M57 (Johannesburg)


The M57 is a major metropolitan route in Johannesburg, South Africa. A north/south route, it connects the industrial suburbs of the East Rand in Johannesburg with the southern suburbs of Pretoria. It is an alternative route to the R21 freeway.

Route

The M57 begins at a 4-way-junction with the R29 and M37 in Primrose. It starts by going east-north-east as Pretoria Road and crosses the N12 Highway as Kraft Road. Just after the N12 junction, it reaches a junction with the M44 North Reef Road in the industrialised suburb of Elandsfontein. It joins the M44 Road eastwards up to the next junction, where it becomes its own road northwards.
It heads northwards as Jet Park Road through the suburb of Jet Park and then becomes Kraft Road again just before the M41 Griffiths Road t-junction, which leads to the R21 freeway and to the South African Airways headquarters in the east.
Briefly following the R21 freeway northwards, it passes through Isando to its left and the outskirts of O.R. Tambo International Airport to its right. It meets the M99 Electron Avenue, which provides an entrance into the Airport. It then, as a flyover, crosses the R24 freeway as Pretoria Road and shortly after it meets the eastern terminus of the M16 Andre Greyvenstein Road as it enters the suburb of Rhodesfield in Kempton Park. Now, as Pretoria Road, it is the main road through Kempton Park's CBD and is intersected from the east by the M32 at Albatross Street and the two are cosigned for 400 metres before the M32 turns left as Plane Road and the M57 continues northwards through the CBD of Kempton Park.
Crossing the M90 C.R.Swart Drive at Kempton Park Civic Center, it leaves the Kempton Park CBD and enters the city's northern suburbs, with Edleen to its left and Kempton Park extension 2, 3 and 4 to its right. After the M45 Van Riebeeck Road t-junction, it has Allen Grove to its right and Van Riebeeck Park to its left. After the Beukes Road t-junction, it has Glen Marais to its right and Birchleigh to its left. East of Birchleigh, it meets the M43 at a t-junction.
North-east of Birchleigh, near Esselen Park on the outskirts of Kempton Park, the route is intersected at a t-junction by the R23 High Road to the east and then, at the next junction, by the R25 to the west as Modderfontein Road.
The R25 and M57 are cosigned northwards for 800 metres, with Esselen Park and the new Witfontein extension to its left, before the R25 breaks-off and heads east towards Bapsfontein at a busy 4-way-junction, with the road westwards providing access to Tembisa South.
Continuing northwards, the M57 trails the Tembisa township to its west and the parallel R21 freeway to its east before intersecting the east/west R562 Olifantsfontein Road as Goedehoop Avenue in Tembisa North. It then passes through Clayville and through rural agricultural suburbs before crossing the municipal border into Tshwane and reaching the outskirts of Irene, crossing to the other side of the R21 freeway as a flyover.
Crossing the M31 Nellmapius Drive, it enters Rietvalleipark and afterwards, it enters Elarduspark, becomes Boeing Street and the M57 ends shortly thereafter at a t-junction with the M10 Solomon Mahlangu Drive at Waterkloof in Pretoria.