National routes in

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

are a class of trunk roads and

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s which connect major cities. They form the highest category in the South African route numbering scheme, and are designated with

route number A route (or road) number, designation or abbreviation is an identifying numeric (or alphanumeric) designation assigned by a highway authority to a particular stretch of roadway to distinguish it from other routes and, in many cases, also to indi ...

s beginning with "N", from N1 to N18. Most segments of the national route network are officially proclaimed National Roads that are maintained by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), but some segments are maintained by provincial or local road authorities. The system was mostly built during the 1970s by the National Party government of South Africa, although construction of new roads and repairs of existing stretches continue today. The system was modeled on the United States

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

network, an idea first brought into effect by

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower during the 1950s, based on the German

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

, which he experienced when touring Germany after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Although the terms ''National Road'' and ''National Route'' are sometimes regarded as synonymous, they have distinct meanings, and not all national routes are National Roads, while some "R"-numbered routes are proclaimed National Roads.

Definition

National routes are defined and numbered by the Route Numbering and Road Traffic Signs Sub Committee within the Roads Co-ordinating Body, an organisation which contains representatives from road authorities in national, provincial and local government. The term "national road" is frequently used to refer to a national route, but technically a "national road" is any road maintained by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) and need not necessarily form part of a national route, and there are "R" routes that are proclaimed National Roads. There are also road segments of the national route network that are maintained by provincial or local authorities rather than SANRAL, and are thus not National Roads.

Table of routes

National Routes are denoted with the letter N followed by a number indicating the specific route. On maps and some signage, national routes are shown by a

pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek language, Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is ...

with the number of the road inside. There are fifteen declared national routes, which are listed below.

Earlier scheme

An earlier scheme, deviating considerably from the current numbering, is described in the 1970 Shell Road Atlas of South Africa and other contemporaneous sources: *N1 - equivalent to the current N9 from George to Colesberg, and then the current N1 from there to Beitbridge (with deviations as some newer parts had yet to be built) *N2 - equivalent to the section of the current N2 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 larges ...

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 ...

*N3 - equivalent to the current N3 from

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, Queensl ...

, then following the current N11 to Volksrust, and the current R23 from there to Heidelberg, and then continuing equivalent to the N3 until its end in Johannesburg *N4 - equivalent to the section of the current N4 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 ...

to Komatipoort *N5 - equivalent to the current N5 but from Winburg past Harrismith to Ladysmith (the latter part now signed as the N3) *N6 - equivalent to the current N6, except that it begins from King William's Town, the section from there to Stutterheim now being the R346, and ending in Reddersburg. *N7 - equivalent to the section of the current N10 from Ncanaha to just past Middelburg *N8 - equivalent to the section of the current R64 from

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 ...

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. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape ...

*N9 - equivalent to the section of the current N1 from Cape Town to Colesberg *N10 - equivalent to the section of the current R56 between Kokstad and Pietermaritzburg *N11 - equivalent to the current N7 *N12 - equivalent to the section of the current N12 from George to Beaufort West *N13 - equivalent to the section of the current N12 from Three Sisters to Johannesburg *N14 - equivalent to the section of the current N2 from Durban to Eswatini *N15 - equivalent to the section of the current R75 from Port Elizabeth to Uitenhage *N16 - equivalent to the section of the current N3 between Heidelberg and Harrismith *N17 - equivalent to the section of the current N10 between Noupoort and Namibia *N18 - equivalent to the section of the current R61 from Queenstown to Port St. Johns *N19 - equivalent to the section of the current R56 from south of Jamestown to Kokstad Anonymous. Shell Road Atlas of Southern Africa. Shell, 1970

Notes

External links

South African National Roads Agency

The Peninsula Expressway
{{Motorways in Africa

Definition

Table of routes

Earlier scheme

See also

Notes

External links