New Zealand State Highway 2

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State Highway 2
Length	968 km 602 mi
Primary direction	North-South
Start	Pokeno
Primary destinations	Paeroa Waihi Tauranga Te Puke Whakatane Opotiki Gisborne Wairoa Napier Hastings Waipukurau Dannevirke Masterton Carterton Featherston Upper Hutt Lower Hutt
End	Ngauranga Interchange, 5 km north of Wellington
Route quality	97% single carriageway 3% dual carriageway <0.1[1]% motorway
Tourist routes	Pacific Coast Highway Waihi to Tauranga Tauranga to Matata Kutarere to Opotiki Gisborne to Napier Classic New Zealand Wine Trail Napier to Greytown Featherston to Ngauranga

State Highway 2 is one of New Zealand's eight national highways. With the exception of State Highway 1, which runs the length of both of the country's main islands, SH 2 is the longest national highway in the North Island. The highway north-south via the country's east coast, connecting Auckland and Wellington via the Hawkes Bay cities of Napier and Hastings.

For most of its length SH 2 is a two-lane single carriageway, with at-grade intersections and property accesses, both in rural and urban areas.

[edit] Route

Looking north on State Highway 2 (High Street South) in Carterton, just 80 km (50 mi) from SH 2's terminus near Wellington.

This is the route that SH 2 takes in 2008.

The highway deviates from SH 1 just north of Pokeno, some 49 km south of central Auckland. It initially heads east, crossing the Hauraki Plains before running the length of the Karangahake Gorge, a break in the hills between the Coromandel Peninsula and Kaimai Ranges. From the mining town of Waihi it runs southeast, skirting the edge of Tauranga Harbour, which it crosses after travelling through the city of Tauranga. The highway continues to follow the coast for a further 80 km, until it reaches the town of Whakatane.

From Whakatane the highway briefly loops south then back north to briefly return to the coast near Opotiki. After Opotiki the highway turns inland, ascending southeast along the valley of the Waioeka River, and from there winding up to the 725-metre Traffords Hill Summit. From here it descends into the watershed of the Waipaoa River following that river's valley from Te Karaka to Makaraka, just outside Gisborne, to which it is connected by a short stretch of SH 35.

From this point the highway turns south , passing the Wharerata Forest and the isthmus of the Mahia Peninsula, before turning west to follow the coast of Hawke Bay. Close to the mouth of the Waihua River the highway heads briefly inland, passing the Mohaka Forest and Lake Tutira before rejoining the coast not far from the junction with SH 5 at Bay View. The highway continues south to the twin bay cities, crossing Napier and turning inland to enter Hastings. From central Hastings, the highway briefly loses its national highway status for seven kilometres, regaining that status at Pakipaki.

The highway continues to head inland from Pakipaki, initially southwest to Waipukurau, then briefly west to follow tributaries of the Tukituki River upstream. Close to Norsewood the highway again turns southwest, a direction it maintains for much of the remainder of its journey, crossing undulating country that forms the upper catchment of the Manawatu River. Close to Woodville, the highway meets SH 3, which links SH 2 with the city of Palmerston North via the Manawatu Gorge. SH2 continues south into the Wairarapa, travelling through the town of Eketahuna and into the town of Masterton.

The last 100 kilometres of highway takes it through several small Wairarapa towns (Carterton, Greytown, and Featherston), and then via a winding and steep section over the Rimutaka Range (summit 555 metres) into the Hutt Valley. The highway travels along the edge of Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt and Petone before skirting the upper part of Wellington Harbour before terminating at the junction with SH 1 at the Ngauranga Interchange, five kilometres of central Wellington.

Although the Ngauranga Interchange is the official end of State Highway 2, it is signed northbound as far back as the Mount Victoria Tunnel, 8km before it begins.

[edit] Spur sections

State Highway 2 has two short spurs: State Highway 2A and State Highway 2B. State Highway 2A runs for 4.6 km from SH2 at Tauranga to the Tauranga Harbour Bridge. State Highway 2B runs for 4.1 km from SH 2 at Napier Airport to SH 50 at Taradale. This forms the northern part of the Hawke's Bay Expressway.

[edit] Route changes

State Highway 2 used to run between Hastings and Pakipaki, but recently has been revoked.

State Highway 2 once followed Fergusson Drive through the centre of Upper Hutt. This section was bypassed by River Road in the 1980s.

State Highway 2's southern terminus has also changed. It used to form the southern part of the Wellington Urban Motorway when State Highway 1 finished at the Aotea Quay off-ramp. In 1996, State Highway 1 replaced this section.

[edit] Major junctions

Territorial authority	Location	km	Destinations	Notes
Franklin District	Pokeno	0	SH 1 North Waikato Expressway Manukau, Auckland	SH 2 begins
			SH 1 South Waikato Expressway Hamilton
Waikato District	District contains no major junctions
Hauraki District	Mangatarata		SH 25 Thames, Coromandel Peninsula
			SH 27 Matamata
	Paeroa		SH 26 Thames, Coromandel Peninsula	SH 2/SH 26 concurrency begins
			SH 26 Te Aroha, Hamilton	SH 2/SH 26 concurrency ends
	Waihi		SH 25 Whangamata, Coromandel Peninsula
Western Bay of Plenty District	District west of Tauranga contains no major junctions
Tauranga City	Tauranga South		SH 2A Takitumu Drive Port of Tauranga, Mount Maunganui
			Cameron Road Tauranga City Centre
	Maungatapu		SH 29 Hamilton	SH 2/SH 29 concurrency begins
	Te Maunga		SH 29 Mount Maunganui, Tauranga Airport	SH 2/SH 29 concurrency ends
Western Bay of Plenty District	Paengaroa		SH 33 Rotorua
Whakatane District	Hawkens Junction		SH 34 Kawerau
	Awakeri		SH 30 West Rotorua	SH 2/SH 30 concurrency begins
			SH 30 East Whakatane	SH 2/SH 30 concurrency ends
Opotiki District	Opotiki		SH 35 East Cape
Gisborne District	Matawhero		SH 35 Gisborne
Wairoa District	Wairoa		SH 38 Lake Waikaremoana
Hastings District	District north of Napier contains no major junctions
Napier City	Bay View		SH 5 Taupo
	Westshore		SH 2B Hawke's Bay Expressway Taradale, Hastings
	Napier Central		SH 50 Hyderabad Road Port of Napier	SH 2/SH 50 concurrency begins
			SH 50 Taradale Road Taradale, Hastings	SH 2/SH 50 concurrency ends
			Pacific Coast Highway and SH2/Pacific Coast Highway concurrency ends Classic New Zealand Wine Trail and SH 2/Classic NZ Wine Trail concurrency begins
Hastings District	Waipatu		SH 2 temporarily ends
	Pakipaki		SH 2 resumes
			SH 50A Hawke's Bay Expressway Napier
Central Hawke's Bay District	Takapau		SH 50 Tikokino, Ongaonga
Tararua District	Woodville	802	SH 3 Vogel Street Palmerston North
Masterton District	District contains no major junctions
Carterton District
South Wairarapa District	Greytown	909	Classic NZ Wine Trail Moroa Plains Road [[Martinborough	SH 2/Classic NZ Wine Trail concurrency ends
	Featherston	921	SH 53/Classic NZ Wine Trail Revans Street Martinborough	SH 2/Classic NZ Wine Trail concurrency begins
Upper Hutt City	District contains no major junctions
Hutt City	Manor Park	962	SH 58 Haywards Hill Road Porirua
Wellington City	Ngauranga	979	SH 1 North/Classic NZ Wine Trail Hutt Road Ngauranga, Porirua, Picton Ferry	SH 2/Classic NZ Wine Trail concurrency ends Traffic for The Interislander ferry to Picton and the South Island exits here.
			SH 1 South Wellington Urban Motorway Wellington Central, Airport	SH 2 ends

[edit] References

[edit] See also

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