Peninsula Expressway, Cape Town - Definition

The Peninsula Expressway is a proposed ring road around the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It will link the northern suburbs on the Atlantic seaboard with the southern suburbs on False Bay. Known as the N21, the freeway will include sections of the existing R300 freeway and will be tolled. The name of the consortium involved in the construction of the Expressway is Penway, short for Peninsula Expressway. The Penway has also become the local nickname for the Expressway.

Explosive growth of the Cape Town metropolitan area, especially in terms of local and international tourism, the wine industry, and the film industry, are some of the reasons why this road is becoming a necessity for the continued economic prosperity of the city.

The Penninsula Expressway will have junctions with three National Roads, the N1, the N2, and the N7 as well as the M3 and the M5 which are Western Cape provincial roads.

A number of environmental impact studies have been done, to determine if new sections of the freeway will upset the delicate ecological systems in the Cape Town area. New sections will run south of the N2 towards Zeekoevlei, which is a wetland area, and north of the N1, up to the area near Melkbosstrand.