The R42 is a

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 ...

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 ...

that connects

Vanderbijlpark Vanderbijlpark is an industrial town with approximately 95 000 inhabitants, situated on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa. The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist. Va ...

with

Bronkhorstspruit Bronkhorstspruit is a town 50 km east of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa along the N4 highway towards Witbank. It also includes three townships called Zithobeni, Rethabiseng and Ekangala. On 18 May 2011, the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipal ...

via

Vereeniging Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly s ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Nigel Nigel ( ) is an English language, English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walte ...

and Delmas.

Route

The R42 begins south of

City of Tshwane 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 ...

, Gauteng, at an intersection with the

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 ...

. It goes southwards, bypassing the Bronkhorstspruit Municipal Nature Reserve and temporarily enters Mpumalanga Province.

Mpumalanga

In Mpumalanga Province, the R42 continues southwards and crosses the N12 Freeway, entering Delmas. The distance from the R25 junction near Bronkhorstspruit to Delmas is 35 km. In Delmas Central, the R42 joins the R50 Road. They are one road south-east for 5 km, crossing the R555 in Delmas Central. South of Delmas, the R42 continues by way of a right turn, continuing south-west.

Gauteng

The R42 re-enters

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 and meets the R29 Road and N17 National Route on their route midway between Springs and

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. The R42 continues south-west, bypassing the

Marievale Bird Sanctuary Marievale Bird Sanctuary is a protected area in Gauteng, South Africa. It is about 15 km2 in size, and situated on the East Rand on the southern half of the Blesbokspruit wetland, a Ramsar site. The Blesbokspruit is a major perennial ri ...

and Nigel Dam as Nigel-Delmas Road, to

. The journey from Delmas to Nigel is 43 km. In Nigel, at the Balfour Road junction, the R42 cosigns with the R51 and R550 for a few kilometres westwards, forming the northern border of Nigel's CBD, up to the main four-way junction after the Glenverloch suburb. At this junction, as the R51 continues via a right turn (north) and the R550 continues straight (west), the R42 continues via a left turn. The R42 goes a small distance (15 km) south-west as Heidelberg-Nigel road, following the

Blesbokspruit The Blesbokspruit is a river in South Africa that originates north of Daveyton, Gauteng, from where it runs south and then west past the towns of Springs, Nigel and Heidelberg before joining the Suikerbosrand River, a tributary of the Vaal Riv ...

, to

. Entering Heidelberg, as Jacobs Street, the R42 crosses the N3 Johannesburg-Durban Highway. At Louw Street, the R42 makes a right turn and a left turn at the next junction to become HF Verwoerd Street. It then intersects with the R23 Road at an off-ramp junction just after the town centre and it continues west-south-west, becoming the southern border of the

Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve is a protected area in the Suikerbosrand Range, South Africa. It is one of Gauteng’s most frequented ecotourism destinations. Set just a short distance from Johannesburg, an hour's drive from Johannesburg Internat ...

. At the junction with the R551, the R42 continues, via a left turn, west-south-west, bypassing Meyerton, to

. The journey from Heidelberg to Vereeniging is 45 km. Upon entering Vereeniging, north of the Three Rivers East suburb, the R42 meets the R54 Road from Vereeniging North & Potchefstroom. They are cosigned southwards up to the next junction. As the R54 continues south-east to

Villiers, Free State Villiers is a small town situated on the banks of the Vaal River next to the N3 highway in the Free State province of South Africa. It was founded in 1882 on the two farms ''Pearson Valley'' and ''Grootdraai'' owned by Lourens de ''Villiers''. L ...

, the R42 becomes the road west-south-west. It forms the main road through Three Rivers westwards as General Hertzog Road, separating the two sides of the Three Rivers suburb (Three Rivers North from Three Rivers South, as indicated on road signage). At Peacehaven, the R42 turns southwards, following the Vereeniging Railway, to reach a junction with the R82 Road, just west of the R82's

Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...

crossing. At this junction, the R42 joins the R82 and they are co-signed westwards, crossing under the Vereeniging Railway, up to the 2nd junction (Voortrekker Street). As the R82 becomes Voortrekker Street northwards through Vereeniging Central, the R42 becomes Voortrekker Street southwards. At the Lewis Street junction, Voortrekker Street (R42) becomes Barrage Road and turns west-south-west towards

. Near the suburb of Powerville, the R42 meets the R59 Sybrand van Niekerk Freeway (west southbound and east northbound off-ramps only). The R42 continues westwards as the main road through Vanderbijlpark, bypassing

Sharpeville Sharpeville (also spelled Sharpville) is a township situated between two large industrial cities, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging, in southern Gauteng, South Africa. Sharpeville is one of the oldest of six townships in the Vaal Triangle. It was na ...

and passing the

Vaal University of Technology Vaal University of Technology (VUT) is a tertiary institution in South Africa. It attracts students from all over the country. It is one of the largest residential Universities of Technology, with about 25,000 students, 300 programs, all primari ...

. Adjacent to Vaal Mall, the R42 meets the R57 Golden Highway at a major junction. From the R57 Golden Highway Junction, the R42 goes west for a further 15 km, meeting the southern terminus of the R553 Road from

Sebokeng Sebokeng () locally called Zweni by residents, is a middle-class township in the Emfuleni Local Municipality in southern Gauteng, South Africa near the industrial cities of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. Other neighboring townships include Evaton ...

. As the road continuing westwards joins the N1 Kroonvaal Toll Route southwards, the R42 Route makes a left turn to become ''Boundary Road'' southwards and continues for 15 kilometres, crossing the

into the Free State, crossing to the other side of the N1 Toll Highway, to end at another junction with the

R59 Road The R59 is a provincial route in South Africa that connects Hertzogville with Alberton (south-east of Johannesburg) via Bothaville, Parys and Vereeniging. The R59 is a freeway from the R57 Junction in Sasolburg until the Alberton N12 Reading In ...

approximately 18 kilometres east of the city of

Parys Parys (pronounced ) is a town situated on the banks of the Vaal River in the Free State province of South Africa. The name of the town is the Afrikaans translation of Paris. The name was given by a German surveyor named Schilbach who had partic ...

, just west of the R59's intersection with the N1 Highway.

References

External links

Routes Travel Info
{{DEFAULTSORT:R42 Road (South Africa) 42 42 42 Provincial routes in South Africa