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|---|---|
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| Route information | |
| Length | 37.9 km (23.5 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |  N12 Diepkloof Interchange, Soweto |
| Major intersections |  M79 Rand Show Road, Diepkloof M70 Soweto Highway, Diepkloof N17 near Riverlea R24 Albertina Sisulu Road Interchange, Bosmont M8 14th Avenue Interchange, Quellerina M5 Beyers Naudé Drive Interchange, Randpark Ridge R512 Malibongwe Drive Interchange, Strijdompark R511 Winnie Mandela Drive, Bryanston M9 Rivonia Road Interchange, Woodmead |
| North end |   N3 /M1 Buccleuch Interchange |
| Location | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Highway system | |
TheWestern Bypass is a section of theN1 and theJohannesburg Ring Road located in the city ofJohannesburg,South Africa. Known at the time as theConcrete Highway, the freeway was initially opened in 1975 as a route to avoid the city centre ofJohannesburg and to provide access to the western areas of theWitwatersrand. From the south, the Western Bypass begins at the Diepkloof Interchange inSoweto, where it splits from theN12 freeway and ends at the Buccleuch Interchange, where it merges with theN3 Eastern Bypass,M1 South and N1Ben Schoeman freeways.
The Western Bypass is the longest section of theJohannesburg Ring Road. The freeway is mostly four lanes wide in either direction, but fans out into six lanes betweenRivonia and Buccleuch, where there is heavy traffic moving north towardsPretoria. The Western Bypass is part of theN1 road that spans the length of South Africa.[1][2][3][4]
The southern terminus of the N1 Western Bypass is the Diepkloof Interchange, where the co-signedN12 splits off and heads east as theN12 Southern Bypass. At the same interchange, the N1 meets theM79 Rand Show Road (southbound only).
The Western Bypass continues north, with the suburb ofDiepkloof to the west, to intersect with theM70Soweto Highway that connectsSoweto to theJohannesburg CBD (northerly off-ramp & southerly on-ramp). Continuing north, near Riverlea, it intersects with a road that is part of the proposed extension of theN17 (northerly on-ramp and southerly off-ramp).
It soon crosses under theR41 near Wisbey Dip, heading north-west past the Newclare Cemetery. Here, it forms the borderline betweenJohannesburg to the east andRoodepoort to the west. It then intersects theR24 Albertina Sisulu Road Interchange inBosmont. Continuing in a roughly northerly direction it passes under theM18 Ontdekkers Road before interchanging Gordon Road inFlorida Glen. Heading north-west, it intersects with theM8 14th Avenue Interchange at Quellerina. Turning north-east, it passes between the suburbs ofWeltevredenpark andFairland to enterRandburg. Here, it intersects with theM5 (Beyers Naudé Drive) Interchange nearRandpark Ridge. Continuing north-east, it crosses under theM6 Ysterhout Drive inBromhof.
Continuing north-east, it intersects theR512 (Malibongwe Drive) Interchange inStrijdompark. The N1 continues north-east through the northern suburbs of Meadowhurst,Olivedale andDouglasdale before it intersects theR511/M81 Winnie Mandela Drive inBryanston. Now taking an easterly direction, it passes under theM71 Main Road in Bryanston and then runs parallel with theR564 Witkoppen Road to its north until it intersects with theM9 Rivonia Road Interchange inRivonia. Here, it becomes 6 lanes in each direction. Continuing east, it passes under theM85 Bowling Avenue and then under theR55 Woodmead Drive to reach theBuccleuch Interchange. At this interchange, it has its north-eastern terminus, meeting theM1 highway south toJohannesburg CBD, theN3 Eastern Bypass to theEast Rand in the south-east and the N1Ben Schoeman Freeway toMidrand andPretoria in the north.[5][6][7]
By creating a narrower emergency shoulder, the freeway was widened during the 1990s from two lanes to three lanes in either direction, to alleviate massivetraffic congestion on Johannesburg's roads.
From 2007, the Western Bypass was included in theGauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), which improved traffic conditions in the province and created jobs in construction. Three of the benefits for users of the bypass now include lighting for the full length of the bypass, increased lanes in most parts of the bypass and increased capacity at the northern interchanges with the bypass. The trade-off for this was a toll project, aimed at the entirenational road network in Johannesburg. As a result, the entire Western Bypass was declared ane-toll highway (withopen road tolling) with 4 electronic tolling gantries in each direction from 3 December 2013 onwards. On 12 April 2024, e-tolls in Gauteng were shut down, effectively making the entire Western Bypass a toll-free route.[8][9]
Very noticeably, the road is no longer concrete in construction, but has been tarred for its entire length. This spells a death-knell for itsConcrete Highway nickname.
As with theGauteng Freeway Improvement Project the R511 Winnie Mandela Drive and the M9/R564 Rivonia Road/Witkoppen Road interchanges were completely upgraded. The highway with the improvement project also upgraded all signage to new overhead signage.
