Important cities that the B1 passes through in a north–south direction include
Oshikango,
Ondangwa,
Tsumeb,
Otavi,
Otjiwarongo,
Okahandja,
Windhoek,
Rehoboth,
Mariental,
Keetmanshoop and
Noordoewer.
Southern section: Noordoewer to Windhoek The B1 begins on the
South African border at a bridge over the
Orange River near the town of
Noordoewer, as a continuation of South Africa's
N7 national route. It heads north to
Grünau, where it meets the
B3 from
Karasburg (and
Upington from continuing on South Africa's
N10 national route) and the
Nakop-Windhoek railway line. From there, it continues north to the city of
Keetmanshoop; on the southern outskirts, it intersects by means of a traffic circle with the
B4 to
Lüderitz. From Keetmanshoop, the route continues north along the western fringes of the
Kalahari Desert, passing through
Mariental,
Kalkrand and
Rehoboth. The route then passes through a mountainous region and emerges in the southern suburbs of Namibia's capital city
Windhoek near
Eros Airport.
Central section: Windhoek to Okahandja Most of the section between
Windhoek and
Okahandja has been upgraded to freeway standard (beginning with a western bypass of Windhoek built in the 1970s), and since April 2017, the freeway sections have been redesignated by the
Roads Authority Namibia as the A1. Remaining sections of the B1 just south of Okahandja are expected to be upgraded to freeway standard by 2022. At Okahandja, it meets the
B2, which connects to
Walvis Bay.
Northern section: Okahandja to Oshikango From
Okahandja, the B1 resumes and heads north for approximately to
Otjiwarongo; this section is considered one of the deadliest roads in Namibia with a high crash fatality rate. From Otjiwarongo, the B1 heads in a more north-easterly direction to avoid the
Etosha National Park, passing through
Otavi (where the
B8 provides a route to the
Caprivi Strip and the border with
Zambia) before reaching
Tsumeb. At Tsumeb, the route makes a hard turn to the north-west at the intersection with the
B15 and skirts the
Etosha Pan to reach
Oshivelo and thence
Ondangwa, from where it resumes a northerly path and heads to
Oshikango. At Oshikango, the route crosses the border into
Angola and becomes the
EN 120. ==History==