The M13 is a metropolitan route in the

Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality, created in 2000, that includes the city of Durban and surrounding towns. eThekwini is one of the 11 Districts of South Africa, di ...

in the

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. For most of its route, it is a highway named King Cetshwayo Highway and it acts as an alternative route to the N3 highway for travel between the suburbs closer to the

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

CBD and the Outer West Suburbs ( Assagay).

Route

The route starts in the

Central Business District at an intersection with the M4. For the first few kilometres of its length, it runs parallel to the N3 on both sides as King Dinuzulu Road North and King Dinuzulu Road South (formerly Berea Road; one-way-streets). At the Tollgate Bridge, it then turns to the south and passes westwards through Mayville (where it is co-signed with the M10 for a few metres), before turning north and crossing under the N3 to pass through Sherwood. At 45th Cutting, the route becomes a dual-carriageway freeway and remains as one for the rest of its length. The route passes over the N2 highway ( Durban Outer Ring Road) westwards as a flyover and passes through Westville and Cowies Hill. The route then briefly touches the N3 at the Paradise Valley interchange (eastbound only) (motorists can drive from the N3 west onto the M13 west and from the M13 east onto the N3 east), before passing west-north-west through

Pinetown Pinetown is a city that forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, based just inland from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The city is situated 16 km (10 mi) north-west of Durban and 64 km (40 mi) south-east of Pieterm ...

. After Pinetown, the route goes up Fields Hill, a 3 km 1:15 gradient (this section is notorious for heavy vehicle accidents that can close an entire carriageway of the road). The route then enters the Upper Highway Area, passing westwards through

Kloof Kloof is a town that includes a smaller area called Everton, located approximately 26 km north-west of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Once an independent municipality, it now forms part of greater Durban area of the eThekwini M ...

and Gillitts, before the R103 diverges, providing access to Hillcrest. The route then passes south of Hillcrest and through Assagay before merging with the N3 freeway (westbound only) at the Key Ridge Interchange, where it ends. The route is roughly 35 km long.

Significance

The M13 is the main thoroughfare to Durban for residents of the nearby towns of Westville, Pinetown, Kloof, Gillitts and Hillcrest. The M13 between the Paradise Valley interchange and its termination at the N3 (Key Ridge interchange) used to be part of the N3 route until 1986, when the N3 was re-routed to pass south of Pinetown, Westmead and Winston Park. The M13 remains an alternative route to the N3, and is commonly used by motorists wishing to avoid the Mariannhill Toll Plaza, located on the N3 outside Westmead.

References

{{Reflist Highways in South Africa Metropolitan routes in Durban