Gauteng has

tollgate A tollbooth (or toll booth) is an enclosure placed along a toll road that is used for the purpose of collecting a toll from passing traffic. A structure consisting of several tollbooths placed next to each other is called a toll plaza, tollga ...

s and e-tolls, the N11 is toll-free)

is the largest and main city along this scenic route. SANRAL has plans for upgrading the Newcastle bypass which encompasses bulking up of the various interchanges and partial realignment of the route.

References

External links

South African National Roads Agency

An old-fashioned (free) National Road , Travels with Akela
{{coord, -25.768204, 29.455462, display=title National Roads in South Africa Roads in South Africa