 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained bySANRAL andGDRT | ||||
| Length | 63 km (39 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| North end |  R511 inBrits | |||
| Major intersections |  R566 near Brits N4 near Brits R560 west ofHartbeespoort R552 nearLanseria N14 near Lanseria R114 near Lanseria R564 inJohannesburg North N1 (Western Bypass) inRandburg | |||
| South end |  M20 inLinden | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | South Africa | |||
| Major cities | Brits,Broederstroom,Randburg | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
TheR512 is aRegional Route inSouth Africa that connectsBrits,North West withRandburg,Gauteng via the western side ofHartbeespoort.[1] It is an alternative route to theR511 for travel between theJohannesburg Metropole and Brits.
Its northern origin is a junction with theR511 road (Hendrik Verwoerd Drive) inBrits in theNorth West Province. It heads south-west as Van Velden Street, then southwards as Rutgers Street, to reach a junction with theR566 road.[1]
The R512 continues southwards to meet theN4 highway (Platinum Highway).[1] Just after meeting the N4, the R512 reaches an interchange with thePampoen Nek Pass (which is coming from the N4 West in the west) and it leaves the southerly road to become the Pampoen Nek Pass south-eastwards, passing under theR104 route, to reach an interchange with theR560 route west ofKosmos Village. From the R560 interchange, it continues south-east, crossing theMagalies River & turning eastwards at a T-junction, bypassing theHartbeespoort Dam to the south, to pass through the town ofBroederstroom.[1]
After Broederstroom (west ofPelindaba), by theCrocodile River, as the road eastwards connects toPretoria, the R512 turns southwards, as Pelindaba Road, towardsJohannesburg. Just after, the R512 crosses intoGauteng.[1]
From Broederstroom, the R512 makes a 25 km journey to enter theCity of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and reach theLanseria International Airport. The road then meets theR552 (6th Road) atBultfontein and forms an interchange with theN14 highway (Pretoria-Krugersdorp Highway). Here, it changes its name from Pelindaba Road toMalibongwe Drive.[1]
After crossing the N14 highway and theR114 road, it heads south towardsRandburg as Malibongwe Drive - formerly known as Hans Strijdom Drive.[2] It passes through the lower-middle Cosmo City andKya Sands townships before crossing theR564 road (Witkoppen Road; Northumberland Avenue) and entering the more affluentNorthriding andOlivedale suburbs. The R512 reaches an interchange with theN1 highway (Johannesburg Western Bypass) before continuing through Randburg as Malibongwe Drive, then West Street, to end inLinden,Johannesburg (north of theJohannesburg Botanical Garden), at a junction with theM20.[1]
Before September 2020, the R512 from the R560 interchange to the N4 interchange took a different route.[1]
At the R560 interchange, the R512 turned towards the north-east, bypassingKosmos Village, to reach a 4-way junction in the suburb of Damdoryn (west of theHartbeespoort Dam wall), where it turned to the west to be co-signed with theR104. After 5 kilometres, the R512 split from the R104 to become its own road northwards, proceeding to cross the N4 and enterBrits.[1]
As of 03 September 2020, a new route has been opened named the Pampoen Nek Pass,[3] effectively continuing the R512 northwards from the R560 interchange for 6 km[4] up to the next off-ramp junction just south of the R512 & N4 interchange (north of the old R512 & R104 split), where the R512 now becomes the road northwards towards Brits while the Pampoen Nek Pass continues westwards to join the N4 West.
This new routing of the R512 effectively reduces the distance of the route fromBroederstroom toBrits by 6 km.
As of 2018, theSouth African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) was constructing a shortcut for the R512 Route, from its intersection with theR560 route (north-west ofBroederstroom) northwards up to just north of where the R512 and theR104 route split (west ofThe Elephant Sanctuary of Hartbeespoort), where there is a ramp onto theN4 Platinum Highway West, in a highway format.[5][6][7]
The R512's junction with the R560 west ofHartbeespoort Dam is an off-ramp junction and the next and last junction just north of the R104 and R512 junction west of the Elephant Sanctuary is also an off-ramp interchange before the freeway goes westwards to join the N4 West.[4]
It was built to reduce the traffic that occurs on the older longer section of the R512 through Damdoryn, which is also labelled as a high accident zone adjacent toKosmos Village.[8][9] It is meant to be a shortcut and to reduce the distance for travelers using the R512 to either join the N4 Highway West toRustenburg &Sun City or to go toBrits.[7] To some extent, this new route also reduces the traffic on theR511 route,[9] which passes on the other side of the Hartbeespoort Dam (through Hartbeespoort Central) on its way to Brits, and long distance movements will no longer have to interfere with local traffic.[9] This new road is to be used by motorists who want to travel from theJohannesburg Municipality (Sandton &Randburg) (and nearby areas, likePretoria West) to cities likeBrits,Sun City andRustenburg.
On 3 September 2020, the Minister of Transport,Fikile Mbalula, together with theSouth African National Roads Agency and theMadibeng Local Municipality, officially opened the new road.[3][4] This route, known as the Pampoen Nek Highway, is 6 kilometres in length[4] from the R560 interchange to the interchange where the R512 turns north towards Brits (6 kilometres shorter than the old Z-shaped route passing byKosmos Village, Damdoryn and theElephant Sanctuary).
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