The R550 is a
Regional Route in
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
that connects
Johannesburg South with
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
via
Katlehong and
Nigel.
Route
Its western terminus is a junction with the
R82 and
R554 roads in
Johannesburg South, just south of
Kibler Park and north of
Walkerville (east of
Lenasia
Lenasia, often called Lenz, is a Suburbs of Johannesburg, suburb south of Soweto in the Gauteng Province, Gauteng province, South Africa, originally created to house Indian South Africans, Indians. It is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropo ...
). From there, the R550 goes south-east for 15 kilometres, following the
Klip River, to reach a T-junction near a place named Kliprivier. At this junction, the R550 turns eastwards and meets the
R59 Highway at an interchange just after.
From the R59 interchange, the R550 goes eastwards for 20 kilometres, crossing the
Klip River, passing through Garthdale (Kliprivier), skirting the southern border of
Katlehong and forming the northern border of the
Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, to reach an interchange with the
N3 Highway north of
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...
. Just after the N3 Interchange, it meets the
R103 and after another 8 kilometres, it meets the
R23.
From the R23 junction, the R550 goes eastwards for 10 kilometres, forming the southern border of the townships of
Tsakane and
Duduza, to meet the southern terminus of the
M63 Metropolitan Route at a T-junction in the town of
Nigel. It becomes the road east-south-east for 2 kilometres up to the 4-way-junction before the Glenvarloch suburb, where it meets the
R51 Route coming from
Springs in the north and the
R42 Route coming from
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...
in the south-west. The 3 routes become co-signed eastwards from this junction for 2 kilometres, forming the northern border of Nigel's CBD, up to the junction with Balfour Road, where the R51 & R550 split from the R42 to become Balfour Road towards the south-east. Just after crossing the
Blesbokspruit in the Laversburg suburb of Nigel, the R550 leaves Balfour Road (R51) and becomes its own road eastwards.
From Nigel, the R550 continues east-north-east for 30 kilometres, crossing over the
N17 just before reaching its eastern terminus in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, at an intersection with the
R548, just south of the R548's intersection with the
R29.
References
Regional Routes in Gauteng
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