The A1 is a national highway in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

. The stretch of road between

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

and

Okahandja Okahandja is a city of 24,100 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the ''Garden Town of Namibia''. It is located 70 km north of Windhoek on the ...

is the only A-rated road in Namibia. Consisting of

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

for its entire length, it came into existence in 2017 when freeway sections of the B1 were redesignated ''A1'' in accordance with new standards of the

Roads Authority Namibia A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

. The entirety of the A1 forms part of the

Trans-Kalahari Corridor The Trans-Kalahari Corridor is a paved highway corridor that provides a direct route from Walvis Bay and Windhoek in central Namibia, through Botswana, to Pretoria in Gauteng province in South Africa. It initially cost approximately 850 million Nam ...

and, together with the B1, also forms part of the Tripoli-Cape Town Highway.

Route

At its southern end, the A1 freeway transitions from the B1 in

's Hochland Park district, at an interchange with the B6 to the city centre, Hosea Kutako International Airport and

Gobabis , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = Ex Oriente Lux , image_skyline = Gobabis Namibia aerial.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imag ...

, and the C28 road to

Swakopmund Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and cover ...

. The route follows the Western Bypass, built in the 1970s. It then runs north out of Windhoek on freeway sections built in the 2010s through

Elisenheim Elisenheim is a residential area north of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and ...

, Brakwater and Teufelsbach to

Osona Osona () is a comarca situated in Catalonia, Northeast Spain. Its capital is Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan county of Osona. The name Osona comes from ''Ausetans'', a group of ...

; the distance from Hochland Park to Osona being . The freeway currently ends at Osona, with the road designation transitioning back to B1. Construction of the final to

is in progress and is scheduled to be completed by 2022, which will increase the A1's final length to .

History

The origins of the A1 freeway are in

's Western Bypass, constructed during South African administration in the 1970s with the section north of the B6/ C28 interchange being of freeway standards. The B1, then running through central Windhoek, was shifted to run along the Western Bypass upon its opening. In the early 2010s, a project commenced to upgrade the B1 between the northern end of the Western Bypass and

, to be constructed in four sections. Phase 1 and Phase 2 were carried out as renovations of the existing B1, with Phase 1 rehabilitating the non-freeway section of the Western Bypass between Kleine Kuppe and the B6/C28 interchange (including construction of the second carriageway, which was not done during the initial construction of the Western Bypass), and Phase 2 rehabilitating the freeway section of the Western Bypass up to Brakwater. Phase 3 entailed upgrading the existing B1 between Brakwater and the Dobra River to freeway standards. Construction commenced in January 2014 and was officially opened by the

in April 2017. Upon its opening, all freeway sections of the B1 were redesignated A1 in accordance with new standards of the Roads Authority Namibia, and signage along the route was updated to reflect the redesignation. Phase 4 was split into two parts, Phase 4A and Phase 4B. Phase 4A continued upgrading of the B1 to the A1 from the Dobra River to Osona, and was completed in September 2019. Phase 4B entails the construction of a new route from Osona, bypassing

, and terminating at the existing junction of the B1 with the B2 to

; it is expected to open in 2022.

References

External links

Roads Authority Namibia
{{Highways of Namibia Roads in Namibia

Route

History

See also

References

External links