Part of South Africa’s most important highway can become a toll road where motorists must pay

Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, said that a 1.1-kilometre stretch of the N1 highway is under consideration to become a toll road.

She shared this information in response to a Parliamentary question from National Assembly member George Michalakis.

Michalakis asked Creecy what national routes and sections thereof are currently under consideration for declaration as toll roads.

He also asked which province each specified route is, the distance in kilometres for each, and in which stages the projects were.

Michalakis also enquired whether the SA National Roads Agency Limited has submitted any request for her approval of a toll road declaration in the past financial year.

Creecy said a 1.1-kilometre stretch of the N1 highway, from the border post entry point to the South Africa-Zimbabwe international border, is set to become a toll road.

The N1 already has many parts which are tolled and includes plazas like Huguenot, Vaal, Carousel, Kranskop, Capricorn, Grasmere, and Zambesi.

The new stretch will add to the sections of the N1 highway where motorists will have to pay to use.

Creecy said that this new section, which can be converted into a toll road, is located in the Musina Local Municipality in Limpopo Province.

“The Notice of Intent to Toll was published on 15 August 2025 in Government Gazette 53178,” Creecy said.

“Public consultations have been completed, and a consultation report has been prepared and submitted to the SANRAL Board for its review.”

She added that SANRAL did not submit any applications for consideration and approval of toll declarations in the 2025/26 financial year.

“However, as mentioned, the Beitbridge Intent to Toll was submitted and approved for public consultation and gazetted on 15 August 2025,” she added.

About the N1 highway in South Africa

The N1 is the primary highway in South Africa, stretching 1,936 kilometres from south to north across the country.

It connects Cape Town with South Africa’s economic heartland, Gauteng, and continues to Zimbabwe’s border.

The highway starts at Buitengracht Street in Cape Town, passes through the Winelands, and goes through the Huguenot Tunnel.

It then passes through the Hex River Valley into the Great Karoo region, where the biggest town is Beaufort West.

It then cuts through the Northern Cape before crossing the Orange River, bypassing the provincial capital, Bloemfontein, and continues north through Kroonstad.

It then crosses the Vaal River into Gauteng, curving around Johannesburg, known as the N1 Western Bypass.

The N1 then meets the M1 and N3 highways at the busy Buccleuch Interchange in northern Johannesburg.

This is where it becomes the heavily travelled Ben Schoeman Freeway connecting Johannesburg and Pretoria.

From there, it passes through Polokwane and Mokopane, heading north through the Soutpansberg range to Beitbridge at the Zimbabwe border.