Kwazulu-Natal }} Its first section begins as a junction with the
M13 highway (King Cetshwayo Highway) in
Hillcrest, 30 km north-west of
Durban (just north of
Winston Park and west of
Gillitts). The R103 begins as the Old Main Road and leaves Hillcrest in a roughly north-west direction and enters
Cato Ridge from the east. In Cato Ridge, the road crosses the N3 at the 53 exit and then follows the south side of the N3, leaving the
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, before recrossing the N3 freeway at
Camperdown. It follows the N3 towards the outskirts of
Pietermaritzburg, crisscrossing the freeway several times and passing through
Ashburton. It enters the suburb of Scottsville in Pietermaritzburg from the south-east as Washington Road, bypassing
Pietermaritzburg Airport, before reaching a T-junction, where it co-signs with the
R56 and heads north through the suburb as Alexandra Road. Soon after, the R56 breaks off to the east and the R103 leaves Scottsville, crossing the
Msunduzi River and heading north-west into the Pietermaritzburg CBD as its main road (Chief Albert Luthuli Street). Leaving the CBD, it continues into the suburb of Athlone as Howick Road. The road resumes following the N3 in a north-westerly direction, passing through
Hilton before reaching the outskirts of
Howick, where it meets the north-eastern terminus of the
R617. Crossing under the N3, it enters the southern suburbs of Howick and turns west by Howick Golf Club to reach the N3 Junction 103 just east of the
Midmar Dam. It turns north to bypass the dam, where it crosses the
Umgeni River. It heads in a north-westerly direction, passing through
Lions River,
Lidgetton West and Zenzani before turning north outside the town of
Nottingham Road and heading towards the town of
Mooi River, where it meets the western terminus of the
R622. Leaving Mooi River as the
Griffin's Hill Pass, the road heads north-east then, after a short distance, heads north-west, eventually crossing the
Boesmans River and entering
Estcourt from the east. It heads north through Estcourt as its main road before leaving the town towards the north-west. It then passes through
Frere, crossing the
Bloukrans River, before intersecting the
R74 at a t-junction. Co-signed with the R74, it heads north-east for 15 kilometres and enters
Colenso from the south, where its splits from the R74 which heads east. Bypassing Colenso to the west, it crosses the
Tugela River heading north-west. Passing through Roosboom, it then turns north-east and enters the outskirts of
Ladysmith, where it meets the
N11 national route and co-signs with it northwards for 2.5 kilometres before the N11 becomes its own road eastwards at an off-ramp adjacent to the
Ladysmith Airport. The R103 continues to bypass the town to its west. The R103 turns west, just south of the
Windsor Dam and continues until it joins N3 at the Tugela East Toll Plaza, where a tolled on-ramp provides access to the N3. This marks the end of the first section.
Free State }} The second section of the R103 begins 3 km north of
Warden, at an intersection with the N3. The R103 heads in a north-easterly direction to meet the
R34 west of
Vrede. It now heads north-west, co-signed with the R34 for a short distance (15 km) before the R34 becomes its own road westwards. Continuing north-west, the R103 passes
Cornelia to its east before entering
Villiers from the south. In Villiers, the R103 reaches an intersection with the
R26 and the N3, just north of the N3's Wilge Toll Plaza and just south of the N3's
Vaal River crossing. This marks the end of the second section of the R103.
Gauteng }} The last section of the R103 begins north of
Heidelberg. It starts at a junction with the
R23, just next to the R23 and N3 Heidelberg North interchange. The R103 follows the N3 north-west (parallel) as the Old Heidelberg-Alberton Road, crossing the
R550 soon after and entering the
City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. Near
Vosloorus, it interchanges with the
M35 (Germiston-Heidelberg Road) and the
M43/
R21 (Barry Marais Road) and in Roodekop, the
M53. The R103 reaches a t-junction in Roodekop, south of Wadeville,
Germiston, where it becomes part of the Nederveen Highway and is cosigned with the
R554 westwards towards
Alberton. At the
N3 highway crossing, the R554/R103 Nederveen Highway changes its name to Heidelberg Road and enters Alberton. At the Swartkoppies Road junction, the R554 becomes the road to the left (south) and the R103 remains on the westerly road, bending north towards the Alberton Central Business District and
Johannesburg. From here, it is co-signed with the
M31 road and becomes Ring Road West to head around the Alberton CBD (forming a semi-ring road) before becoming Voortrekker Street at the northern end of the CBD, heading north. Just after, at the junction with the
N12 highway (
Johannesburg Southern Bypass), the R103 designation ends and the road continuing northwards to
Johannesburg Central remains designated as the M31 road. ==References==