Trans-Kalahari Corridor
Trans-Kalahari Corridor | |
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Namibia: |
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map | |
Basic data | |
Operator: |
Road Authority of Namibia Botswana's Ministry of Transport South African National Roads Agency |
Overall length: | 1900 km |
of which in operation: | 1900 km |
Regions : |
various |
Aerial view of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor at Witvlei |
The Trans-Kalahari Corridor ( German Trans-Kalahari-Fernstraße ), formerly the Trans-Kalahari Highway , is a trunk road leading through the SADC states of Namibia , Botswana and South Africa . It is one of the most important trade and transport routes in the region. It was opened in 1998 by Botswana and Namibia. The initial investment cost was 850 million Namibian dollars .
history
The planning goes back to the research trip of James Chapman , who explored the route as a trade route as early as 1850. The road then existing as a sand road was expanded as an asphalt road over its entire course at the end of the 20th century and has been available since 1998 as a connecting road between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund on the Atlantic Ocean and Johannesburg in South Africa . The Trans-Kalahari-Highway is used by freight traffic because it shortens the distance from Windhoek to Johannesburg by around 400 kilometers compared to the previously usual southern route via Upington .
course
Coming from the Atlantic coast, the Namibian national road B2 forms the connection inland to Okahandja , where it joins the national road B1 or the A1 motorway . The route follows this south to the capital Windhoek. From there, the B6 national road branches further east. It leads to Botswana to the Buitepos border crossing .
In Botswana, the route continues as the A2 . The eastbound route ends just under 150 kilometers behind the border south of Ghanzi and branches off to the northeast and southeast; the road to South Africa and the east coast continues south and passes through small towns like Kang and Sekoma before reaching Jwaneng and Kanye . There it becomes the A10 to Gaborone .
After Lobatse the highway crosses the border crossing to South Africa. The national road, designated here as the N4 , runs through Zeerust and Rustenburg before bypassing the South African capital Pretoria and ending the road in Johannesburg. Here the corridor connects to the Maputo Corridor from Mozambique .
Web links
- Walvis Bay Corridor Group (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Trans-Kalahari Corridor. Walvis Bay Corridor Group. ( Memento from May 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive )