Over 58 million tons of cargo travels this route annually, and volumes are increasing every year. This route is predominantly utilised by cargo trucks and travellers, seeing anywhere between 8 500 and 13 500 vehicles per day. On particular stretches during peak holiday times, this can spike to over 2000 vehicles every hour.

Approximately 50% of the national value of goods in transit moves by road and rail via the NATCOR corridor between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. In practice, heavy road vehicles constitute more than 30% of all traffic on the N3 route.

With Durban handling over 40% of the country’s imports and exports, the N3 corridor between Durban and Johannesburg is a vital lifeline that contributes to 33% of South Africa’s GDP.

Due to constant fuel price increases in South Africa, road transport is becoming more and more expensive, and an increasing number of companies are actively seeking more cost-effective solutions. Travel on the N3 also sees increased delays, compounding the reason for transport and logistics companies to identify alternatives.

One of the greatest challenges facing Africa’s seaport cities is port-induced traffic congestion. This has been an especially serious issue in the eThekwini Municipality, home to Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest container port, the Port of Durban. Due to Durban’s transshipment business and its capacity to handle large container vessels, trucks drawn from the entire Southern African region pick up and drop off containers at its terminals, creating massive gridlock along the central Bayhead port area’s main access road.