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 ...
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to De ...
) via
Bothaville
Bothaville is a maize farming town situated near the Vaal River in the Lejweleputswa DM of the Free State province, South Africa. It is situated 60 km east of the Vaal, on the bank of its Vals River tributary. Bothaville and the adjacent K ...
Vereeniging
Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was former ...
. The R59 is a freeway from the R57 Junction in Sasolburg until the Alberton N12 Reading Interchange, signposted as the Sybrand van Niekerk Freeway.
Route
Free State
The R59 begins at a t-junction with the R64 about 18 kilometres west of Dealesville. It heads north for 61 kilometres to the town of Hertzogville, where it meets the R708 at a t-junction next to the Palmietpan and they become co-signed northwards. North of the town, the R59 becomes its own road north-east, heading for 50 kilometres to Hoopstad where on the southerly outskirts, before the Vet River, it meets the northern terminus of the R700 at a t-junction and turns northwards.
It crosses the
Vet River
The Vet River ( af, Vetrivier) is a westward-flowing tributary of the Vaal River in central South Africa. Its sources are between Marquard and Clocolan and the Vet River flows roughly northwestwards to meet the Vaal at the Bloemhof Dam near Hoop ...
into Hoopstad, where it meets and becomes cosigned with the R34. They loop to the north of the town and turn east before the R59 becomes its own road just north of the Tikwana suburb to resume its journey north-east, heading for 31 kilometres to reach a junction with the R505. The route continues north-east for 55 kilometers, past a place named Misgunst, to reach a t-junction with the R30 and co-sign with it northwards, crossing the Vals River into the town centre of
Bothaville
Bothaville is a maize farming town situated near the Vaal River in the Lejweleputswa DM of the Free State province, South Africa. It is situated 60 km east of the Vaal, on the bank of its Vals River tributary. Bothaville and the adjacent K ...
. In Bothaville Central, the R727 t-junctions the R30/R59 co-signage. At a four-way intersection north of Bothaville, as the R504 is the road westwards and the R30 continues northwards, the R59 becomes the road to the east.
The R59 continues in a north-easterly direction for 40 kilometres to bypass
Viljoenskroon
Viljoenskroon is a maize and cattle farming town located in the Free State province of South Africa. It was named after the original farm owner J. J. Viljoen and his horse ''Kroon'' (Crown).R76 at a 4-way-junction. It continues north-east from Viljoenskroon for 11 kilometres to meet the southern terminus of the R501 before heading another 40 kilometres to
Vredefort
Vredefort is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa with cattle, peanuts, sorghum, sunflowers and maize being farmed. It is home to 3,000 residents.
The town was established in 1876 on a farm called Visgat, on the ...
.
After bypassing Vredefort to the west, it meets the northern terminus of the R721 north of the town. It continues north-east for 12 kilometres to Parys, where it becomes the main road through the town and meets the southern terminus of the R53 and R500 routes from the
North West Province
North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana.
History
North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, a ...
(which the nearby, parallel Vaal River forms the border with). It is not one direct road through Parys (makes a right and left turn).
From Parys, the route continues north-east for 19 kilometres to meet the south-western terminus of the R42 Road extension (Boundary Road) just before meeting the N1 Kroonvaal Toll Route and crossing over it just north of the N1's Vaal Toll Plaza.
It proceeds east-north-east for 20 kilometres, still following the Vaal River, to enter Sasolburg's northern suburbs, where it forms a large interchange with the R57 Golden Highway. It crosses over the R57 and continues north-east to meet Ascot-on-Vaal Road ( R716) on the outskirts of Sasolburg before crossing the Vaal River into
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 ...
province east of
Vanderbijlpark
Vanderbijlpark is an industrial town with approximately 95 000 inhabitants, situated on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa. The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist.
Van ...
as the Sybrand van Niekerk Freeway. It is a freeway for its remainder.
Gauteng
After crossing the Vaal, it interchanges with and crosses the R42 for the second time east of
Sharpeville
Sharpeville (also spelled Sharpville) is a township situated between two large industrial cities, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging, in southern Gauteng, South Africa. Sharpeville is one of the oldest of six townships in the Vaal Triangle. It was na ...
,
Vanderbijlpark
Vanderbijlpark is an industrial town with approximately 95 000 inhabitants, situated on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa. The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist.
Van ...
and south-west of
Vereeniging
Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was former ...
Central (west southbound and east northbound off-ramps only), before crossing the R28 from Sebokeng. It continues north and meets the R54 to the Three Rivers suburb (R59 North off-ramp only) and R82 to Vereeniging Central (R59 South off-ramp only) at an interchange close to Duncanville. It then meets the M61 as it continues north-east, passing to the west of Meyerton, where it intersects with the R551.
It continues north-east, passes Henley on Klip and intersects with the R557 near Randvaal. It continues north, passing to the west of Garthdale, where it crosses the R550 Road and then the Klip River. Its next major interchange is with the M7 (Klip River Drive) outside Brackendown and Thokoza. It continues into Brackenhurst, a suburb of Alberton, where it crosses the R554 Road (Swartkoppies Road; which provides access to the Alberton CBD) and Michelle Avenue in Meyersdal. After a short distance, it meets the N12 Highway ( Johannesburg Southern Bypass) at the Reading Interchange ( Johannesburg Ring Road) and then proceeds to end at a T-junction with the M38 Road in Tulisa Park, Johannesburg South.