New Zealand State Highway network

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The New Zealand State Highway Shield.
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The New Zealand State Highway Shield.

The New Zealand State Highway network is a network of just under 100 roads covering the North and South Islands of New Zealand, administered by Transit New Zealand. The speed limit for most of the State Highway network is 100 km/h, with reductions in built-up areas or for safety reasons.

The highways were originally designated using a two-tier system, National (SH 1-8) and Provincial, with national highways having a higher standard and funding priorities. Now all are State Highways, and the network consists of SH 1 running the length of both main islands, SH 2-5 and 10-58 in the North Island, and SH 6-8 and 60-99 in the South Island, numbered approximately north to south. Former Provincial highways are almost grouped by province in the South Island, with SH 7x in Canterbury, SH 8x Otago, and SH 9x Southland.

State Highways are marked by red shield-shaped signs with white numbering (shields for the former Provincial Highways were blue). Road maps usually use this convention.

From 2004 information, the busiest stretch of SH 1 was just south of the Auckland Central Motorway Junction, with over 190,000 cars (either way) each day. The least busy parts of the network (excluding off-ramps and on-ramps) are parts of SH 43 north-east of Whangamomona, with fewer than 150 cars (counting both directions) in a day. Some of the lesser trafficked highways still contain some unsealed sections.

Contents

[edit] History of the State Highways

In the early days all roads were managed by local roads boards. The idea of a national network of highways did not emerge until the early twentieth century, when a series of pieces of legislation was passed to allow for the designation of Main Highways (in 1922) and State Highways (in 1936). This saw the National Roads Board, an arm of the Ministry of Works, responsible for the state highway network.

Since 1989, State Highways have been the responsibility of Transit New Zealand, a Crown entity. In 1996 the funding of the state highway network was removed from the operational functions with the creation of Transfund New Zealand, which has since merged with the Land Transport Safety Authority to create Land Transport New Zealand. This is intended to ensure that funding of State Highways is considered on a similar basis to funding for local roads and regional council subsidised public transport.

State Highway 1 crosses the Waikouaiti River in Otago, 667.0 kilometres from Picton
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State Highway 1 crosses the Waikouaiti River in Otago, 667.0 kilometres from Picton

Every five years Transit New Zealand embarks on a state highway review, which considered whether the existing network should be expanded or reduced, according to traffic flows, changes in industry, tourism and development. Highways around Tauranga and in the Napier/Hastings region have undergone major changes in recent years.

[edit] Distance markers

State Highways are marked with posts at irregular intervals giving the distance in kilometres from the start of the highway. Until recently, all bridges on the network had at each end a small plaque showing the distance from the start of the highway, usually in the form of a number in kilometres, an oblique stroke, and a further number in kilometres, accurate to the nearest 10 metres. A plaque marked 237/14.12, for example, indicated that the bridge was 14.12 km past a set distance post, that post being 237 km from the start of the highway. In about 2004 these plaques were replaced by a new system, which gives each bridge a single number showing the distance from the start of the highway in hundreds of metres. Under the new system the bridge above would be numbered 2511, as it is 251.1 km from the start of the highway. Motorway on- and off-ramps are numbered using the same system.

In this way, travellers can accurately assess their location, and road authorities can identify each bridge uniquely.

State Highway 1
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State Highway 1

[edit] State Highway 1

Main article: State Highway 1 (New Zealand)

State Highway 1 can be considered as a single highway running the length of both main islands, broken in the middle by the ferry connection at Cook Strait. It connects the five largest urban areas and includes the country's busiest stretch of road.

[edit] List of current New Zealand State Highways

[edit] National

[edit] North Island

  • SH 10 SH 1 at Pakaraka (14 km north of Kawakawa) to Awanui , 104 km
  • SH 11 SH 1 at Kawakawa to SH10 at Puketona Junction, extended in 2005, 30 km
  • SH 12 SH 1 at Ohaeawai (79 km south of Kaitaia) to SH 1 at Brynderwyn (28 km north of Wellsford), via Kaikohe and Dargaville, 218 km
  • SH 14 SH 1 at Whangarei to Dargaville, 55 km
  • SH 15A SH1 at Ruakaka to Marsden Point, 9 km
  • SH 16 Port of Auckland to SH 1 at Wellsford via Helensville (including the Northwestern Motorway in Auckland), 108 km
  • SH 17 SH 1 at Silverdale to SH 1 at Albany (old SH 1 route superseded by motorway), 18 km
  • SH 18 SH 1 at Upper Harbour Highway interchange to SH 16 at Massey (Upper Harbour Drive and Hobsonville Road - redesignated from Riverhead Road further north), 14 km (Motorway section from Albany Highway to Massey, running parallel to the existing state highway, under construction)
  • SH 20 Hillsborough to SH 1 Manukau interchange (Southwestern Motorway), 18 km. Will eventually bypass Manukau city centre and link to Northwestern Motorway (projected completion 2012)
  • SH 20A SH 20 south of Walmsley Road interchange to Auckland International Airport, 5 km
  • SH 20B SH 20 at Puhinui Road interchange to Auckland International Airport, 4 km
  • SH 21 SH 1 5 km south of Hamilton to SH 3 5 km south of Hamilton, via Hamilton Airport and Mystery Creek, 7 km
  • SH 22 SH 1 at Drury to Pukekohe, 13 km (the continuation south to SH 23 near Raglan has had its State Highway designation removed)
  • SH 23 SH 1 at Hamilton to Raglan, 43 km
  • SH 24 Matamata to SH 29 near Te Poi, 13 km
  • SH 25 SH 2 3 km north of Mangatarata to Waihi, via Thames, Coromandel, Whitianga and Whangamata, 234 km
  • SH 25A SH 25 at Kopu (6 km south of Thames) to SH 25 at Hikuai (shortcut across Coromandel Peninsula), 29 km
  • SH 26 Hamilton to SH 25 at Kopu, (6 km south of Thames) via Morrinsville, Te Aroha and Paeroa, 96 km
  • SH 27 SH 2 at Mangatarata to SH 1 at Tirau via Matamata, 92 km
  • SH 28 SH 1 at Putaruru to SH 29 near Te Poi, 21 km
  • SH 29 SH 1 12 km north of Tirau to Mount Maunganui via Tauranga, 65 km
  • SH 30 SH 3 at Te Kuiti to Whakatane via Mangakino and Rotorua, 219 km
  • SH 30A SH 5 to SH 30 in urban Rotorua, 4 km
  • SH 31 SH 3 at Otorohanga to Kawhia, 56 km, 14km of which is a joint designation with SH 39.
  • SH 32 SH 1 at Tokoroa to SH 41 at Kuratau Junction (western side of Lake Taupo), 96 km
  • SH 33 SH 2 at Paengaroa (9 km south-east of Te Puke) to SH 30 at Te Ngae, 36 km
  • SH 34 SH 2 near Edgecumbe to SH 30 via Kawerau, 25 km
  • SH 35 SH 2 at Opotiki to Gisborne, via East Cape, 334 km
  • SH 36 SH 2 at Tauranga to SH 5 at Rotorua, via Tauranga Direct Road (new designation, December 2004), 48 km
  • SH 37 SH 3 at Hangatiki to Waitomo Caves, 7 km
  • SH 38 SH 5 near Waiotapu to SH 2 at Wairoa via Te Urewera National Park and Lake Waikaremoana, 121 km (middle section unsealed, and not designated a State Highway)
  • SH 39 SH 1 at Ngaruawahia to SH 3 at Otorohanga. The western bypass of Hamilton, 57 km. The last 14km from junction of the Kawhia road to Otorohanga is a joint designation with SH 31.
  • SH 41 SH 4 at Manunui to SH 1 at Turangi, 59 km
  • SH 43 SH 3 at Stratford to SH 4 at Taumarunui(The Forgotten World Highway), 149 km, approx 40 km unsealed
  • SH 44 SH 3 at New Plymouth to Port Taranaki (new designation, 2004), 5 km
  • SH 45 SH 3 at New Plymouth to SH 3 at Hawera via Opunake (The Surf Highway), 105 km
  • SH 46 SH 1 at Rangipo to SH 47 near Papakai, 19 km
  • SH 47 SH 4 at National Park to SH 41 3 km north of Turangi, 46 km
  • SH 48 SH 47 9 km from National Park to Whakapapa skifield, 7 km
  • SH 49 SH 4 at Tohunga Junction to SH 1 at Waiouru via Ohakune, 36 km
  • SH 50 SH 2 at Napier to SH 2 near Takapau (inland route), 94 km
  • SH 50A SH 50 10 km from Napier to Pakipaki, 7 km from Hastings via Flaxmere. Commonly called the Hawke's Bay Expressway, 17 km
  • SH 53 SH 2 at Featherston to Martinborough, 18 km (This breaks markedly with the general north-south pattern of the numbering, being some 200 km south of SH 54 and having the southernmost endpoints of North Island State Highways other than SH 1 and 2)
  • SH 54 SH 3 near Palmerston North to SH 1 at Vinegar Hill via Feilding, 57 km
  • SH 56 SH 57 at Makerua to Palmerston North, 23 km
  • SH 57 SH 1 2 km south of Levin to SH 3 at Ashhurst (the western end of the Manawatu Gorge), via Shannon, 64 km
  • SH 58 SH 1 at Paremata (near Porirua) to SH 2 at Haywards, 15 km

[edit] South Island

A typical New Zealand State Highway junction sign: State Highways 1 and 85 meet in Palmerston, Otago
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A typical New Zealand State Highway junction sign: State Highways 1 and 85 meet in Palmerston, Otago

[edit] List of former New Zealand State Highways

The following state highways have been officially revoked by Transit New Zealand. After revocation, the roads revert to their original names (e.g. Crown Range Road) or are referred to as a route (e.g. Route 52).

  • SH 15 SH 1 at Whangarei to port of Whangarei, 4 km
  • SH 40 SH 3 at Ahititi to SH 4 at Maungatupoto via Ohura, 90 km
  • SH 47A SH 1 at Rangipo to SH 47 near Papakai, 19 km. This route is now known as State Highway 46.
  • SH 49A SH 49 at Ohakune to SH 4 at Raehiti, 9 km
  • SH 52 SH 2 at Waipukurau to SH 2 at Masterton via Pongaroa, 215 km
  • SH 57A part of SH 57 from SH 3 at the west end of the Manawatu Gorge to Palmerston North, 18 km
  • SH 61 Motueka to SH 6 at Kohatu Junction, 58 km
  • SH 70 SH 1 4 km south of Kaikoura to SH 7 at Red Post Junction (2 km north of Culverden) via Waiau, 97 km
  • SH 72 SH 1 near Rangiora to SH 1 at Temuka via the Waimakariri and Rakaia Gorges (SH 77 now covers part of this route). This route is now known as the Inland Scenic Route.
  • SH 89 SH 6 near Arrowtown to Wanaka via Cardrona, 53 km. This route is known as the Crown Range Road.
  • SH 91 SH 1 at Balclutha to Kaitangata, later part of SH 92, 13 km
  • SH 92 SH 1 at Balclutha to SH 1 at Invercargill via Owaka, 176 km. This route is known as The Catlins Route (part of the Southern Coastal Scenic Route).

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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