State Highway 1 (New Zealand)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


State Highway 1

State Highway 1N
North Island length:	1,106 km (687 mi)
Direction:	North-south
From:	Cape Reinga
Major junctions:	SH10 in Awanui SH12 in Ohaeawai SH10 in Pakaraka SH14 in Whangarei SH12 in Brynderwyn SH16 in Wellsford SH18 in Albany SH16 in Auckland SH20 in Wiri SH22 in Drury SH2 in Pokeno SH23 in Hamilton SH3 in Hamilton SH26 in Hamilton SH29 in Piarere SH27 in Tirau SH5 in Tirau SH30 in Upper Atiamuri SH30 in Atiamuri SH5 in Wairakei SH5 in Taupo SH41 in Turangi SH47 in Rangipo SH49 in Waiouru SH54 in Mangaweka SH3 in Bulls SH3 in Sanson SH57 in Levin SH58 in Paremata SH2 in Wellington
To:	Wellington
Major cities and towns:	Whangarei, North Shore, Auckland, Manukau, Hamilton, Taupo, Porirua, Wellington
State Highway 1S
South Island length:	941 km (585 mi)
Direction:	North-south
From:	Picton
Major junctions:	SH6 in Blenheim SH7 in Waipara SH72 in Woodend SH74 in Christchurch SH75 in Christchurch SH73 in Christchurch SH77 in Ashburton SH79 in Rangitata SH8 in Washdyke SH78 in Timaru SH82 in Hook SH83 in Pukeuri SH85 in Palmerston SH88 in Dunedin SH87 in Mosgiel SH86 in Allanton SH8 in Clarksville SH93 in Clinton SH90 in Gore SH94 in Gore SH96 in Mataura SH98 in Dacre
To:	Bluff
Major cities and towns:	Blenheim, Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, Invercargill
System:	New Zealand State Highway network

State Highway 1 is the most significant road in the New Zealand roading network. It runs the length of both main islands, with two designations for reference purposes - SH1N in the North Island and SH1S in the South Island. Both sections appear on road signs as SH1. It is 2047 km long, 1106 km in the North Island and 941 km in the South Island. Distances are measured from north to south in each island.

For most of its length SH1 is a two-lane single carriageway, with at-grade intersections and property accesses, both in rural and urban areas. These sections have frequent passing lanes. There are sections of motorway in the vicinity of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. It is likely that more of SH1 will be rebuilt to motorway or expressway standards.

1 Route
- 1.1 North Island (SH1N)
- 1.2 South Island (SH 1S)
2 See also

[edit] Route

This is the route that SH1 takes in 2006.

[edit] North Island (SH1N)

In the North Island, the start point is at Cape Reinga. The first 20 km are unsealed. From Waitiki Landing, it tends to follow the eastern side of the Northland Peninsula, passing through Kaitaia, Whangarei, Wellsford, and Warkworth to Orewa, where it becomes the Northern Motorway, later crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge into Auckland. This section is the busiest and most congested road in the country with the major motorway junction between SH1 and SH16 carrying over 200,000 vehicles per day in March 2006.

From Auckland the motorway continues south, changing into a four-lane divided expressway 50 km south of the Harbour Bridge. Just beyond this point SH2 branches off to the east while SH1 continues south to Mercer, from where it follows the course of the Waikato River through Hamilton. Here SH3 branches off to the southwest and SH1 turns southeast towards Cambridge and past Lake Karapiro. A $NZ650 million project to convert the 160 km between Auckland and Cambridge to a four-lane divided carriageway (known as the Waikato Expressway) was about 50% complete at the beginning of 2006. At Tirau, SH5 starts and travels eastward towards Rotorua, while SH1 turns south, passing through Tokoroa and extensive tracts of plantation forest to Taupo on the northeastern shore of Lake Taupo. It skirts the lake's eastern shore before reaching Turangi, near the south end of the lake.

South of Turangi it crosses the North Island Volcanic Plateau and the Rangipo Desert to Waiouru, known as the Desert Road and frequently closed by snow in winter. At the Desert Road summit it is 1074 m above sea level, the highest point in the New Zealand State Highway network. There are spectacular views of the three volcanoes Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu. From Waiouru it descends to Taihape and Mangaweka, veering southwest along the course of the Rangitikei River. It shares the route of SH3 for a six-kilometre stretch between Bulls and Sanson on the Manawatu Plain before reaching Levin.

South of Levin it follows the narrowing western coastal plain through Otaki, Paekakariki, and Plimmerton. Difficult terrain and a large number of satellite towns make this an area of considerable congestion and a high accident rate. It becomes motorway again at Porirua through Wellington's northern suburbs, reverting to an ordinary road down the Ngauranga Gorge, then motorway into Wellington. The motorway ends in the southern part of the city, and SH1 continues to Wellington Airport in the eastern suburbs.

Ferries cross Cook Strait from the capital to Picton in the Marlborough Sounds. There have been calls for the ferries to be classified as part of the State Highway network, in the belief that this would increase the Government's powers to intervene and keep the ferries running at times of industrial action.

[edit] South Island (SH 1S)

From the Picton ferry terminal SH1 is steep, crossing a saddle into the valley of the Tuamarina River. It descends alongside this river and across the Wairau Plain before reaching Blenheim. From here it largely hugs the coast, passing the foot of the steep Kaikoura Ranges. This stretch is one of the most scenic, with the Pacific Ocean on one side and 2500-metre peaks on the other. Passing Kaikoura it veers inland, twisting tortuously through the Hundalee Ranges before emerging at the northern end of the Canterbury Plains.

It passes through Amberley before becoming the Christchurch Northern Motorway, bypassing Kaiapoi. The motorway ends just north of Styx, and SH1 bypasses Christchurch to the west. South of Christchurch it becomes virtually straight as it crosses the wide fan of the Canterbury plains, crossing the country's longest road bridge at Rakaia before reaching Ashburton, and then veering back towards the coast, which it reaches at Timaru. Between Ashburton and Timaru it crosses Rangitata Island in the Rangitata River.

From Timaru it follows the coast, crossing the Waitaki River and reaching Oamaru before crossing the undulating hill country of north Otago. South of Waikouaiti it again becomes steep, rising sharply over the Kilmog hill before dropping down to the coast, then rising again and becoming motorway (2/3-lane single carriageway) to the northern outskirts of Dunedin, where it descends steeply, past Otago University and through the city centre. A four-lane motorway runs through Dunedin's southern suburbs until the junction with SH87 at Mosgiel. SH1 then heads southwest to Balclutha before turning west to avoid the rough hills of The Catlins, turning south again at Gore. From Gore it runs south and then southwest to Invercargill, thence to Stirling Point, a kilometre south of Bluff.