 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained bySANRAL | ||||
| Location | ||||
| Country | South Africa | |||
| Provinces | Western Cape | |||
| Municipalities | City of Cape Town | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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TheN21 is a proposednational route in theCity of Cape Town,South Africa. It is also known as thePeninsula Expresswayring road. Once complete, it will link the northern suburbs on theAtlantic seaboard (Melkbosstrand &Bloubergstrand) with the southern suburbs onFalse Bay (Muizenberg). TheR300 freeway is entirely part of the proposed route (the freeway will be extended at both ends).[1]
The proposed freeway will include sections of the existingR300 freeway and will betolled. The name of the consortium involved in the construction of the Expressway is "Penway", short for Peninsula Expressway. The Penway has also become the local nickname for the Expressway.
Explosive growth of the Cape Town metropolitan area, especially in terms of local andinternational tourism, thewine industry, and thefilm industry, has pushed the traffic situation to a critical point.[2]
A number ofenvironmental impact studies have been done, to determine whether new sections of the freeway will upset the delicateecological systems in the Cape Town area. New sections will run south of the N2 towardsZeekoevlei, which is awetland area, and north of the N1, up to the area nearMelkbosstrand.[3][4][5]
During the 1990s and 2000s, the national road agency andWestern Cape Department of Transport and Public Works began the final construction of the R300, the first section of the highway.[6][7]
The Peninsula Expressway will have junctions with threeNational Roads, theN1, theN2, and theN7 as well as theM3 and theM5 which areCape Town metropolitan freeways.[8][6][1]
In August 2022 theWestern Cape Department of Transport and Public Works announced the launch of anenvironmental impact assessment for the extension of theR300 from its current terminus at the N1 northwards to theR302 (Wellington Road).[9]
The project to extend the R300 has been opposed by some members of society due to them wanting to preserve some of the areas in which the proposed road is meant to pass (such as wetlands and sanctuaries).[10][11][12] TheCity of Cape Town government along with theGovernment of the Western Cape are also against the plan to make the freeway atoll road.[12][13][14][15]
