 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_with_labels.svg) Map of the N6 route | ||||
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained bySANRAL | ||||
| Length | 538 km (334 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  N2 inEast London | |||
| North end |  N1 nearBloemfontein | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | South Africa | |||
| Provinces | Eastern Cape,Free State | |||
| Major cities | ||||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
TheN6 is anational route inSouth Africa that connectsEast London withBloemfontein, viaKomani andMaletswai.[1] It runs roughly from north to south, connecting theN1 with theN2.
The N6 begins in the city ofEast London in theBuffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of theEastern Cape Province, next to theNahoon River, at an interchange with theN2 highway. South of the highway, it is theR72 road towards the East London CBD.[1]
It begins by going northwest from the N2 interchange for 31 kilometres to the town ofMacleantown, where it leaves the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. It continues northwest for another 21 kilometres to meet theR63 road at an intersection just north-east ofKei Road.[1]
It continues northwest for 19 kilometers to the town ofStutterheim. It proceeds northwest for another 47 kilometers to the town ofCathcart. It proceeds north-north-west for 54 kilometres, crossing theBlack Kei River, to reachQueenstown (town renamed Komani in February 2016[2]).[1]
14 kilometers before Komani, theR61 meets the N6 and they areone road into the town of Komani as Louis Botha Road and Cathcart Street. In the Stuttaford suburb of Komani, the R61 becomes its own road westwards at the roundabout junction with Barrable Street.
The N6 continues northwards for 162 kilometres as thePenhoek Pass, bypassingSterkstroom, meeting theR56 and passing throughJamestown (renamed James Calata in 2015[3]), to the town ofAliwal North (renamed Maletswai in 2016[4]), where it meets theR58. At the junction with Barkly Street in Maletswai, the N6 makes a left turn and proceeds to cross theOrange River into theFree State as the General Hertzog Bridge.[1]
From theOrange River crossing atMaletswai, the N6 goes north-north-east for 34 kilometres to the town ofRouxville, where it meets the southern terminus of theR26. It turns to the north-west and continues for 37 kilometres, crossing theCaledon River, to the town ofSmithfield, where theR701 joins it in the southern suburbs before they split in the northern suburbs.[1]
FromSmithfield, the N6 continues north-north-west for 70 kilometres to the town ofReddersburg, where it is joined by theR717 fromEdenburg in the southern suburbs before they split in the central area. From Reddersburg, the N6 makes a direct line forBloemfontein, going northwards for 49 kilometres to reach a four-way junction south-west of the Bloemfontein suburb ofMangaung (which is also the name of theMetropolitan Municipality in which the city is located). As the road northwards from this junction is theM30 metropolitan route towards the Mangaung suburb andBloemfontein Central, the N6 becomes the road westwards and proceeds to end at the next junction, which is an interchange with theN1 highway (Bloemfontein Western Bypass).[1]
Prior to 1970, the N6 began fromKing William's Town in theBuffalo City Metropolitan Municipality and proceeded throughStutterheim.[5] Today, the road from King William's Town to Stutterheim is designated as theR346 road.[1] Also, the N6 used to end at its current junction with theR717 south of theReddersburg Town Centre, as the R717 fromEdenburg to Reddersburg, together with the N6 from Reddersburg toBloemfontein, formed part of theN1 national route.[5]
