R101 (South Africa)
The R101 is a Regional Route in South Africa that is the designation for some of the old sections of roads that were previously the N1, prior to upgrading. It only has 2 sections, from Bellville to Worcester and from Johannesburg to Polokwane.
Western Cape
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The R101 starts in Bellville at the R102 and runs to the south parallel to the newer N1 freeway and is named Old Paarl Road. It goes through Brackenfell and enters Kraaifontein as Voortrekker Road. At the intersection with Maroela Road in Kraaifontein East it is renamed Old Paarl Road before entering the Cape Winelands. In the Cape Winelands it goes through Klapmuts and then enters Paarl.
After crossing to the northern side of the N1 south of Paarl, it co-signed with the R45 for 6 kilometres before turning left in Paarl Central Business District (CBD). It crosses the southern side of the N1, before it crosses the Drakenstein Mountains as Du Toitskloof Pass (820 m) where the new route bypasses as the Huguenot Tunnel.
Through the pass it rejoins the N1 for 8 km until it separates again to provide access to the town of Rawsonville before it joins the N1 again at Worcester. The R101 designation is not used again up to Woodmead north of Johannesburg, Gauteng, which is 1300 km from Worcester.
Gauteng and Limpopo
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A section of the R101 in Gauteng and Limpopo provinces connects Johannesburg with Polokwane via Pretoria, Bela Bela and Mokopane.
The first part connects Johannesburg and Pretoria. It begins as Louis Botha Avenue (forming part of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Route which is designated as the M11), intersects with the R55 and the R564 near Woodmead (where it becomes the R101), and continues as Pretoria Main Road (later Old Pretoria Main Road) (east of the parallel Ben Schoeman Freeway, which is designated as the N1), passes through Midrand, and becomes the Old Johannesburg Road south of Centurion (where it crosses to the west of the Ben Schoeman Freeway, which is still designated as the N1), passing through the western side of Centurion, later changing names again to Jan Smuts Drive in Pretoria, where it merges with the northern endpoint of the Ben Schoeman Freeway (which is now labelled as the N14) at Potgieter Street (now named Kgosi Mampuru Street).
It proceeds northwards through Pretoria Central as Kgosi Mampuru Street (one-way street) (and As Sophie de Bruyn Street, formerly Schubart Street, southwards up to the N14 Ben Schoeman Freeway), intersecting with the R104 Road during this time. At the junction with Struben Street, it becomes cosigned with the M4 Metropolitan Route of Pretoria eastwards up until Paul Kruger Street, where it turns north. While cosigned with the M4, it is Struben Street eastwards and Johannes Ramokhoase Street (formerly Proes Street) westwards (to the Struben Street junction from Paul Kruger Street).
As Paul Kruger Street, the R101 goes north, passing the Pretoria Zoo, through Capital Park and Mayville. Just after Mayville, the R101 is co-signed with the M1 Metropolitan Route of Pretoria until the next junction, where the R101 becomes Lavender Road, the road separating Wonderboom South and Annlin West. At the next junction with Steve Biko Road (M5), Lavender Road divides into Lavender Road West (for vehicles heading north, by way of a left turn) and Lavender Road East (for vehicles heading south) for about 1 km up to the junction with the R513 East (Sefako Makgatho Drive, formerly Zambezi Drive), where it becomes one road again northwards.
An alternative, faster route from Pretoria Central to the M1 & R101 junction is using the M1 road, which bypasses to the west of the suburban areas of Capital Park and Mayville in a partial highway format (flying over roads with off-ramp junctions) before reaching Lavender Road.
Going north from the R513 junction, it intersects with the R566 Road near Onderstepoort before flying over the N4 Platinum Highway. The R101, the R566 and the M1 form a Ring-Road around Annlin West (in-between Pretoria North and Wonderboom Airport). After Crossing The N4, the R101 becomes Old Warmbaths Road and follows the Apies River North-North-East for 27 km, through Pyramid, to Hammanskraal.
6 km north of Hammanskraal, just before the Carousel casino, the R101 enters the North West Province for about 7 km before entering Limpopo. From Hammanskraal, it is parallel to the N1, passing through Pienaarsrivier. From Pienaarsrivier, the R101 makes a direct line for Bela Bela (Warmbaths) (35 km), where it meets the R516. The R101 continues by way of a right-turn at Potgieter Road in Bela Bela and the route makes a 27 km journey north-east to Modimolle (Nylstroom).
As a straight road passing through Modimolle central, it intersects with the R33. After passing the Phagameng suburb of Modimolle, the R101 turns east towards the bypassing N1 Highway. At Middelfontein, right before the N1 Modimolle north off-ramp, the R101 becomes the road to the west of the N1 (Mookgophong Road, later Modimolle Road) heading north-east. After Kransvlei Farm Resort, the R101 continues by way of a left turn at the t-junction to become the straight road through Mookgophong (Namboomspruit). The distance from Modimolle to Mookgophong is 42 km.
Passing through Mookgophong as Thabo Mbeki Street, it intersects with the R519 at Second Avenue and the R520 at Nelson Mandela Drive. While mostly parallel to the N1, it journeys 51 km north-east to Mokopane (Potgietersrus). 7 Km south of Mokopane, where it crosses the Mogalakwena River, the R101 Road cosigns with the N11 National Route, becoming Thabo Mbeki Drive, up to Mokopane Central.
In Mokopane Central, next to Mokopane Mall, the R101 and N11 meet the R518 Road from Zebediela and cosign with it. At the 2nd junction afterwards, the N11 and the R518 become Nelson Mandela Drive (by way of a left turn), leaving The R101 as the straight road through Mokopane North (Thabo Mbeki Drive). After the Mokopane Game Breeding Centre, the R101 turns eastwards to cross the bypassing N1 Highway at its Mokopane North Off-ramp (Sebetiela Toll Plaza) and follow it north-east to Polokwane (60 km) while being on its eastern side.
As there is a new Eastern Bypass of Polokwane given to the N1, the old road through Polokwane Central (Thabo Mbeki Street and Grobler Street), meeting the northern terminus of the R37, meeting the western terminus of the R71, turning north and bypassing Polokwane International Airport (Landdros Mare Street), has been given to the R101.[1][2]
The point where Landdros Mare Street and the Polokwane Eastern Bypass meet north of Polokwane marks the end of the R101, as the road heading north to the towns of Louis Trichardt, Musina and the border of Beit Bridge with Zimbabwe is given back to the N1. (Here, the N1 no longer has a parallel road following it)
R101 (Musina)
As there is a bypass being built around the town of Musina[3] (west of the city centre), the N1 section through the central suburb of Musina, just like most other old sections of the N1, may be designated as the R101 once the bypass is complete.
The completion date was initially set as November 2018, but after delays, the bypass is now expected to be completed in October 2021.[4]
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