New Zealand State Highway 1

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State Highway 1
Length	2047 km 1272 mi
Primary direction	North-South
Start	Cape Reinga
Primary destinations	Whangarei North Shore Auckland Manukau Hamilton Taupo Porirua Wellington Picton Blenheim Christchurch Ashburton Timaru Oamaru Dunedin Invercargill
End	Bluff
Route quality	89% single carriageway 5% dual carriageway 6% motorway
Tourist routes	Twin Coast Discovery Highway Awanui to Kaitaia Kawakawa to Waipu Brynderwyn to Auckland Thermal Explorer Highway Auckland to Tirau Wairakei to Taupo Classic New Zealand Wine Trail Picton to Blenheim Alpine Pacific Triangle Kaikoura to Waipara Southern Scenic Route Waihola to Balclutha Invercargill

State Highway 1 is the most significant road in the New Zealand roading network. It runs the length of both main islands State Highway 1 officially has two designations: SH 1N in the North island and SH 1S in the South Island, but both sections appear on road signs and road atlases 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.

[edit] Route

This is the route that SH1 takes in 2007.

[edit] North Island (SH1N)

State Highway 1, as the Southern Motorway, in southern Auckland City.

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 Auckland 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 (known as the Central Motorway Junction or Spaghetti Junction) between SH1 and SH16 carrying over 200,000 vehicles per day in March 2006.

From Auckland the motorway continues south, known as the Auckland Southern Motorway, 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 $650 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.^[1] 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. SH3 shares its route for the six-kilometre stretch between Bulls and Sanson on the Manawatu Plain, before reaching Foxton and 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 number of accidents. It becomes the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway at Porirua, travelling through Wellington's northern suburbs. At the end of the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway at Newlands, SH1 becomes Centennial Highway through the Ngauranga Gorge. Two kilometres later, at the SH1/SH2 Ngauranga interchange, SH1 becomes the Wellington Urban Motorway. The motorway ends at Willis St, and SH1 continues to the eastern suburbs, where it terminates at a roundabout at the entrance to Wellington International Airport.

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 them running at times of industrial action.

[edit] South Island (SH1S)

In Dunedin, the highway becomes two multi-lane one-way streets. Here, traffic moves south along SH1 via Cumberland Street, one kilometre south of the city centre.

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-m 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 the University of Otago and through the city centre. For much of its route through Dunedin, the highway is split into two separate roads, a northbound road and a southbound road, which are part of the city's one-way street system. 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.

[edit] Route changes

Since Transit New Zealand took control of State Highways in 1989, SH1's route has changed in some places.

In Whangarei, Hamilton, Christchurch and Timaru, it ran through the city centres. It has been diverted to the suburbs, and the original routes have returned to being local roads, or in case of Christchurch, renumbered. The extension of the Dunedin Southern Motorway has also seen changes in the highway, notably to bypass the town of Fairfield.

In the southern South Island, several particularly twisting sections of SH1 have been rebuilt to remove sharp bends and to generally improve road conditions. These include stretches at Normanby, near Timaru; Waianakarua; at Tumai, near Palmerston; and on the Dunedin Northern Motorway near Waitati. An extensive section between Allanton and the Taieri River was previously realigned during the 1970s.

[edit] Spur sections

State Highway 1 has two spurs in the North Island: State Highway 1A and State Highway 1B. State Highway 1A runs along Auckland's Northern Motorway from SH1 at Silverdale to the current motorway terminus near Orewa. State Highway 1B runs from SH1 at Taupiri to Sh1 at Cambridge, providing a bypass of Hamilton.

[edit] Major Junctions

[edit] North Island (SH 1N)

Territorial authority	Location	km	Destinations	Notes
Far North District	Cape Reinga	0	SH 1 begins
	Awanui		SH 10/Twin Coast Discovery Highway Kerikeri	SH 1/Twin Coast Discovery Highway concurrency begins. Originally the start of SH1. The highway north of here was SH 1F.
	Kaitaia		Twin Coast Discovery Highway Ahipara	SH 1/Twin Coast Discovery Highway concurrency ends
	Ohaeawai		SH 12 Kaikohe
	Pakaraka		SH 10 Kerikeri
	Kawakawa		SH 11/Twin Coast Discovery Highway Paihia	SH 1/Twin Coast Discovery Highway concurrency begins.
Whangarei District	Whangarei		SH 14 Dargaville
	Ruakaka		SH 15A Marsden Point
	Waipu		Twin Coast Discovery Highway Waipu, Mangawhai	SH 1/Twin Coast Discovery Highway concurrency ends
Kaipara District	Brynderwyn		SH 12/Twin Coast Discovery Highway Dargaville	SH 1/Twin Coast Discovery Highway concurrency begins
Rodney District	Te Hana		Twin Coast Discovery Highway Mangawhai, Waipu
	Wellsford		SH 16/Twin Coast Discovery Highway Helensville
	Silverdale	398	SH 1A Orewa
			SH 17 Albany
			SH 1 becomes Auckland Northern Motorway
North Shore City		412	SH 17 Greville Road Albany
		414	SH 18 Upper Harbour Highway Waitakere
Auckland City	Auckland CBD	426	Auckland Northern Motorway becomes Auckland Southern Motorway
			SH 16/Twin Coast Discovery Hwy Northwest Motorway Port, Waitakere, Helensville	Southbound exit and northbound entrance SH 1/Twin Coast Discovery Hwy concurrency ends
		428	SH 16/Twin Coast Discovery Hwy Northwest Motorway Waitakere, Helensville	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		429	SH 16 Northwest Motorway Port	Northbound exit and southbound entrance Thermal Explorer Highway and SH 1/Thermal Explorer Highway concurrency begins
Manukau City	Manukau CBD	448	SH 20 Manukau, Airport	No northbound exit
		449	SH 20 Manukau, Airport	Northbound exit only
Papakura District	Drury	461	SH 22 Pukekohe
Franklin District	Bombay	471	Auckland Southern Motorway becomes Waikato Expressway
		477	SH 2 Tauranga, Coromandel Peninsula
Waikato District	Ohinewai		Waikato Expressway ends
	Taupiri		SH 1B Cambridge
	Ngaruawahia		SH 39 Otorohanga	Alternative route to New Plymouth, bypassing Hamilton
Hamilton City	Frankton		SH 23 Raglan
	Melville		SH 3 Waitomo Caves, New Plymouth
	Riverlea		SH 26 Morrinsville
Waikato District	Tamahere		SH 21 Hamilton Airport
Waipa District	Cambridge		SH 1B Huntly
Matamata-Piako District	Piarere		SH 29 Tauranga
South Waikato District	Tirau		SH 27 Matamata, Coromandel Peninsula
			SH 5/Thermal Explorer Highway Rotorua	SH 1/Thermal Explorer Highway concurrency ends
	Putaruru		SH 28 Rotorua, Tauranga
	Tokoroa		SH 32 Te Kuiti
	Upper Atiamuri		SH 30 East Rotorua, Whakatane	SH 1/SH 30 concurrency begins
	Atiamuri		SH 30 West Te Kuiti	SH 1/SH 30 concurrency ends
Taupo District	Wairakei		SH 5/Thermal Explorer Highway Rotorua	SH 1/SH 5/Thermal Explorer Highway concurrency through Taupo begins
	Taupo		SH 5/Thermal Explorer Highway Napier Road Napier	SH 1/SH 5/Thermal Explorer Highway concurrency ends.
	Turangi		SH 41 Taumarunui, National Park
	Rangipo		SH 46 National Park	Desert Road begins
Ruapehu District	Waiouru	815	SH 49 Ohakune, National Park	Desert Road ends
Rangitikei District	Vinegar Hill	885	SH 54 Feilding
	Bulls		SH 3 Wanganui, New Plymouth	SH 1/SH 3 concurrency begins
Manawatu District	Sanson		SH 3 Palmerston North	SH 1/SH 3 concurrency ends
Horowhenua District	Ohau		SH 57 Shannon, Palmerston North
Kapiti Coast District	District contains no major junctions
Porirua City	Paramata	1050	SH 58 Hutt Valley
	Porirua CBD		SH 1 becomes Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway
Wellington City	Johnsonville		Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway ends
	Ngauranga	1068	SH 2/Classic NZ Wine Trail Hutt Road Hutt Valley, Masterton, Picton Ferry	Traffic for The Interislander ferry to Picton and the South Island exits here.
			SH 1 becomes the Wellington Urban Motorway
	Thorndon		Classic NZ Wine Trail Aotea Quay Waterfront	Exit here for Wellington Central. Traffic for Bluebridge ferry to Picton and the South Island exits here.
	Te Aro	1075	Wellington Urban Motorway ends
	Wellington International Airport	1081	SH 1 ends

[edit] South Island (SH 1S)

Territorial authority	Location	km	Destinations	Notes
Marlborough District	Picton Ferry Terminal	0	SH 1 begins
	Spring Creek		SH 62 Rapaura Road Nelson	Alternative route to Nelson, bypassing Blenheim
	Blenheim		SH 6 Nelson Street Nelson, West Coast
Kaikoura District	Kowhai		Alpine Pacific Triangle Inland Kaikoura Road Waiau	SH 1/Alpine Pacific Triangle concurrency begins
Hurunui District	Waipara		SH 7/Alpine Pacific Triangle Hamner Springs, West Coast
Waimakariri District	Woodend		Foothills Scenic Route Rangiora	Southbound access to Rangiora. Alternative route south, bypassing Christchurch
			SH 1 becomes Christchurch Northern Motorway
	Kaiapoi		SH 71 Lineside Road Kaiapoi, Rangiora	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Christchurch City	Belfast		Christchurch Northern Motorway ends
			SH 74 Main North Road City Centre, Lyttelton	Alpine Pacific Triangle ends. SH 1/Alpine Pacific Triangle concurrency ends.
	Masham		SH 73 Yaldhurst Road City Centre, Lyttelton, West Coast, Akaroa
	Hornby		SH 73A Main South Road City Centre, Lyttelton, Akaroa
Selwyn District	District contains no major junctions
Ashburton District	Ashburton		SH 77 Methven
Timaru District	Rangitata		SH 79 Geraldine, Fairlie	Alternative route to SH 8 and the Mackenzie Basin, bypassing Timaru.
	Winchester		Foothills Scenic Route Geraldine, Methven	Alternative route north, bypassing Christchurch
	Washdyke		SH 8 Fairlie, Mount Cook
	Timaru		SH 78 Port Loop Road Port of Timaru
Waimate District	Makikihi		SH 82 Waimate
Waitaki District	Pukeuri Junction		SH 83 Kurow, Omarama
	Palmerston		SH 85 Ranfurly, Alexandra
Dunedin City	Waitati		SH 1 becomes Dunedin Northern Motorway
	Pine Hill		Dunedin Northern Motorway ends
	Dunedin		SH 88 Port Chalmers
	South Dunedin		SH 1 becomes Dunedin Southern Motorway
	Caversham		Southern Scenic Route Brighton
	Mosgiel		SH 87 Mosgiel, Ranfurly
			Dunedin Southern Motorway ends
	Allanton		SH 86 Dunedin International Airport
Clutha District	Waihola		Southern Scenic Route Brighton	SH 1/Southern Scenic Route concurrency begins
	Clarksville		SH 8 Lawrence, Alexandra
	Balclutha		Southern Scenic Route Owaka	SH 1/Southern Scenic Route concurrency ends Alternative route to Invercargill, via the Catlins.
	Clinton		SH 93 Mataura	Alternative route to Invercargill, bypassing Gore
Gore District	McNab		SH 90 Lawrence
	Gore		SH 94 Lumsden, Te Anau
	Mataura		SH 93 Clinton	Alternative route to Dunedin, bypassing Gore
			SH 96 Winton, Ohai
Southland District	Dacre		SH 98 Lorneville	Alternative route to SH 6 and SH 99, bypassing Invercargill
Invercargill City	Invercargill City Centre		Southern Scenic Route Ellis Road Tokanui	SH 1/Southern Scenic Route concurrency begins Alternative route to Invercargill, via the Catlins.
			SH 6/Southern Scenic Route Lumsden, Queenstown	SH 1/Southern Scenic Route concurrency ends
	Bluff		SH 1 ends

[edit] SH 1A

[edit] SH 1B

Territorial authority	Location	km	Destinations	Notes
Waikato District	Taupiri	0	SH 1/Thermal Explorer Highway North Huntly, Auckland	SH 1B begins
			SH 1/Thermal Explorer Highway South Ngaruawahia, Hamilton
			SH 26 West Hamilton	SH 1B/SH 26 concurrency begins
			SH 26 East Morrinsville, Te Aroha	SH 1B/SH 26 concurrency begins
Waipa District	Cambridge		SH 1/Thermal Explorer Highway North Hamilton	SH 1B ends
			SH 1/Thermal Explorer Highway South Rotorua, Taupo

[edit] See also

• List of New Zealand State Highways
• List of roads and highways, for notable or famous roads worldwide

[edit] References

v • d • e New Zealand State Highways New Zealand State Highway network  · List of New Zealand State Highways National SH 1 (incl. SH 1A, SH 1B)  · SH 2 (incl. SH 2A, SH 2B)  · SH 3 (incl. SH 3A)  · SH 4  · SH 5  · SH 6 (incl. SH 6A)  · SH 7 (incl. SH 7A)  · SH 8 (incl. SH 8A, SH 8B) North Island SH 10  · SH 11  · SH 12  · SH 14  · SH 15A  · SH 16  · SH 17  · SH 18  · SH 20  · SH 21  · SH 22  · SH 23  · SH 24  · SH 25 (incl. SH 25A)  · SH 26  · SH 27  · SH 28  · SH 29  · SH 30 (incl. SH 30A)  · SH 31  · SH 32  · SH 33  · SH 34  · SH 35  · SH 36  · SH 37  · SH 38  · SH 39  · SH 41  · SH 41  · SH 43  · SH 44  · SH 45  · SH 46  · SH 47  · SH 48  · SH 49  · SH 50 (incl. SH 50A)  · SH 53  · SH 54  · SH 56  · SH 57  · SH 58 South Island SH 60  · SH 62  · SH 63  · SH 65  · SH 67 (incl. SH 67A)  · SH 69  · SH 71  · SH 73 (incl. SH 73A)  · SH 74 9incl. SH 74A  · SH 75  · SH 77  · SH 78  · SH 79  · SH 80  · SH 82  · SH 83  · SH 84  · SH 85  · SH 86  · SH 87  · SH 88  · SH 90  · SH 93  · SH 94  · SH 95  · SH 96  · SH 97  · SH 98  · SH 99 Touring Routes Twin Coast Discovery Highway  · Thermal Explorer Highway  · Pacific Coast Highway  · Classic New Zealand Wine Trail  · Alpine Pacific Triangle  · Foothills Scenic Route  · Southern Scenic Route