Numbered routes in South Africa
In South Africa some roads are designated as numbered routes to help with navigation. There is a nationwide numbering scheme consisting of national, provincial and regional routes, and within various urban areas there are schemes of metropolitan route numbering.[1]
Numbering
In the nationwide numbering scheme, routes are divided into a hierarchy of three categories: national routes, which are the most important routes connecting major cities; provincial routes, which connecting smaller cities and towns to the national route network; and regional routes, which connect smaller towns to the route network. Route numbers are allocated to these classes as follows:[2]
- National routes: N1 to N20.
- Provincial routes: R21 to R99.
- Regional parallel routes: R101 to R120. (A regional route R1xy will consist of road segments formerly part of the national route Nxy that have been replaced by upgraded roads.)
- Regional routes in the former Cape Province: R300 to R499.
- Regional routes in the former Transvaal Province: R500 to R599.
- Regional routes in KwaZulu-Natal: R600 to R699.
- Regional routes in the Free State: R700 to R799.
These numbers are allocated by the Route Numbering and Road Traffic Signs Sub Committee within the Roads Co-ordinating Body,[1] an organisation which contains representatives from road authorities in national, provincial and local government.
In metropolitan numbering schemes the local authority can designate routes consisting of M followed by any number, but it should not use numbers the same as those used by national, provincial or regional routes in the same area.[2] This rule is not universally followed, for example in Johannesburg where there is both an N1 and an M1.
Lists of routes
- List of national routes in South Africa
- List of provincial routes in South Africa
- List of regional routes in South Africa
References
- 1 2 Falkner, John (May 2012). South African Numbered Route Description and Destination Analysis. National Department of Transport. p. xi. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
- 1 2 SADC Road Traffic Signs Manual, Volume 1: Uniform Traffic Control Devices. National Department of Transport. May 2012. p. 8.6.1. Retrieved 3 September 2014.