The R21 / P157 is a major north–south

provincial route A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

(with a freeway portion designated as a

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

) in eastern

Gauteng Province 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 1. ...

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 countri ...

. Built in the early 1970s, it remains one of two freeways (the other being the N1) linking Pretoria with Johannesburg, via the R24. As the eastern of the two freeways, it links the

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

city centre with

OR Tambo International Airport O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng, Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to/from South Africa and since 2020, ...

, the N12 freeway, and

Boksburg Boksburg is a city on the East Rand of Gauteng province of South Africa. Gold was discovered in Boksburg in 1887. Boksburg was named after the State Secretary of the South African Republic, W. Eduard Bok. The Main Reef Road linked Boksburg ...

. Between the Solomon Mahlangu Drive on-ramp in Monument Park, Pretoria, and the N12 in Boksburg, the R21 / P157 is an 8 lane

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 ...

and

motorway 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 i ...

(

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 ...

), with 4 lanes in each direction. It has off-ramps leading to

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

Olifantsfontein Olifantsfontein, also known as Clayville, is a small town on the East Rand in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. It is located at the north-western corner of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, just north of the Thembisa township. ...

, Benoni, and Kempton Park, including a partial offramp to Atlas Road. The route intersects the N1 Highway ( Eastern Pretoria Bypass; Danie Joubert Freeway) near

Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

, the R24 near the airport, the N12 and N17 in Boksburg, and the N3 near

Vosloorus Vosloorus is a large township situated south of Boksburg and just east of Katlehong in Ekurhuleni, just 30 kilometres south-east of Johannesburg, Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana la ...

on the

East Rand The East Rand is the urban eastern part of the Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation in South Africa. The region extends from Alberton in the west to Nigel in the east, and south down to Nigel. It includes ...

, where it ends. The section from the N12 to the N3 is not a freeway. As early as the 1970s there were proposals to extend the R21 / P157 freeway further south and the freeway may be linked with the current eastern terminus of the M2 in Germiston in future. The R21 / P157 is the lowest "R" designated route number in South Africa, since numbers 1-20 have been reserved for national route numbers. However a portion of the R21 / P157 where is exists as a freeway, from Solomon Mahlangu Drive in Pretoria, to the N12 Freeway in the East Rand is both a National Road and a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

( e-toll highway), having been declared such in 2008, as part of the

Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project 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 1 ...

, when it was also transferred to the South African National Roads Agency. The improvement project increased the number of lanes (previously, the freeway portion had been a dual carriageway freeway, with 2 lanes in each direction, from the Rietfontein Interchange to Pretoria), and installed lighting along the length of the freeway section.

Route

The R21 begins just north-east of Fountains Valley in

as Nelson Mandela Drive, at a roundabout intersection with the M18 Christina De Wit Avenue, M7 and M5 Metropolitan roads of Pretoria, heading south-east. After Fountains Valley, the R21 passes by Monument Park. After Monument Park, the R21 becomes a

(it becomes an e-toll highway; with

open road tolling Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The m ...

), with the first off-ramp being the M10 (Solomon Mahlangu Drive; formerly Hans Strijdom Drive) east of the

Waterkloof Air Force Base Air Force Base Waterkloof is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is situated on the outskirts of Pretoria, and is the SAAF's busiest airbase. The base's name, ''Waterkloof'', is Afrikaans. It means ''Water Ravine'' in English. Despite ...

. It has Pretoria East to its east and

to its west. Just after Solomon Mahlangu Drive, near the suburb of

Pierre van Ryneveld Park Pierre van Ryneveld Park is a suburb of Centurion in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is named after Sir Pierre van Ryneveld. It is bisected by the N1 freeway and is bordered by Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capit ...

, the R21 intersects with the N1 Highway (Danie Joubert Freeway; Pretoria Eastern Bypass), which is the freeway between

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

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province ...

. The Interchange is named the Flying Saucer Interchange. After the N1 Interchange, the R21 Freeway continues southwards and has 10 off-ramps and interchanges for the remaining 43 km length of its freeway section. The R21 intersects with the M31 (

Off-ramp), R562 (

Off-ramp),

R25 R25 may refer to: Automobiles * BMW R25, a German motorcycle * Renault 25, a French executive car * Renault R25, a Formula One car * Yamaha YZF-R25, a Japanese motorcycle Aviation * British Airship ''R25'', a training airship * Rubik R-25 ...

(

Birchleigh Birchleigh is one of the northernmost suburbs of Kempton Park, in Gauteng province, 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 coastli ...

Tembisa Thembisa, formerly Tembisa (Dindela), is a large township situated to the north of Kempton Park on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1957 when black people were resettled from Alexandra and other areas in Edenvale, Kem ...

Off-ramp),

R23 R23 or R-23 may refer to: Military * R-23 (missile), a Soviet air-to-air missile * , a destroyer of the Royal Navy * Rikhter R-23, a Soviet aircraft autocannon * , a submarine of the United States Navy Roads * R23 road (Belgium) * R-23 regional ...

( Benoni Off-ramp), M32 ( Pomona Off-ramp), M43 (Atlas Off-ramp), M96 ( Kempton Park Central Off-ramp), R24 (

O.R. Tambo International Airport O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to/from South Africa and since 2020, it is Africa's second ...

Interchange), M41 (Jet Park Off-ramp) and N12 (Rietfontein Interchange). After the M31 Irene off-ramp, the R21 leaves the

City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City of Tshwane) () is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng Province, South Africa. The Metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pr ...

and enters the

City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality The City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of the East Rand region of Gauteng. The municipality itself is a large suburban region east of Johannesburg. The name ''Ekurhuleni'' m ...

. From the M31 Irene off-ramp up to just after the O.R. Tambo International Airport, the R21 is followed by the M57 Metropolitan Route of Johannesburg from north to south (which can be used as an alternative route to avoid being charged fees by the e-toll system or when there are roadworks on the highway). From the R562 Olifantsfontein off-ramp to the R25 Birchleigh off-ramp, the R21 bypasses the township of

(forms its eastern boundary). At the

, south-east of Kempton Park Central, the R21 meets the R24 Freeway, which connects the airport with Johannesburg Central in the west. Via the R24 (named the Albertina Sisulu Freeway), the R21 is the only freeway apart from the

Ben Schoeman Freeway The Ben Schoeman Freeway or Ben Schoeman Highway is the main freeway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and consists of portions of the M1, N1, and N14. Opened in 1968, it is named after a former Minister of Transport Ben Schoeman, and is undou ...

(designated as the N1) that links

with

. North of

(just after the M41 Jet Park off-ramp), the R21 forms an interchange with the N12 Highway to

in the west and

Witbank Witbank (), officially Emalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wago ...

(eMalahleni) in the east at the Rietfontein Interchange, which marks the end of the R21 being both a freeway and a

( e-toll highway). The R21 becomes Rietfontein Road when it junctions with the M44 Road (North Rand Road) at the next junction by East Rand Mall. Further south, at the suburb of Boksburg North, the R21 meets the M41 again and continues by way of a right turn at Rondebult Road. The R21 then meets the R29 (Cason Road) and continues south, bypassing Boksburg Central. After Boksburg Central, the R21 crosses the N17 Highway at Elspark and continues south through Sunward Park. After Sunward Park, the R21 heads south-south-east, meeting the R554 (North Boundary Road) and intersects the M43 Road (Barry Marais Road) for the second time at a t-junction in

Dawn Park Dawn Park is a suburb of Boksburg close to Vosloorus Vosloorus is a large township situated south of Boksburg and just east of Katlehong in Ekurhuleni, just 30 kilometres south-east of Johannesburg, Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine ...

. The R21 and the M43 are co-signed south-west. As Bierman Road, the R21/M43 pass over the M35 Road (Germiston-Heidelberg Road), intersect with the R103, and reach an intersection with the N3 Freeway (

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 ...

Highway) just east of

, which marks the end of the R21.

Albertina Sisulu Freeway

As the R24 Freeway is known as the ''

Albertina Sisulu Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu ( Thethiwe; 21 October 1918 – 2 June 2011) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and the wife of fellow activist Walter Sisulu (1912–2003). She was affectionately known as "Ma Sisulu" throughout her li ...

Freeway'' in Ekurhuleni between Eastgate Shopping Centre and

Johannesburg International Airport O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to/from South Africa and since 2020, it is Africa's second ...

, the use of the name doesn't end there. The R21 is often also called the ''Albertina Sisulu Freeway'', Particularly the section from the Johannesburg International Airport interchange north to the N1 Pretoria Eastern Bypass Flying Saucer interchange near

and

in the

. It indicates that the R21 from Pretoria to the airport and the R24 from there to

Bedfordview Bedfordview is an affluent suburb in western Ekurhuleni, sharing an administrative boundary with the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa. Bedfordview has been part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipalit ...

are together known as the ''Albertina Sisulu Freeway''. Together, the R21 and the R24 are the only "freeway link" between Pretoria and Johannesburg apart from the

. The naming of the R24 Highway from Bedfordview eastwards, together with the R21 freeway from OR Tambo International Airport northwards to Pretoria as the ''Albertina Sisulu Freeway'' was already done by the time of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

External links

Routes Travel Info

Esorfranki Limited 2010 Annual report

References

{{Regional Routes in Gauteng 21 Highways in South Africa Provincial routes in South Africa Toll roads in South Africa