With the Easter weekend around the corner and schools closed for the holiday, South Africa’s roads are expected to become progressively busier.  

This includes the N4 between Gauteng and Mpumalanga, the N3 between Gauteng and Durban, and the N1 between Gauteng and Limpopo.  

Peak travelling times  

The Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire says it has a comprehensive safety and operational plan in place to ensure a smoother journey for motorists travelling on the N1 and N4 routes through Gauteng, Limpopo and the North West provinces.  

It has urged motorists to plan their trips outside of the following expected peak periods to avoid heavy congestion:  

• Thursday, April 2: 12:00–21:00   

• Friday, April 3: 06:00–15:00   

• Monday, April 6: 12:00–21:00   

Traffic volumes on the N3  

On the N3, southbound traffic volumes towards KZN were expected to increase from noon today until 19:00 tomorrow.  

Heavy southbound traffic is also expected over the Easter long weekend, from April 2, between 12:00 and 19:00, and again on April 3, from 04:00 to 10:00.  

Return traffic, northbound to Gauteng, is expected to be much heavier at the end of the school holidays and the Easter weekend. Peak volumes are expected between 10:00 and 20:00 on April 6 and 7.  

“While we aim to maintain safe and free-flowing traffic conditions, peak periods often present challenges, including congestion, mixed vehicle types and associated speed differentials, crashes and adverse weather,” says N3 Toll Concession CEO Thania Dhoogra. 
 

“Plan ahead, allow extra travel time, remain calm and stay informed,” she adds.  

Maputo Corridor  

Trans African Concessions (Trac) says all upgrade and rehabilitation projects along the N4 between Gauteng and Mozambique will be put on hold from April 1.  

“All road construction zones will remain active, and traffic-control measures will stay in place in line with road safety requirements,” says Trac.  

It urges road users to plan their journeys and allow for possible delays along the route.  

Arrive Alive campaign  

Last week, the Department of Transport launched the 2026 Arrive Alive Easter Road Safety Campaign under the theme: ‘It Begins With Me’.  

Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy says the latest preliminary data for the period January 1 to March 15 shows an 11% decline in crashes compared with the same period last year.  

SAnews reported that the department will continue to intensify its focus on drunken driving.  

“We are currently pursuing legislative amendments to Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act [93 of 1996] to further tighten these restrictions,” she says.  

Intensifying traffic policing  

“High-risk routes, including the N1, N2, N3 and N4, will see an unprecedented saturation of mobile and static checkpoints as we intensify traffic policing on critical corridors, together with the deployment of the national traffic police,” Creecy adds.  

In addition, April typically sees an increase in mobility across the region, with more people and freight moving between South Africa and neighbouring countries.  

Use roads responsibly  

“I call upon the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency to intensify monitoring and enforcement along key corridors to ensure full compliance with permit conditions [and] regulatory requirements, and to prevent overloading of freight and passengers,” she says.  

“We will also prioritise vehicle roadworthiness and fatigue management and clamp down decisively on illegal operations and non-compliance,” adds Creecy.  

She calls on road users to use roads responsibly and to respect one another.  

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