Before the opening of the Northern Bypass, the
N4 national route, which is coming from
Witbank and
Mbombela in the east, passed westwards through
Pretoria from the Proefplaas Interchange on regular city streets (today designated as the
M2 and
M4 roads) and exited Pretoria westbound as the
Magalies Toll Route, a 20 km tolled highway to
Hartbeespoort. This new realignment of the N4 (the Northern Bypass) means that both Hartbeespoort and
Pretoria Central are now bypassed to the north for east–west traffic. Traffic coming from
Rustenburg in the west and heading towards towns east (and south) of Pretoria no-longer has to pass through the city centre and interfere with local traffic. Before the opening of the Eastern Bypass, the
N1 national route, which is coming from
Johannesburg in the south, passed northwards through Pretoria on regular city streets (today designated as the
R101) and exited Pretoria northbound on
Lavender Road/Old Warmbaths Road. This new realignment of the N1 (the Eastern Bypass) means that
Pretoria Central is now bypassed to the east for north–south traffic. Traffic coming from
Polokwane in the north and heading towards towns south (and south-west) of Pretoria no-longer has to pass through the city centre. ==See also==