Pretoria, 2 April 2026 – The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has announced that the national road network is ready for the Easter Weekend, as traffic volumes are set to increase on all national roads across the country.

“SANRAL is expecting high traffic volumes over the Easter Weekend (from Thursday, 2 April 2026 until Monday, 6 April 2026) as holidaymakers head for their destinations. We appeal to motorists to obey the law, drive with extreme caution and respect other road users. Road safety is one of SANRAL’s strategic pillars and while the national roads agency does not operate in the law enforcement space, we work with all relevant authorities to improve road safety across the national road network, with a focus on engineering, enforcement and education” said SANRAL spokesperson, Vusi Mona.

Some of the country’s national roads that will have the most traffic during Easter Weekend include:

  • All construction on national roads in KwaZulu-Natal ended on 1 April and will resume on Tuesday 7 April. This means that most key routes around the province will be open and free flowing. SANRAL’s Routine Road Maintenance (RRM) teams will, however, remain on standby during the Easter Weekend to ensure that they are able to respond timely to any incidents that may occur. Heavy traffic is expected on the R22 national road between Hluhluwe to the Kosi Bay border post between SA and Mozambique.
  • Construction work on the R101 between Bela Bela and Modimolle in Limpopo will resume on Monday, 8 April, and there will be no Stop and Go.
  • The R516 from R511 (Brits – Thabazimbi Road) to Bela Bela will have eight Stop and Go, four on each section, spread over the 80km of road. Both contractors will stop working tomorrow and will resume work on Monday, 8 April.
  • The repair and patching of potholes will be ongoing on Section 12 of the R33 national road to Section 13 towards Modimolle in Limpopo. There will be road inspections twice a day (Morning and late afternoon) during the period of construction shutdown. During the inspection, the standby candidates will carry out maintenance of delineators and signs, replace any damaged delineators/signs and carry out maintenance of barricades around excavations.
  • Construction on the N3 national road from Geldenhuys to Buccleuch in Gauteng is nearly halfway complete and closures will be completely off the road to accommodate Eater Weekend travel from 5am on Thursday, 2 April to 8pm on Monday, 8 April 2026.
  • Temporary lane closure of the two fast lanes on the R21 national road at Olifantsfontein in Gauteng remain in place, due to the rehabilitation of the sinkhole. Road users can expect a switch in the second week of April, where the two fast lanes will be open and the two slow lanes will be closed. SANRAL anticipates this section of road to be fully open to traffic by the end of April.
  • There are planned traffic disruptions on the N17 east and westbound between the Rand Airport and Tonk Meter interchanges in Gauteng. The planned disruptions are due to the mill and replacement of the road asphalt surfacing, and structural concrete repairs at the toll plaza. These lane closures will be applicable from Monday, 2 April to Sunday, 5 April. The closures are unfortunately unavoidable due to the curing of concrete at toll plazas and milled surfaces because of prior milling.
  • There are planned traffic disruptions on the N3 northbound carriageway in the vicinity of Germiston. The planned closures of the slow lanes are due to undermining and subsidence observed on this section of road. SANRAL closed the lanes as a precautionary measure while investigating the subsidence of the outer lane resulting from possible undermining under the road. Undermining in this area is often associated with illegal mining.
  • The N2, N4 and N12 national roads in Mpumalanga Province will be open to traffic.
  • There will be ongoing partial reconstruction of the R511 national road from Beestekraal to the North West/Limpopo border. There are planned Stop and Go as follows:

Stop and Go 1:

  • Location: km 41.200 – km 44.660
  • Time: 24-hour period
  • Duration: Traffic will be halted, leading to potential delays of up to 20 minutes during peak hours.
  • Closure lengths: Traffic will be closed for 3.4km where halfwidth construction is taking place.

Stop and Go 2:

  • Location: km 55.560 – km 58.540
  • Time: 24-hour period
  • Duration: Traffic will be halted, leading to potential delays of up to 20 minutes during peak hours.
  • Closure lengths: Traffic will be closed for 2.9km where halfwidth construction is taking place.

Stop and Go 3:

  • Location: km 68.400 – km 71.880
  • Time: 24-hour period
  • Duration: Traffic will be halted, leading to potential delays of up to 20 minutes during peak hours.
  • Closure Lengths: Traffic will be closed for 3.4km where halfwidth construction is taking place.
  • There will be traffic accommodation on a temporary road bypass on the R52 national road from Koster to the N4 national road in Rustenburg. There will be no closures, but motorists are advised to proceed with caution.
  • In the Northern Cape, there will be Stop and Go on the N10 national road between De Aar and Hanover, as well as between De Aar and Britstown.
  • There is ongoing road maintenance on the N1, N2 and N7 national roads in the Western Cape. Motorists can still expect to see SANRAL’s RRM crews on these routes as they continue to clear litter and debris over this period.
  • The N1 national road from Cape Town to Beaufort West, extending further north to the Northern Cape Border, is in a fair to good condition. Construction activities approximately 20 km south of Laingsburg will continue and there are two directional traffic flow along the entire route.
  • Motorists are urged to be on the look for pedestrians on the N1 national road particularly in areas such as Joostenbergvlakte, Worcester, Sandhills, De Doorns, Laingsburg and Beaufort West. Motorists are also urged to take regular breaks specifically between Laingsburg and Beaufort West, a portion of N1 notorious for driver fatigue incidents.  This section also has regular Driver Alert sections with high visibility signage, rumble strips and closely spaced cat’s eyes to encourage drivers to be alert during travel.
  • The N7 national road between Melkbosstrand Interchange and Bitterfontein and beyond is in a fair to good condition.  Motorists are urged to be on the lookout for pedestrians near Malmesbury, and Piketberg.
  • The N7 national road from Piketberg to the foot of Piekenierskloof Pass is under construction. Free-flow traffic will be maintained in both directions, although some sections will have restricted shoulder closures and 60 km/h speed limits. Traffic Safety Officers are present day and night to assist with any breakdowns in the construction zone.
  • The condition of the N2 national between Cape Town and the Tsitsikama Toll Plaza near the Eastern Cape Border is in a fair to good condition.
  • The portion of N2 national between George and Touwriver (De Vleie) is under construction.  Motorists are urged to drive cautiously, obey posted speed limits, and be patient in slow-moving areas, particularly through Kaaimans Pass and the town of Wilderness. There will be no Stop & Go operations; however, lane width availability will vary, with at least one lane open in each direction at all times and point duty will be stationed at critical intersections to assist with traffic flow.

SANRAL thanks the many law enforcement officers, emergency medical teams, rescue services and all other service providers who will be on duty on all busy routes during the Easter Weekend.