 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_with_labels.svg) The N1 is indicated in red. | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained bySANRAL, Bakwena,City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, andWestern Cape Provincial Government. [2] | ||||
| Length | 1,936 km (1,203 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  M62 inCape Town | |||
| Major intersections |  N2 inCape Town N7 inCape Town N12 nearBeaufort WestN12 atThree Sisters N10 atHanover N9 atColesberg N6 inBloemfontein N8 inBloemfontein N5 atWinburgN12 nearSoweto N3 nearSandton N14 inCenturion N4 inPretoria N11 nearMokopane | |||
| North end | A4A6A4/A6 at theZimbabwean border atBeit Bridge | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | South Africa | |||
| Provinces | ||||
| Major cities | ||||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
TheN1 is anational route inSouth Africa that runs fromCape Town throughBloemfontein,Johannesburg,Pretoria andPolokwane toBeit Bridge on the border withZimbabwe.[1] It forms the first section of the famedCape to Cairo Road.
Prior to 1970, the N1 designation was applied to the route from Beit Bridge toColesberg and then along the currentN9 to George. The section from Cape Town toColesberg was designated the N9.[2][citation needed]
The N1 begins in centralCape Town at the northern end of Buitengracht Street (M62), outside the entrance to theVictoria & Alfred Waterfront. The first section of the N1 isshared with the beginning of theN2;[1] it is a four-laneelevated freeway that runs along a strip of land between the city centre and thePort of Cape Town. On the eastern edge of the city centre the two roads split, and the N1 turns east as Table Bay Boulevard, passing theYsterplaat Air Force Base andCentury City before theN7 intersects it on its own way out of the city towardsNamibia.[1]
Major improvements have been made to the Koeberg Interchange, where the N1 meets theM5, one of the main arterial routes linkingMilnerton with theSouthern Suburbs. The N1 then heads through the suburbs ofGoodwood andBellville, where theR300 terminates at it, before heading towardsPaarl.[1]
Within theCity of Cape Town the volume of two-way traffic ranges between 95,000 and 120,000 vehicles a day.[3][when?] During week days during peak traffic times (inbound towards theCape Town city bowl in the morning and outbound in the afternoon) traffic jams extending up to 12 kilometers in length are common.[3]
At Paarl, the freeway ends, and the N1 is tolled as it passes through theHuguenot Tunnel running underneath theDu Toitskloof Mountains;[1] the tunnel was opened in the late 1980s to replace the oldDu Toitskloof Pass (now designated as part of theR101) running over the mountain. Traffic volumes through the tunnel range from an average of 12,000 vehicles daily[4] with up to 22,500 vehicles using it daily in peak periods on holidays.[5]
After emerging from the tunnel, the N1 winds through the Molenaar River Valley (which is a short dual carriageway section) before emerging from the valley and heading towardsWorcester, bypassingRawsonville. From Worcester, the route heads through theHex River Valley, passingDe Doorns and then enters theKaroo by ascending theHex River Pass en route toTouws River.[1]
Currently only the section of the N1 passing through the Huguenot Tunnel is tolled, although there were formerly plans to toll the N1 from the junction with the R300, roughly toDe Doorns.[6] This would have allowed for upgrading of the N1, most especially the opening and construction of the Northern Bore of the Huguenot Tunnel so that two lanes of traffic could pass in each direction through the tunnel, and the building of grade separated junctions along the N1 through Worcester. Although the town centre is bypassed, there are a number of traffic lights on the N1 through Worcester.
From the top of the pass, the N1 passesTouws River andMatjiesfontein before passing throughLaingsburg, then heads towardsBeaufort West, passing the towns ofPrince Albert Road andLeeu-Gamka.[1] The 200 km section between Laingsburg and Beaufort West is notorious for claiming many lives in fatigue-related accidents;[7][8] also, the N1 begins to turn towards the north-east along this stretch of road. Just before Beaufort West, theN12 fromGeorge meets the N1; the N12 and the N1 routes areco-signed through Beaufort West and for the next 75 km north-east before splitting atThree Sisters.[1] The N12 later meets the N1 again inJohannesburg, making the N12 an alternative route to the N1, passing throughKimberley as opposed toBloemfontein. The N1 from Bloemfontein onwards is tolled while the N12 is toll-free. Whereas the N12 passes through most of the towns en route to Johannesburg, the N1 bypasses every town between Beaufort West and Johannesburg (avoiding town centres).
The N1 briefly crosses into theNorthern Cape at Three Sisters for a few kilometres before crossing back into theWestern Cape, and remains in the Western Cape until just after its intersection with theR63, where it re-enters the Northern Cape.[1]
The N1 has a short section in theNorthern Cape. After re-entering the Northern Cape, it passes north-east past the town ofRichmond before intersecting with theN10 atHanover. The N1 then continues towardsColesberg, where it meets the northern terminus of theN9 just south-west of the town. Approximately 35km after Colesberg, the N1 crosses theOrange River and enters theFree State.[1]
After the Orange River crossing, the N1 makes a direct line forBloemfontein, passing the towns ofSpringfontein,Trompsburg andEdenburg, heading in a more northerly direction.[1] Upon entering Bloemfontein, the N1 meets the northern terminus of theN6 fromEast London. This intersection marks the beginning of theBloemfontein Western Bypass, which is the first freeway section on the route since Paarl. TheN8 fromKimberley in the west intersects with the N1 bypass, joining it for 3 km, before heading east through theBloemfontein CBD and then toMaseru inLesotho.[1]
The N1 is designated as atoll road from the N6 interchange until its end at Beit Bridge. A few kilometres north of Bloemfontein, the N1 meets theR30 toBrandfort; the N1 continues as a single carriageway but with two lanes in each direction until 5 km before the toll plaza atVerkeerdevlei, halfway between Bloemfontein and Winburg. Initial plans[citation needed] were for the N1 from Bloemfontein to Winburg to be a dual-carriageway freeway. AtWinburg, the N1 bypasses the town to the west as a dual carriageway and meets the western terminus of theN5, which bypasses the north ofLesotho before its own termination at theN3 inHarrismith.[1] Just after Winburg, the N1 becomes a single carriageway again.
Many motorists from Cape Town heading for Durban travel the N1 to Winburg, and then N5 to Harrismith as an alternative to reach Durban via theN3.[citation needed] This is due to the shorter distance between the two cities (1635 km for the N1, N5 & N3 route and 1710 km for the currentN2 route), as well as the much better quality of this route compared with the N2, especially between Port Shepstone and Grahamstown (although that stretch of road has been improved in the past few years[citation needed]). However, after the newN2 Wild Coast Toll Route has been completed, the N2 will be the shorter road between Durban and Cape Town (1621 km).[9]
The N1 continues north and bypassesVentersburg, where it becomes a dual carriageway again, before reachingKroonstad. There, theR34 fromWelkom joins the N1 freeway for 9 kilometres, bypassing Kroonstad Central to the east, before splitting from the N1 and making its own way towardsHeilbron.[1]
After the dual carriageway freeway bypass of Kroonstad, the N1 returns to single carriageway status and heads towards theVaal River andGauteng as the Kroonvaal Toll Route. Just before passing intoGauteng at the Vaal River, the N1 becomes a dual-carriageway freeway and features another toll plaza (the Vaal Toll Plaza) just south of its interchange with theR59 road, which provides access to theVaal Triangle (Vereeniging andSasolburg) in the east andParys in the west.[1]
After crossing the Vaal River, the N1 continues towardsJohannesburg, bypassingVanderbijlpark and featuring another toll plaza atGrasmere. At the Misgund Interchange in the southern outskirts of Johannesburg, theN12 once again meets the N1, and they areco-signed northwards as one highway for 4 kilometers (bypassingSoweto) up to the Diepkloof Interchange, where the N12 splits off eastwards to become theSouthern Bypass portion of theJohannesburg Ring Road.[1] From just north of the Vaal River the N1 changes from being a tarred road to a concrete road, until just after meeting the N12.
The N1 then becomes theWestern Bypass portion of the same ring road, passing through Johannesburg's western and north-western suburbs (formingRoodepoort's eastern boundary and passing throughRandburg) before meeting the northern termini of theN3 (theEastern Bypass portion of the Johannesburg Ring Road, which connects toDurban) and Johannesburg's ownM1 freeway at the Buccleuch Interchange north-east ofSandton.[1]
The N1 then becomes theBen Schoeman Highway, heading northwards towardsPretoria (passing throughMidrand); this section carries 300,000 vehicles per day and is purported to be the busiest stretch of road inSouth Africa.[10] At the Brakfontein Interchange inCenturion, the N1 meets theN14 and they switch highways, with the N14 becoming the Ben Schoeman Highway northwards toPretoria Central and the N1 becoming thePretoria Eastern Bypass (named the Danie Joubert Freeway) towards the north-east, proceeding to intersect with theR21 highway coming fromO. R. Tambo International Airport at the Flying Saucer Interchange before Pretoria East.[1] After the R21 interchange, the N1 proceeds in a more northerly direction through the eastern suburbs. East of Pretoria CBD, at the Proefplaas Interchange, theN4 national route fromWitbank in the east joins the N1 and they areone highway for 12 km northwards before the N4 splits off to the west to become thePlatinum Highway (Pretoria Northern Bypass) towardsBrits andRustenburg.[1] At this interchange with the Platinum Highway (N4) is the Pumulani Toll Plaza on the N1 north and the Doornpoort Toll Plaza on the N4 west.
From the interchange with the N4 Platinum Highway, the N1 is tolled for the remainder of its length, with various toll plazas located along it (including upon off-ramps). The N1 heads to the north, bypassingHammanskraal, and crosses into theLimpopo province.[1]
The N1 then passes nearBela-Bela (previously Warmbaths) andModimolle (previously Nylstroom).[1] At the Modimolle exit, the freeway ends; the section of freeway between theVaal River and Modimolle is the longest freeway in South Africa by route number at approximately 265 km (although there are two changes in the alignment of freeway inGauteng, at the Buccleuch and Brakfontein Interchanges; South Africa's longest continuous freeway is theN3 betweenDurban andLadysmith, which is approximately 20 km shorter). The section from the Proefplaas Interchange in Pretoria to theR516 Bela Bela exit is maintained by a private concessionaire, namelyBakwena,[11][12] under license fromSANRAL.
The N1 then heads pastMokopane (previously Potgietersrus), where theN11 intersects it at the Nyl Toll Plaza (north off-ramp only) (leaving theN18 and theN17 as the onlynational roads that do not intersect with the N1), before heading toPolokwane (previously known as Pietersburg).[1] ThePolokwane Eastern Bypass is now used by traffic to loop around the Polokwane Town Centre (the N1 is no-longer the road passing through the town centre).[13]
AfterPolokwane, the N1 heads north, crossing theTropic of Capricorn before passingLouis Trichardt. The N1 then winds through theSoutpansberg Mountains (containing two short tunnels) as theWyllie's Poort Pass before heading toMusina (passing the last tollgate before Musina).[1] The Musina Western Bypass is now used by traffic to bypass the CBD to the west[14][15] (The N1 is no-longer the road passing through the town centre). The route then continues for 12 km to end at theBeitbridge border crossing withZimbabwe on theLimpopo River, where it crosses the river as theAlfred Beit Road Bridge before splitting into two routes, which are theA4 road toHarare and theA6 road toBulawayo. The border on the other side of the Limpopo River is also calledBeitbridge.
The section of the N1 fromCape Town to the split with theN12 national route atThree Sisters, Northern Cape is declared part of theTrans-African Highway Network no. 4 orCairo-Cape Town Highway, which is the route designated by theUnited Nations Economic Commission for Africa betweenCairo andCape Town. (The route continues as the N12 northwards from Three Sisters)
In numerous places in South Africa, specifically near major cities, the N1 route has been rebuilt to freeway standards. The original routes usually carry the designation of R101 and are often alternative routes to the newer, sometimes tolled, highways. Two examples are theR101 overDu Toitskloof Pass, where the new N1 highway bypasses the pass altogether by use of theHuguenot Tunnel, and the R101 throughPolokwane Central, where the new N1 highway bypasses the town centre by use of thePolokwane Eastern Bypass.
There are exceptions to the usual R101 alternative route designation:
The list below only includes mainline toll plazas; ramp toll plazas have not been included.
The section of the N1 from theR553 Golden Highway off-ramp in-between the Misgund and Diepkloof interchanges inSoweto to the Proefplaas Interchange with theN4 inPretoria East was effectively declared ane-toll highway (withopen road tolling) from 3 December 2013 onwards.[17]
The South African government announced on 28 March 2024[18] that e-tolls in Gauteng would officially be shut down on 11 April 2024 at midnight.[19][20] As a result of the e-toll discontinuation, this section of the N1 (which includes theJohannesburg Western Bypass, part of theBen Schoeman Freeway and part of thePretoria Eastern Bypass) became toll-free.[19][20]
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