National Route 12
| National Route N12 in South Africa | |
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| Operator: | SANRAL |
| Overall length: | 1353 km |
The National Route 12 (short- N12 ) is a South African National Road , in George on the Indian Ocean begins and across the metropolitan Johannesburg until after eMalahleni (Witbank) in the province of Mpumalanga covers.
Route
The N12 has its southernmost end point at the coastal town of George at the junction ( Kraaibosch Interchange) from the N2 on Knysna Street . From there it leads on a common route with the N9 over the Outeniqua pass in the mountain range of the same name in the direction of Oudtshoorn . Before that, the N9 branches off in an easterly direction. Then the George – Oudtshoorn railway crosses and the course of the N12 falls into the plain of the Olifants River , which it crosses in Oudtshoorn. From this point it follows the river until shortly after Dysselsdorp and rises again at De Rust , crossing the Swartberg Mountains at its highest point . Then it leads in a direct northerly direction through sparsely populated terrain towards the Great Karoo on Beaufort West . On this section of the route, it also runs at an altitude of over 1100 meters.
To the southwest of Beaufort West, the N12 joins the N1 coming from Cape Town , which is accompanied by a parallel railway line. In Beaufort West, the R61 approaches from the south-east. The R381 branches off in the village and continues north over the Rosesberg Pass and the Molteno Pass on the edge of the Karoo National Park . Following the common route with the N1, the N12 branches off to the north at the small town of Three Sisters . From this point on, the N12 passes sparsely populated areas again, crosses at Victoria West , a place with a regional airport, the R63 and a railway line leading to the more distant Calvinia . Further north-northeast, again leading through barely inhabited landscapes, it crosses the Ongers River , which feeds its water to the Smart Syndicate Dam to the north, and takes the R398 from the south. Only 17 kilometers later the N12 reaches the city of Britstown and crosses the N10 here . In Britstown there is a railway line to the mining areas further north at Prieska and a regional airport.
After Britstown, the N12 runs almost northerly through barely inhabited land towards the small town of Strydenburg and further northeast towards Hopetown , where the regional roads R369 and R388 cross and it crosses the Orange River . From here the settlement density increases again slightly. Accompanied by a railway line, the N12 only affects small towns such as Belmont , Graspan , Heuningneskloof and Modderrivier . Shortly before the latter , the R705 from Koffiefontein joins the Riet valley basin. About 37 kilometers after Modderrivier, the national road reaches the diamond city of Kimberley , where the N8 and N12 intersect.
From Kimberley, the N12 leads almost exactly northwards past small villages to Warrenton . In this place the N18 branches off , which ends after Mafikeng on the border with Botswana . The N12 turns northeast, crosses the provincial border from Northern Cape to North West , accompanied by a railway line it reaches Christiana , where it continues along the upper reaches of the Vaal and near Bloemhof approaches the reservoir of the same name with its nature reserve . Further northeast it reaches Wolmaransstad , where the R505 crosses and the R502 and R504 branch off, and finally Klerksdorp . Here it crosses the R30 and enters the gold mining region east of Johannesburg . After Klerksdorp and Stilfontein , the N12 reaches the university town of Potchefstroom and crosses the R53 here. The R501 branches north in the city towards Carletonville (Merafong City).
After Potchefstroom, the R54 turns off the N12, on which one can drive further east to the industrial cities of Vereeniging , Sasolburg and Vanderbijlpark . However, the N12 leads in a direct direction towards Johannesburg, crosses the provincial border from North West to Gauteng and joins the N1 motorway in the south of Soweto . After a short joint route, the N12 branches off to the east at the junction at Diepkloof , from where it forms the Southern Bypass in the road system of Johannesburg. It extends through built-up area, crosses several main streets of the metropolis and takes the R59 from the south west of Alberton . In Alberton it swings to the north and is connected to the N17 and the N3 within a large junction. A little to the west of it is the large City Deep container terminal and immediately to the east is Rand Airport . Now it forms the Eastern Bypass together with the N3 , leaves the urban area of Johannesburg and takes up the traffic of the M2 freeway south of the old Main Reef Road . At the motorway junction in Germiston between the boroughs of Morninghill and Bedfordview , it branches off to the east. Shortly thereafter, the R24 coming from OR Tambo International Airport turns into and in Meadowbrook there are approaches and driveways to the main urban streets of Germiston. A little further east there is a motorway junction with the R21, which also connects the international airport here.
The N12 now continues east of Johannesburg through densely built-up areas. There are several junctions between the towns of Benoni and Daveyton and the R51 crosses at Modderfontein (eastern part of Benoni), giving a southern cross connection to the N17 at Springs . Further east, it crosses the provincial border from Gauteng to Mpumalanga .
After the provincial border, the N12 in Mpumalanga runs through agricultural area and does not touch any larger town. Junction points allow road traffic to and from nearby towns such as Delmas , Argent , Kendal , Ogies and Coalville . In doing so, it opens up the northern part of a region with extensive open-cast coal mining activities. Only in the southeastern districts of eMalahleni (Witbank) the national road rejoins closed settlement area and ends in the east of the known for coal mining city at its confluence with the of Pretoria or coming from Maputo approach leading N4 . The freight traffic coming from the port of Maputo in Mozambique or from the Eastern Transvaal branches off at this point from the Trans-Kalahari-Highway (in South Africa the N4) either in the direction of Pretoria or in the direction of Johannesburg.
Route expansion
In its southern sections of the road, the carriageway is single-lane and mostly paved with a hard shoulder, after Warrenton in the province of North West it is two-lane, sometimes only with unpaved hard shoulder. From Diepkloof , a district of Soweto , where it branches off the short shared route with the N1, the N12 is a freeway with a total of four lanes to its end point . The roadway of the N12 is paved throughout. In Gauteng there are sections of the N12 on which SANRAL levies tolls .
Web links
- South African National Roads Agency Ltd. (SANRAL) . on www.nra.co.za (English)
- SANRAL: Road Conditions N12 . on www.nra.co.za (English)
- N12 on routes.co.za (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ National Department of Transport, John Falkner et al .: RDDA South African Numbered Route Description and Destination Analysis . May 2012, PDF document p. 42. on www.transport.gov.za ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ SANRAL: Road Conditions December 2013 and January 2014. N12 . on www.sanral.ensight-cdn.com (English)
- ^ SANRAL: SANRAL Network . on www.nra.co.za (English)
