National roads in South Africa

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
National Routes Map
The N2 at George in the Western Cape Province
The N6 at Cathcart in the Eastern Cape Province
The R62 at Kareedouw in the Eastern Cape Province

The system of national roads in South Africa (English: National Roads ) ensures the extensive development of South Africa for road traffic and ensures the connection to the systems of neighboring countries. The roads with the highest ranking (National Routes) are marked with an "N" and the respective number in a green pentagon . Some of the heavily congested National Routes are subject to tolls (sections of the N1, N2, N3, N4, N12 and N17). The secondary road traffic routes (regional routes) are designated with an "R" and a two- to three-digit number. There are also roads in the jurisdiction of the South African provinces.

Responsibility and basics

The state agency SANRAL, based in Pretoria, is responsible for the system of national roads and other public roads . It covers a route length of around 16,000 kilometers, 2,400 kilometers of which are toll roads.

The South African National Roads Agency ( SOC ), abbreviated to SANRAL, is the technical responsibility of the South African Ministry of Transport (namely the Minister of Transport ) and receives its funding from there. The South African Ministry of Finance is also involved in the management of the agency. Political control takes place via the Supervisory Board with appropriate representatives. SANRAL was established in 1998 on the basis of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act (Act No. 7/1998). Other pieces of legislation that are central to the Agency are the Public Finance Management Act (Act No. 1/1999), the Employment Equity Act (Act No. 55/1998) and the Labor Relations Act (Act No. 66/1995). Its legal mandate includes the financing, administration, control, planning, development, maintenance and rehabilitation of the national road system of South Africa.

In addition to its headquarters in Pretoria, SANRAL has further regional offices. These are located in Menlyn (Pretoria East), Pietermaritzburg , Port Elizabeth and in Bellville ( Cape Town municipality ). Local offices are also maintained.

Road network

expansion

The development standard of the national roads is different:

  • Most of the national highways are equipped with only one lane for each direction of travel and without a median - but with a hard shoulder that is used by slow vehicles to allow faster vehicles to pass.
  • Especially in the congested metropolitan areas ( Cape Town , Johannesburg , Pretoria and Durban ), the national roads are often developed like central European motorways .
  • In small cities and towns with little traffic, the national roads are normal thoroughfares.

The roads are generally in good condition.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ TOLL PLAZAS MANAGED BY CONCESSIONAIRES ON BEHALF OF SANRAL and TOLL PLAZAS MANAGED BY SANRAL . on www.nra.co.za (English)
  2. ^ South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act. on www.info.gov.za (English) ( Memento from February 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : National roads in South Africa  - Collection of images, videos and audio files