Johannesburg Ring Road
Johannesburg Ring Road | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 83.2 km (51.7 mi) | |||
| Existed | 1971–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| Beltway around Johannesburg | ||||
| Location | ||||
| Country | South Africa | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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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 approximately 83 km long and was an e-toll highway (with open road tolling) from 3 December 2013[5] up until e-tolls were shut down in Gauteng on 12 April 2024.[6][7]
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.[citation needed]
The Route
The Road is composed of three freeways that converge on the city, and form an 80-kilometer (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.[8]
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.[9]
The main intersections that complete the ring road include the Elands Interchange which connects the Eastern Bypass with the Southern Bypass, the Diepkloof Interchange which connects the Southern Bypass with the Western Bypass and the Buccleuch Interchange which connects the Western Bypass with Eastern Bypass.
References
- ^ "Roads". www.joburg.org.za. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ Vivier, Tyler Leigh (2020-07-10). "The Johannesburg ring road was seen from space and its stunning!". Good Things Guy. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ "Explore SA's best roads: Jozi's Ring Road beltway". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ Mitchell, M. F.; Lucykx, L. M. G. P.; Stanway, R. A. (1990-01-01), "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 2021-04-17
- ^ "E-tolls going live in Gauteng". fin24.com. November 20, 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ^ South African Government ends e-tolls in Gauteng press release published 28th of March 2024, retrieved and archived 5th of April 2024 [1]
- ^ Njilo, Nonkululeko (2024-04-10). "Gauteng set to finally end e-tolls, overdue fees remain". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "Johannesburg Roads Agency - Company documents". www.jra.org.za. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
- ^ "Johannesburg Road Agency Q2 2021 Report" (PDF). Johannesburg Road Agency Website. Retrieved 23 March 2021.