State of the Gridlock: all the SONA road closures

Ah, February. It’s that time of the year again. No, I don’t mean the easing of summer’s heat, or the tail-end of the tourist season. Rather, it’s that most wonderful time of the year… when our elected public servants clog up the traffic in the city centre and beyond, for the sake of a speech. Lucky us. 

On Thursday, 12 February, President Ramaphosa will deliver his State of the Nation Address in the Cape Town City Hall. While we love that Cape Town is the seat of legislative power in South Africa, I do wonder whether the whole city really needs to crawl to a standstill in the height of rush hour just so that a few hundred public (ahem) servants can get together for a chat?

Anyway, what’s done is done. The SONA fun is almost upon us, and the City of Cape Town has published its official road-closure schedule for SONA 2026.

And wait, this isn’t just a one-day affair. Rather, there will be road closures for almost two weeks while politicians make speeches about the main speech and then have more speeches about each other’s speeches. What a time to be alive.  

But, if you’re wondering just what’s in store for Cape Town traffic this week, here’s the low-down on the go-slow.

Road Closures: Monday to Wednesday

From Monday to Wednesday (9-11 February), several CBD roads are scheduled to close from 3pm to midnight. These include:

• Darling Street (Buitenkant Street to Tenant Street)
• Buitenkant Street (Roeland Street to Darling Street) 

State of the Nation Day

The State of the Nation Address itself takes place on Thursday, 12 February 2026, at Cape Town City Hall. That’s the day to really avoid driving through the city centre if you can. On Thursday, expect a heavier lockdown, with closures starting in the early hours of the morning on key routes:

• Darling Street (Plein Street to Buitenkant Street): 4am-midnight
• Plein Street and Lower Plein Street (Roeland Street to Castle Street): midnight to midnight
• Commercial Street (Nieumeester Parking to Plein Street): 4am-11.45pm
• Commercial Street (Plein Street to Buitenkant Street): both directions 4am-11.45pm
• Buitenkant Street (Roeland Street to Darling Street): traffic will be controlled (managed access and stop-start delays)

There are also short ‘moving’ stoppages scheduled from 5.45pm – 7.30pm affecting major commuter corridors between the southern suburbs and the CBD.

• M3 (via Rhodes Drive, Union Avenue and Philip Kgosana Drive/De Waal Drive) city-bound from Newlands Avenue to the city centre
• N2 Settlers Way city-bound from Main Road (M4) to the city centre
• This will also affect local on-ramps and feeder roads, including Woolsack Drive, Anzio Road, and Newlands-area roads such as Klipper Road, Princess Anne Avenue, Newlands Avenue, and Dean Street.

This is to ensure the President has a smooth, traffic-free journey between home and the office. Wouldn’t that be nice for the rest of us, too? 

Two more weeks of traffic

Ah, but wait, it’s not all over when the Prez has made his speech. From Friday 13 February to Thursday 26 February, we can all look forward to longer-running daily closures, with multiple CBD roads closed daily from 9am – 11.45pm, to keep the roads around the City Hall free-flowing (for some):

• Darling Street (Plein Street to Buitenkant Street)
• Longmarket Street (Plein Street to Buitenkant Street)
• Plein Street and Lower Plein Street (Roeland Street to Castle Street)
• Parade Street (Caledon Street to Darling Street)
• Commercial Street (Nieumeester Parking to Plein Street)

Time Out tip

If you really must be in Cape Town this week, expect slower traffic in and around the City Hall, and complete closures affecting much of Thursday. Forget about cutting through the CBD around Darling and Plein Streets, and consider skirting the city centre entirely on Thursday evening. Good luck, Cape Town commuters!

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