Jurisdiction dispute hits Cape Town’s R180-million N2 security plan

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12-02-2026
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In an attempt to shield motorists from violent attacks, the City of Cape Town has proposed constructing a wall along the N2 highway, about which Sanral said it has yet to be consulted.

The N2 route is one of the city’s most important, connecting the city to the Cape Town International Airport, as well as surrounding towns like Somerset West and Stellenbosch.

For years, residents have nicknamed the route “the hell run” due to its reputation for frequent violent attacks on motorists by criminals in the surrounding townships.

To curb this violence, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced plans for a new security project along the N2 at the end of last year.

A key part of the project, which has attracted the greatest criticism, is a high-security wall that will separate the surrounding areas from the highway, in an attempt to make it harder for criminals to flee.

Since the announcement of said plan, the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) has noted the city mayor’s pronouncements, including those of the agency failing to keep communities along the N2 safe.

“SANRAL wishes to put it on record that it has to date not been engaged by the City of Cape Town on the proposed security wall planned for the N2,” said Randall Cable, SANRAL’s Western Cape Provincial Head.

He added that although the route is a strategically important road for the City of Cape Town, the N2 falls under three different road authority jurisdictions.

“Although this can be confusing, road authority jurisdictions are crucial for establishing clear responsibility for the planning, construction, maintenance, and safety of road users and infrastructure,” Cable noted.

A shared responsibility

The City of Cape Town has argued for years that the N2 highway falls under the jurisdiction of SANRAL and the provincial government, with the roads agency being responsible for maintaining national roads’ footbridges, fences, and road medians.

Despite this, Hill-Lewis said the city has been forced to intervene due to the persistent violence on the N2 route.

Part of this intervention is the City of Cape Town’s own security project, which includes the highway wall, which will cost around R180 million.

Funding for the project will be earmarked as part of the city’s upcoming medium-term revenue and expenditure framework.

SANRAL noted that a basic understanding of who the relevant road authority jurisdictions are not only aids in establishing responsibility, but is also useful when reporting incidents, as it will speed up response times.

According to SANRAL, jurisdiction boundaries within the N2 road authority are as follows:

• The City Centre to the Raapenberg interchange (N2/M5) falls under the City of Cape Town jurisdiction.
• The Raapenberg Interchange (N2/M5) to just before the Swartklip Interchange (N2/R300), including the Airport Approach Road, falls under the Western Cape Provincial Government (Department of Infrastructure), and
• From just before the Swartklip Interchange (N2/R300) eastwards to Somerset West falls under SANRAL’s jurisdiction.’

The national roads agency will be addressing broader safety concerns along the N2 route as the implementing agent for the Western Cape’s Freeway Management System (FMS).

“The FMS covers all major freeways in the City of Cape Town and has over 280 CCTV cameras managed on a 24/7 basis to detect and respond to incidents on the freeways within the Metro,” Cable noted.

“FMS personnel work closely with law enforcement to respond to all incidents, including stationary vehicles, crashes and criminal incidents, and focus on known hotspots.”