N8 (South Africa)

The N8 is a national route in South Africa that connects Groblershoop (south of Upington) with Maseru in Lesotho via Kimberley and Bloemfontein.[1] It is maintained by the South African National Roads Agency.

National route N8
Route information
Maintained by SANRAL
Length583 km (362 mi)
Major junctions
West end N10 at Groblershoop
  N12 in Kimberley
N1 near Bloemfontein
East endMaseru Bridge at the Lesotho border
Location
Major citiesGroblershoop
Kimberley
Bloemfontein
Botshabelo
Thaba Nchu
Maseru
Highway system
Numbered routes of South Africa
← N7→ N9

Route

The road starts at Groblershoop in the Northern Cape, at a junction with the N10 from Upington. It runs east through Griquatown, crossing the Vaal River at Schmidtsdrift, to Kimberley (Capital of the Northern Cape). It enters as Schmidtsdrift Road, then Long Street, and reaches a junction with the N12, just west of the N12's intersection with the R64.

It turns south-east to be co-signed with the N12 as Bultfontein Road up to the Bishops Road junction, where the N12 turns south, leaving the N8 as the south-easterly road. At the roundabout by Kimberley Boys High School, the N8 turns south as Oliver Street, then south-east as Nathan Street, to exit the Northern Cape and cross into the Free State province.

From Kimberley, on a recently upgraded stretch of road, the N8 goes eastwards for 150 kilometres, crossing the Modder River, through Petrusburg (Where it meets the northern terminus of the R48), to Bloemfontein (Capital of the Free State), where it meets the N1 (Bloemfontein Western Bypass) at a ramp junction.

The N8 joins the N1 Highway northwards up to the next off-ramp, where it meets the eastern terminus of the R64. As the R64 is the road to the west, the N8 becomes the road to the east, bypassing the University of the Free State, into Bloemfontein Central. In the Bloemfontein CBD, the N8 passes through as two one-way streets. At the junction with the M30 Metropolitan Route, the N8 becomes one street eastwards again (Alexandra Avenue).

After the Bloemfontein town centre, the N8 heads eastwards to form an interchange with the M10 Metropolitan Route (George Lubbe Street) and proceeds to bypass the Bram Fischer International Airport and the Air Force Base Bloemspruit. From the airport, it runs eastwards for 78 kilometres, through Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu, to reach the southern outskirts of Ladybrand. 12 kilometres before Ladybrand, the N8 is joined by the R26 Route and they are co-signed eastwards up to Ladybrand South, where the N8 becomes its own road southwards while the R26 turns north towards Ladybrand CBD.

From the R26 split, the N8 goes southwards for 12 kilometres to end on the Lesotho border at the Maseru Bridge on the Mohokare River (Caledon River), with the city of Maseru, Lesotho's Capital, on the other side of the river.[2]

References
  1. Falkner, John (May 2012). South African Numbered Route Description and Destination Analysis (Report). National Department of Transport. p. 22. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  2. "Road Condition Report: July 2009" (PDF). South African National Roads Agency. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 22 July 2009.

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