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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained bySANRAL | ||||
| Length | 583 km (362 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  N10 atGroblershoop | |||
| Major intersections |  N12 inKimberley N1 nearBloemfontein | |||
| East end | A2 A2 atMaseru Bridge,Lesotho border | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | South Africa | |||
| Provinces | Northern Cape,Free State | |||
| Major cities | ||||
| Highway system | ||||
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TheN8 is anational route inSouth Africa that connectsGroblershoop (south-east ofUpington) withMaseru inLesotho viaKimberley andBloemfontein.[1] It is maintained by theSouth African National Roads Agency.
The section of road from Groblershoop throughGriekwastad andSchmidtsdrift to Kimberley was previously designated as part of theR64.[2]
The road starts atGroblershoop in theNorthern Cape (115 km south-east ofUpington) at a junction with theN10. It runs east for 285 km, throughGriekwastad, crossing theVaal River atSchmidtsdrift, toKimberley (Capital of theNorthern Cape). It enters as Schmidtsdrift Road, then Long Street, and reaches a junction with theN12, just west of the N12's intersection with theR64 (an alternative route toBloemfontein).
It turns south-east to be co-signed with the N12 as Bultfontein Road up to the Bishops Road junction, where the N12 turns south, leaving the N8 as the south-easterly road. At the roundabout by Kimberley Boys High School, the N8 turns south as Oliver Street, then south-east as Nathan Street (where it bypasses theKimberley Airport), to exit the Northern Cape and cross into theFree State province.
From Kimberley, the N8 goes eastwards for 150 kilometres, crossing theModder River, throughPetrusburg (where it meets the northern terminus of theR48), toBloemfontein (Capital of the Free State and judicial capital ofSouth Africa), where it meets theN1 highway (Bloemfontein Western Bypass) at a ramp junction nearUniversitas.
The N8 joins the N1 highway northwards for 3 km up to the next off-ramp, where it meets the eastern terminus of theR64 (an alternative route fromKimberley). As the R64 is the road to the west, the N8 becomes the road to the east (Nelson Mandela Drive), bypassing theUniversity of the Free State,Brandwag andWestdene, intoBloemfontein Central. In the Bloemfontein CBD, the N8 passes through as two one-way streets (Nelson Mandela Drive westwards and Zastron Street eastwards). At the junction with theM30 metropolitan route, the N8 becomes one street eastwards again (Alexandra Avenue).
After the Bloemfontein town centre, the N8 heads eastwards to form an interchange with the M10 metropolitan route (George Lubbe Street) and proceeds to bypass theBram Fischer International Airport and theAir Force Base Bloemspruit. From the airport, it runs eastwards for 78 kilometres, throughBotshabelo andThaba Nchu, to reach the southern outskirts ofLadybrand. Just before Ladybrand, the N8 is joined by theR26 route and they are co-signed eastwards for 12 km up to the southern part of Ladybrand, where the N8 becomes its own road southwards while the R26 turns north towards Ladybrand CBD.
From the R26 split, the N8 goes southwards for 12 kilometres to end on theLesotho border at the Maseru Bridge on theMohokare River (Caledon River), with the city ofMaseru, Lesotho's Capital, on the other side of the river.[3]
