The R550 is a Regional Route in

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 ...

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 ...

that connects

Johannesburg South Johannesburg South is a group of suburbs in the southern part of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolita ...

with

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. Devon is ...

via

Katlehong Katlehong is a large township in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. It is 28 km south-east of Johannesburg and south of Germiston between two other townships of Thokoza and Vosloorus next to the N3 highway. It forms part of the City of E ...

and

Nigel Nigel ( ) is an 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, Walter Scott published ...

Route

Its western terminus is a junction with the R82 and R554 roads in

, just south of

Kibler Park Kibler Park is a suburb of Johannesburg, 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 north of Walkerville (east of

Lenasia Lenasia, often called Lenz, is a suburb south of Soweto in the Gauteng province, South Africa, originally created to house Indians. It is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Lenasia is approximately 35 kilometres southw ...

). From there, the R550 goes south-east for 15 kilometres, following 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 a T-junction near a place named Kliprivier. At this junction, the R550 turns eastwards and meets the R59 Highway at an interchange just after. From the R59 interchange, the R550 goes eastwards for 20 kilometres, crossing the

, passing through Garthdale (Kliprivier), skirting the southern border of

and forming the northern 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 ...

, to reach an interchange with the N3 Highway north of

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 ...

. Just after the N3 Interchange, it meets the

R103 R1, R.I., R01 or R-1 may refer to: Military equipment * R-1 tank, a Romanian tank from World War II * R-1 (missile), a post World War II Russian rocket * AEG R.I, a 1918 German super-heavy bomber design * DFW R.I, a 1916 German prototype bomber ...

and after another 8 kilometres, it meets the

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 ro ...

. From the R23 junction, the R550 goes eastwards for 10 kilometres, forming the southern border of the townships of

Tsakane Tsakane is a township located in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established during the early 1960s due to Apartheid's segregationist policies and was formally founded as a designated area. Tsakane is a Tsonga word which means joy or happ ...

and

Duduza Duduza is a township west of Nigel on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1964 when Africans were resettled from Charterston because it was considered by the apartheid government to be too close to a white town. A local au ...

, to meet the southern terminus of the M63 Metropolitan Route at a T-junction in the town of

. It becomes the road east-south-east for 2 kilometres up to the 4-way-junction before the Glenvarloch suburb, where it meets the R51 Route coming from Springs in the north and the R42 Route coming from

in the south-west. The 3 routes become co-signed eastwards from this junction for 2 kilometres, forming the northern border of Nigel's CBD, up to the junction with Balfour Road, where the R51 & R550 split from the R42 to become Balfour Road towards the south-east. Just after crossing 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 River ...

in the Laversburg suburb of Nigel, the R550 leaves Balfour Road (R51) and becomes its own road eastwards. From Nigel, the R550 continues east-north-east for 30 kilometres, crossing over the N17 just before reaching its eastern terminus in

, at an intersection with the R548, just south of the R548's intersection with the R29.

References

Regional Routes in Gauteng {{SouthAfrica-road-stub