N6 road (South Africa)
Template: Infobox trunk road / Maintenance / ZA -N
Provinces:
- Free State
- Eastern Cape
The National Route 6 ( N6 short ) is a 545 km long national highway in South Africa. This Road runs in a north -south direction and connects a central part of the interior to the port city of East London on the Indian Ocean. The road is paved, well developed and leads largely agrarian and otherwise underused land. Larger cities are located only at its two endpoints.
Course
The national road N6 begins at its northern end as a branch of the National Road N1 south of Bloemfontein. From there it passes through an undulating country to the transport hub in Aliwal North, where it crosses the Orange River, the river forms the border between the provinces crossed. In Aliwal North crosses a railway line and the regional road R58.
After the city the terrain profile is steadily increasing. In the section between Jamestown and Bailey the N6 crosses the Storm Mountain massif. Your point is the summit at 1844 meters Penhoek pass over the sea level. After leaving this mountain region, the road reaches the town of Queenstown. From here it is closely flanked in its south-facing development of a railway line runs through the small town of Cathcart, rising slightly on the eastern foothills of the Amathole Mountains. After the well-developed and less spectacular mountain passage, the road falls into a wooded area from as far as Stutterheim. In this city start some regional roads that open up near the touristic area and the R346 leads to King William 's Town. From the N6 Stutterheim runs on a medium mountain -like country, here branches off a regional road to the provincial capital Bisho off, continue on Macleantown to its endpoint in East London on the Indian Ocean. In this port city, there are several road crossings. This includes the connection to the National Road N2 towards Cape Town or Durban, a regional airport, the seaport and the railway lines to Mthatha and Port Elizabeth in the direction or Middelburg. Following her general direction, she goes in the urban area of East London on Nahoon Valley Park in the auto sheet-like over -developed R72 and ends as these in the old city center on Fleet Street.
Special
Aliwal North is an important regional transport hub. Here result of the N6 in the east and west regional connections in old farmland and about 110 kilometers from the border crossing to Lesotho. The N6 exceeds the Orange River with the historic General Hertzog Bridge.
North of Stutterheim crosses the road to the field of Amathole Mountains, which form a very rich forest area on the southern slopes and are for drinking water supply in the Eastern Cape Province of great importance. It is in this region, an area that was heavily influenced by the frontier wars in the 19th century and the comprehensive mission activities.
Between Queenstown and Amabele ( at Bisho ) parallel railway line, which is one of the oldest routes in South Africa. Their former importance lay in the military development of the hinterland as well as in the formerly bustling exchange of goods between the grassy highlands north of Stutterheim and the industrial and port of East London. Before the construction of the railway, the basic outline of the current N6 was an important Voortrekkerstraße. Individual commemorative monuments, former fortifications and other facilities ( for example, the station Thomas River) along its current and former course commemorate historic events of the conquest by the Boers and the British, the defensive struggle of the Xhosa tribes or to former economic priorities.