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 The N7 north of Vanrhynsdorp | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by SANRAL | ||||
| Length | 666 km (414 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  N1 in Cape Town | |||
 N14 at Springbok | ||||
| North end |  B1 at the Namibian border at Vioolsdrif | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | South Africa | |||
| Provinces | Western Cape, Northern Cape | |||
| Major cities | ||||
| Highway system | ||||
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The N7 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town northwards through the West Coast and Namaqualand regions to the Namibian border at Vioolsdrif.[1] It is known as the Cape Namibia Road. After crossing the border, it changes designation to B1 and runs north through Windhoek and the north of Namibia.
The N7 national route forms the first section of the Tripoli-Cape Town Highway, which is a proposed link between Cape Town and Tripoli, the capital city of Libya, being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union.
Route
The N7 begins at a four-way interchange with the N1 national route in Cape Town, adjacent to Acacia Park, heading northwards. South of this interchange, it is the M7 route of Cape Town (Jakes Gerwel Drive).
The portion of the road within Cape Town is a freeway, but it loses limited-access freeway status shortly after exiting the urban limits at the M12 interchange (Malibongwe Drive). From here, it remains a dual-carriageway and gains limited-access freeway status again at the Melkbosstrand M19 interchange. It remains a limited-access freeway until just after Malmesbury at the R45 intersection. Thereafter, the N7 is a single-carriageway highway with wide paved shoulders to Piekenierskloof Pass and through the Olifants River valley until Clanwilliam.
The rest of the N7 to the Namibian border, through Vredendal and Springbok (where it meets the N14 national route) is a single-carriageway highway with no paved shoulders.
After crossing into Namibia, it becomes the B1 road to Keetmanshoop and Windhoek.
Future Plans
There are plans to upgrade the existing M7 from the N1 & N7 interchange southwards to the N2 interchange in KwaLanga to a freeway; the new freeway would also be denoted as the N7, thus making the N2 the new southern terminus of the N7.
References
- ↑ Falkner, John (May 2012). South African Numbered Route Description and Destination Analysis (Report). National Department of Transport. pp. 20–21. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
External links
