Waikato Expressway

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Waikato Expressway


State Highway Number	State Highway 1
Length	34 km 21 miles
Direction	North - South
Start	Bombay Hills Auckland Southern Motorway
Primary destinations	Pokeno, Mercer, Meremere, Te Kauwhata, Rangiriri
End	Ohinewai (at present)
Construction dates	1992 - present
State Highways joined	Exit 477 State Highway 2

The Waikato Expressway is a dual carriageway section of State Highway 1 in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and forms part of the link between Auckland and Hamilton. Currently, the expressway is made up of two sections: the first beginning at the end of the Auckland Southern Motorway at the Bombay Hills and ending at Longswamp, and the second beginning at Rangiriri and ending at Ohinewai. These two sections are linked by a three lane section of State Highway 1 that will eventually be upgraded to four lanes and thus become a part of the expressway. Further extensions to the expressway are planned, and when completed, the expressway will form a 94.5 km long continuous four lane dual carriageway from the Bombay Hills to the town of Cambridge, 24 kilometres south-east of Hamilton. When completed, Hamilton, as well as several other towns along the current route of State Highway 1 (such as Huntly, Ngaruawahia and Cambridge) will be completely bypassed by the expressway, allowing through traffic to move much more efficiently.

1 History
2 Exit list
3 See also
4 References

[edit] History

While not officially designated as the Waikato Expressway until the early 2000's, the upgrading of State Highway 1 from the Bombay Hills to Mercer in 1992 can be considered to be the first step in the construction of the expressway. During this upgrade, State Highway 1 from the end of the Southern Motorway to just north of Mercer was upgraded from two lanes to four, with fully grade separated interchanges constructed at Bombay and the Junction with State Highway 2 just north of the township of Pokeno. A bypass of Pokeno was also constructed at this time, as well as several partially separated interchanges to allow access for local property owners along the route.

The next stage to be completed was the Rangiriri to Ohinewai in 2003, followed by the Mercer to Longswamp section in July 2006. The Mercer to Longswamp section used the existing two laned section of State Highway one as a carriageway for northbound traffic, while a separate carriageway for southbound traffic was constructed in parallel. A grade separated interchange at Mercer was also constructed, incorporating an overpass for the southbound lanes to cross over the Main trunk railway at this point.

[edit] Exit list

Territorial authority	Location	Exit	Destination	Notes
Teminates onto Auckland Southern Motorway at the Bombay interchange
Franklin District	Bombay	471	Bombay Bombay Service Centre	Northbound exit and Southbound entrance
	Bombay	473	Beaver Road	No east/west connection
	Bombay	474	Ridge Road
	Bombay	476	Razorback Road	Northbound entrance and Southbound exit
	Bombay	477	State Highway 2
	Pokeno		Pokeno	Northbound entrance and Southbound exit
	Pokeno		Pokeno	Northbound exit and Southbound entrance
	Pioneer road			Northbound exit is right hand turn
	Mercer		Mercer

[edit] See also

List of motorways and expressways in New Zealand

v • d • e List of motorways and expressways in New Zealand

Auckland	Northern Motorway • Northwest Motorway • Southern Motorway • Southwest Motorway • Upper Harbour Motorway

Rest of North Island	Waikato Expressway • Hawkes Bay Expressway • Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway • Wellington Urban Motorway

South Island	Christchurch Northern Motorway • Christchurch-Lyttleton Motorway • Dunedin Northern Motorway • Dunedin Southern Motorway

Past Motorways/Expressways	Wanganui Metropolitan Motorway • Christchurch Southern Arterial Motorway

Future Motorways/Expressways	SH20 Waterview Connection • Transmission Gully Motorway

Major infrastructure	Auckland Harbour Bridge • Central Motorway Junction • Ngauranga Interchange