N4 (South Africa)

National route N4 shield
National route N4
Route information
Maintained by SANRAL, Bakwena and TRAC
Length718 km (446 mi)
Major junctions
West endA2 A2 at the Botswana border near Lobatse
Major intersections N1 in Pretoria
N12 in eMalahleni
N11 near Middelburg
East endEN4 EN4 at the Mozambican border near Ressano Garcia
Location
CountrySouth Africa
ProvincesNorth West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga
Major cities
Highway system
N3 N5
The N4 road westbound near Middelburg, Mpumalanga
The N4 road eastbound at the interchange with the R556 road near Modderspruit in North West.

The N4 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Skilpadshek on the Botswana border, past Rustenburg, Pretoria, eMalahleni and Mbombela, to Komatipoort on the Mozambique border. The entire route is a toll road.[1]

The N4 west of Pretoria, named the Platinum Highway, forms the South African section of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor, which runs from Walvis Bay to Pretoria, while the N4 east of Pretoria forms the Maputo Corridor, which runs from Pretoria to Maputo. Together, they link the east and west coasts of Southern Africa.

The eastern section from Pretoria to Middelburg is a four-lane dual-carriageway tolled freeway opened in 1968, with toll gates at Donkerhoek and just west of Middelburg. The freeway from eMalahleni to Middelburg was one of the first concrete freeways built in South Africa and the Ultra City was the first service station built on the sides of a freeway. At eMalahleni (formerly Witbank), the freeway converges with the N12 from Johannesburg. An alternative route to the N4, known as the R104, runs between Pretoria and Wonderfontein (east of Middelburg). Between eMalahleni and Middelburg the alternative is the R555. After Wonderfontein the toll road runs along the old alignment of the N4 until the Lebombo Border Post. From Middelburg to Belfast the N4 is a single-carriageway highway with two lanes in both directions; thereafter, the N4 is a wide shouldered single-carriageway highway. The section east of Middelburg has been significantly improved, including a northern bypass of Mbombela,[2] and now features some new grade-separated junctions.

  1. ^ Falkner, John (May 2012). South African Numbered Route Description and Destination Analysis (Report). National Department of Transport. pp. 16–17. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :02 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).