The City of Cape Town has commenced a project to upgrade a section of the M3 in Newlands to improve traffic flow.
The project, which forms part of the City’s congestion relief programme, began this week with the contractor establishing operations on 20 October 2026.
The M3 is one of the metro’s most important roads, serving as the primary route connecting the southern suburbs to the CBD.
It runs from West Lake through areas like Tokai, Constantia, Wynberg, and Newlands, before linking up with the N2 closer to the city centre.
However, Newlands has proven to be a major bottleneck over the years as the road passes through a densely populated area with multiple schools in close proximity to one another.
The City has therefore launched a multiphase project to upgrade the road to improve traffic flow and create a more seamless travel experience for motorists passing through the southern suburbs.
The initial phase will see the road widened along the shoulder and footway between Upper Sidmouth Avenue and Struben Road along the M3 outbound.
This phase is expected to be completed by 18 January 2027, if all goes according to plan. During this time, road works will take place between 07h00 and 17h00 from Monday to Saturday, weather permitting.
The Newlands Avenue and Rhodes Avenue intersection will also be upgraded during Phase One, including a partial lane drop on the 80m approach to the intersection.
This portion of the work is set to take place between 16 November 2026 and 21 January 2027, between 10h00 and 15h00 on weekdays.
“The implementation of these upgrades along the M3 follows a public participation process which was conducted in 2022 and 2023,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.
“The input was valuable to the transport planning specialists as they worked towards a plan to address one of Cape Town’s most critical congestion points.”
“It will offer relief for thousands of commuters in the future who use the route between the suburbs in the Southern Peninsula and the Cape Town City Bowl daily.”
Quintas said that the main intention with the upcoming construction is to alleviate the bottlenecks along the M3 between Upper Hillwood Road and Newlands Avenue to assist with the free flow of traffic along this section of the M3.
“We will ensure that the details of each phase of the project are communicated to residents prior to the works and that the public is informed of all developments as the project progresses.”
Plans to address congestion in the city centre
The City of Cape Town recently announced that it will finally complete the famous unfinished Foreshore Freeway in the CBD to alleviate traffic and establish a vibrant new neighbourhood.
City Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis explained that the area has very little room left to expand, and that much of its existing land is underutilised.
“With our city centre wedged into this relatively small piece of land between mountain and ocean, the geography that makes Cape Town so beautiful and so memorable is also one of our greatest constraints. There is very little room for the CBD to expand,” Hill-Lewis said.
“But not all of that constraint is natural. Some of it is man-made. The elevated highway bringing people in from the N1 and N2 – including the famous unfinished freeways – has cut the city centre off from the ocean.”
The City now intends to complete the Foreshore Freeway, creating a new elevated highway that will allow motorists to bypass the CBD entirely.
This will also free up 15 hectares of land for redevelopment, including a new park, residential blocks, and a walkable promenade.
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