Johannesburg is heavily dependent uponfreeways for transport around the city due to its location 1,500 metres abovesea level, far from the coast or any major bodies of water. There are 10 freeways in theGreater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area: theN1,N3,N12,N14,N17,R21,R24,R59,M1 andM2. In addition, three new freeways are planned: the G5, G9 and G14.[citation needed] Freeways are sometimes calledhighways ormotorways colloquially.
TheJohannesburg Ring Road that circles the city is formed by theN1 (Western Bypass),N3 (Eastern Bypass) andN12 (Southern Bypass).[1] The N14 connects theWest Rand withPretoria. The N17 connects theJohannesburgCentral Business District and southern parts of the city withSprings on theEast Rand and the province ofMpumalanga. The R21 connects theEast Rand andOR Tambo International Airport with Pretoria. The R24 connects central Johannesburg to the airport. The R59 connects Johannesburg withVereeniging in theVaal Triangle. The M1 runs the length of the city north–south, fromSoweto toBuccleuch, where it becomes the N1. The Johannesburg-Pretoria highway is also called theBen Schoeman Highway and is part of the N1. The M2 runs the length of the central part of the city east–west, fromGermiston to Main Reef Road (R41 Road) inCrown, just south-west of the Johannesburg Central Business District.
The N1 (Ben Schoeman Highway) between Johannesburg and Pretoria is now becoming severely overloaded. Reports suggest that the road carries 180,000 vehicles a day between the two cities.[when?][2] The road is heavily congested as traffic entersJohannesburg in the mornings and leaves at night, as many people work inJohannesburg but live inPretoria. As a result, the Gauteng Provincial Government has put in motion plans to alleviate heavy traffic congestion, which is likely to worsen. One plan that was partially completed beforeSouth Africa hosted the2010 FIFA World Cup is theGautrain: a rapidrail system with a north–south line between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and an east–west line between OR Tambo International Airport andSandton. The east–west line opened in June 2010, just before the World Cup.[2]The north–south line opened from Pretoria toRosebank in August 2011; after delays caused by excessive water seepage in a major tunnel, the Rosebank–Johannesburg section opened in July 2012.
The Star and Engineering News report that three new freeways have been planned for Johannesburg:[citation needed]
In addition, there were plans afoot to extend the N17 from its end inJohannesburg South, toKrugersdorp, which would have allowed motorists to traverse the metropolitan area in under an hour in free-flowing traffic.[3]
