Johannesburg Ring Road
Route information
Length83.2 km (51.7 mi)
Existed1971–present
Major junctions
Beltway around Johannesburg
Major intersections N1 in to N3 at Buccleuch Interchange
N3 in to N12 at Elands Interchange
N12 in to N1 at Diepkloof Interchange
Location
CountrySouth Africa
Highway system
← Pietermaritzburg Ring Road→ Pretoria Ring Road

The Johannesburg Ring Road is a set of freeways that circle the city of Johannesburg, South Africa and service the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.[1][2][3][4] The entire Ring Road is an e-toll highway (with open road tolling) and is approximately 83 km long.

History

Construction on the Ring Road began in the late 1960s. Sections of the Eastern Bypass first opened in 1971 while the last section of the Southern Bypass opened in 1986.

The Ring Road had two major aims when it was built: to allow traffic not destined for Johannesburg to bypass the city along a number of high-speed freeways in quick and easy fashion and also to allow for the mobility of Apartheid South African Army to defend the state from hostile neighbours or to quell violence in black townships during a state of emergency.

Johannesburg Ring Road

The Route

The Road is composed of three freeways that converge on the city, and form an 80-kilometre (50 mi) loop around Johannesburg. The 3 freeways that create the Ring Road include the N3 Eastern Bypass, the N1 Western Bypass and the N12 Southern Bypass.[5]

The entire road was built with asphalt and is mostly 8 lanes wide throughout (4 lanes in either direction), with parts having up to 12 lanes wide in some areas (6 lanes in either direction), the Johannesburg Ring Road is frequently clogged with traffic.[6]

The main intersections that complete the ring road include the Elands Interchange, that connects the N3 Eastern Bypass with the N12 Southern Bypass, the Diepkloof Interchange, that connects the N12 Southern Bypass with the N1 Western Bypass and finally the Buccleuch Interchange connecting the N1 Western Bypass with the N3 Eastern Bypass.

Johannesburg Ring Road

References

  1. ↑ "Roads". www.joburg.org.za. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Vivier, Tyler Leigh (10 July 2020). "The Johannesburg ring road was seen from space and its stunning!". Good Things Guy. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "Explore SA's best roads: Jozi's Ring Road beltway". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Mitchell, M. F.; Lucykx, L. M. G. P.; Stanway, R. A. (1 January 1990), "The Johannesburg National Ring Road", Orbital motorways, Conference Proceedings, Thomas Telford Publishing, pp. 123–141, doi:10.1680/om.15913, ISBN 978-0-7277-4846-1, retrieved 17 April 2021
  5. ↑ "Johannesburg Roads Agency - Company documents". www.jra.org.za. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Johannesburg Road Agency Q2 2021 Report" (PDF). Johannesburg Road Agency Website. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
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