Know the difference between provincial and municipal road

South Africa has a well-developed road network which facilitates the movement of people, goods, and services.

The road network in South Africa includes: national routes, the most important routes connecting major cities, provincial routes, which connect smaller cities and towns to the national route network, and regional routes, which connect smaller towns.

Here is the difference between provincial and municipal roads.

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Provincial roads

• They’re managed by the provincial government, connecting smaller towns to the national road network.
• Can be gravel roads or freeways.
• They are designated with the letter ‘R’, followed by a number from 21 to 82.
• They are also referred to as major regional routes, and are the second category of road in the South African route-numbering scheme.
• They serve as feeders to the national routes and as trunk roads in areas where there is no national route.
• They are larger than regional roads.

Municipal roads

• They are built and maintained by the relevant municipality.
• They are roads within cities and towns.
• They are smaller, more community-focused roads, within a town or city.
• They are designated with an ‘M’, followed by a number within a city’s metropolitan route numbering system. Each city independently assigns its own ‘M’ numbers for local road. ‘M’ signifies a ‘Metropolitan’ road within a municipality.

Provinces and municipalities may also work together to perform land transport functions. For example, municipalities may request permission to install services within a provincial road reserve

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