The R72 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 ...

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed 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 countri ...

that connects the N2 east of

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

with

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

via

Port Alfred A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

. It provides an alternative to the N2 for travel between Port Elizabeth and East London.

Route

The R72 begins in the city of

in the

Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality Buffalo City is a metropolitan municipality situated on the east coast of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It includes the towns of East London, Bhisho and Qonce, as well as the large townships of Mdantsane and Zwelitsha. History The muni ...

, at an off-ramp junction with the

N2 Highway The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of makes it ...

. North of this junction, it is the N6 National Route to

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), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

. The R72 begins by going southwards for 6 kilometres from the N2 interchange as the North East Expressway, immediately crossing the

Nahoon River The Nahoon River ( xh, Nxaruni) is situated in the city of East London on the east coast of South Africa. Geography It is to the east of the Buffalo River harbour, and is to the west of Gonubie River. The suburb of Nahoon is on its west bank a ...

and becoming a partial highway with off-ramp junctions, up to the Fleet Street junction in the suburb of Quigney, where it becomes Fleet Street westwards. It goes westwards for 9 kilometres, through East London's Central Business District, crossing the Buffalo River, to become Settlers Way and reach the

East London Airport King Phalo Airport ( af, Koning Phalo Internasionale Lughawe; formerly East London Airport ( af, Oos-Londen Lughawe) until 23 February 2021) is an airport serving East London, Eastern Cape, East London, a city in the Eastern Cape province on th ...

entrance. From the East London Airport, the R72 follows the

Coast westwards for 127 km, bypassing the

East London Coast Nature Reserve East London Coast Nature Reserve is a protected area in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa that is managed by Eastern Cape Parks. It covers an area of 3,424 hectares and incorporates 12 smaller nature reserves and protected areas. The main rea ...

, bypassing Kidd's Beach and meeting the southern terminus of the R346 Road, bypassing the

Great Fish River The Great Fish River (called ''great'' to distinguish it from the Namibian Fish River) ( af, Groot-Visrivier) is a river running through the South African province of the Eastern Cape. The coastal area between Port Elizabeth and the Fish Riv ...

's mouth, to the town of

, where it meets the southern terminus of the R67 Road before passing through the town centre. It crosses the

Kowie River The Kowie River (Coyi in Xhosa) is a river in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It has its source in the hills of the "Grahamstown Heights" from where it flows in a south-easterly direction draining the major part of the Bathurst region, reaching ...

in the town centre before leaving Port Alfred westwards and continuing for 22 kilometres to the town of

Kenton-on-Sea Kenton-on-Sea, more commonly known as Kenton, is a small coastal town on the Sunshine Coast, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is situated between the Bushmans and the Kariega Rivers, and lies approximately halfway between the industria ...

, where it meets the southern terminus of the R343 Road. It crosses both the

Kariega River The Kariega River ( af, Kariegarivier) is situated in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. This river, which starts 24 km west of Grahamstown, is characterized by its intermittent flow and empties into the ocean through an estuary. The Ka ...

and the Boesmans River near their mouths before turning away from the coast and continuing westwards for 23 kilometres to the town of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. From Alexandria, the R72 continues westwards for 50 kilometres as the Fonteinkloof Pass to reach its western terminus, where it forms another interchange with the

about 45 kilometres north-east of

(35 kilometres north-east of Coega; 12 kilometres north-east of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

). It meets the southern terminus of the N10 National Route at the same interchange.

References

External links

Routes Travel Info
72 Provincial routes in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-road-stub