The City of Cape Town’s Urban Mobility Directorate is advising the public of the upcoming roadworks along the M3. This project forms part of the City’s congestion relief program to improve traffic flow along the M3. 

The project has officially commenced, with the contractor’s site establishment activities commencing today, 20 October 2026. 

The project will be done in phases, with the initial phase including the widening works along the road shoulder and footway of the M3, between Upper Sidmouth Avenue and Struben Road along the M3 outbound. The estimated completion date of this work is 18 January 2027, if all goes according to plan.

Road works over the course of this period will take place between 07:00 and 17:00 from Monday to Saturday, weather permitting and provided there are no unforeseen delays. 

The Newlands Avenue and Rhodes Avenue intersection upgrade will also take place in Phase One of the project, which will include a partial lane drop on the approach to the intersection (approximately 80m from the intersection) while the work is under way. This portion of the project is planned to take place from 16 November 2026 to 21 January 2027, if all goes according to plan. The City will ensure that works only take place in this area from 10:00 -15:00 during working days. 

The first phase stretches over the builder’s break at the end of the year, when works will pause over the holiday period. 

‘The implementation of these upgrades along the M3 follows a public participation process which was conducted in 2022 and 2023. The City would like to thank residents for the robust engagement processes that took place. 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. 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 is communicated to residents prior to the works and that the public is informed of all developments as the project progresses,‘ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.