N3 (South Africa)

The N3 is divided into 12 sections, starting with section 1 in Durban and ending with section 12 in Johannesburg. Between the two cities, the route passes the following towns and cities: Pietermaritzburg, Estcourt, Ladysmith, Harrismith, Heidelberg and Germiston. It no longer passes through most of these towns, as bypasses have been built around all of them (except Pietermaritzburg). The last bypass that was built was around the town of Warden.

KwaZulu-Natal

N3 freeway approaching Durban, N2/N3 E.B. Cloete Interchange in the foreground

The N3 begins in the Durban Central Business District at Pine Street and Commercial Road as a dual-carriageway freeway and heads west, passing through Berea and Mayville before intersecting with the N2 at the EB Cloete Interchange. It then heads through Westville before bypassing the south of Pinetown. The route is then tolled at Mariannhill as it leaves the urban area, and then heads towards Cato Ridge. From Cato Ridge, the route passes Camperdown before turning towards the northwest and heading towards Pietermaritzburg, the provincial capital.

After bypassing Pietermaritzburg on the east and north, the N3 heads up a steep incline known as Town Hill before passing near Hilton and Howick; a road to the Southern Drakensberg (the R617) leaves the N3 at Howick. The route then becomes rather picturesque as it heads through the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, passing through Mooi River (where another toll is located) before heading to Estcourt. Just past Estcourt, access to the Central and Northern Drakensberg via the R74 is provided, before the N3 heads in the direction of Ladysmith. The N3 passes Ladysmith to the west, with the N11 providing access to Ladysmith itself. The N3 from Cedara (in-between Hilton and Howick) to Heidelberg in Gauteng is managed by a private concessionaire, the N3 Toll Concession.[2]

A few kilometres after the N11 interchange, the N3 is tolled once again; the dual-carriageway freeway also ending at this point. From here, the N3 ascends the South African plateau via Van Reenen's Pass; at the top of the pass, the N3 crosses into the Free State.

A section of the N3 in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, showing the dual-carriageway freeway.

Where the N3 has been realigned, the old alignment has been designated R103. The R103 exists in three sections: between Durban and Ladysmith, between Warden and Villiers, and between Heidelberg and Johannesburg. The only exception is within Durban itself, where most of the old N3 alignment is designated as the M13 instead of having the usual R103 designation; the R103 diverges from the M13 in the suburb of Winston Park.

The R103 is typically used to avoid the toll plazas on the N3, with one notable exception being the Tugela East Toll Plaza located on the R103 itself where the R103 and N3 meet north of Ladysmith.

Prior to the redesignation of the National Route numbers in 1971, the N3 moved east at Heidelberg and passed through the towns of Standerton, Volksrust and Newcastle via Laing's Nek Pass, before joining the present alignment at Ladysmith. This route now designated R23 between Heidelberg and Volksrust and N11 thereafter to Ladysmith remains an alternative to the N3.

Following the opening of the motorway section in December 2001 between Heidelberg and Villiers, the N3 now has at least two lanes in each direction for its entire length between the two cities. The section between Johannesburg and Villiers is dual carriageway motorway. Between Villiers and Warden the road is single carriageway motorway with two lanes in each direction. From Warden to Keeversfontein (Tugela Toll Plaza; Ladysmith) the road is no longer motorway but retains two lanes in each direction. Thereafter, the route to Durban is dual carriageway motorway. This last section is the second longest motorway by route number, but the longest motorway following one alignment in South Africa.

There are certain individuals proposing plans to re-route one section of the N3 between Keeversfontein (Tugela Toll Plaza) near Ladysmith, and the start of the tolled section near Warden, probably meeting the present alignment just south of Warden. This would involve the diversion of the road over De Beer's Pass, as opposed to Van Reenen's Pass. Not only would it reduce the route distance by 14 kilometres, but would have a lower gradient. Proponents of the new road argue that the existing Van Reenen's Pass is too steep for heavy trucks and exceeds the maximum gradient of 1:7 for an officially declared national road. This has caused a huge outcry among residents of Harrismith and Van Reenen, who rely on passing traffic to sustain businesses such as restaurants, petrol stations, and holiday rest places.

The N3 Toll Concession has stated that the De Beer's bypass will be required when daily traffic volumes reach 13,900 vehicles - the current traffic volume at Van Reenen is 11,000 vehicles, and based on projected increases in traffic volumes, the bypass will need to be operational by the end of 2014, with construction commencing in the second half of 2011. However, they carefully fail to mention the additional cost this will entail for the general public and road users, which would be paid at the additional toll plaza to be added as part of the new route. Furthermore, the additional impact on congestion this new toll plaza will have on the traffic may in fact be worse than the congestion caused by the steep gradient of the current route.[3]

In March 2017, it was decided by SANRAL that the construction of the De Beer's Pass Route will not continue.[4][5] They are still considering alternatives in order to improve the existing Van Reenen's Pass.

Most of the road is only usable upon the payment of toll. There are toll plazas at Marianhill, Mooiriver, Tugela, Villiers and Heidelberg. As mentioned above, most of the toll plazas can be avoided by using the R103.[6]

A sixth toll plaza would have been constructed south of Warden when the De Beer's bypass (mentioned above) would have been built.[3]

Open road tolling of the northernmost part of the N3, from Black Reef Road (Old Barn Interchange; R554) to Buccleuch Interchange (N1 Interchange) in Gauteng, came into effect from December 2013 as the e-toll system. There are a number of electronic toll gantries located on this stretch, which charge road users according to their estimated distances travelled.