This is a list of motorways and expressways in New Zealand, including some proposed and under construction. There are currently 446 km of motorways and expressways in New Zealand. 19 km are currently under construction, with a further 53 km expected to be completed by 2029, at which time a total of 516 km of motorway and expressway is expected.
Expressways in New Zealand are high standard all-purpose roads, usually dual carriageway, mainly for through traffic with no restrictions. Intersections may be controlled at-grade with roundabouts or traffic signals, or fully grade separated. [1] [2] Although there are no legal restrictions to pedestrian, cycle and animal traffic (as are applied to motorways,) pedestrian and animal traffic is strongly discouraged. [3]
Motorways in New Zealand are dual carriageway roads designed for efficient high volume motor vehicle traffic. They have a no stopping restriction and are closed to pedestrian, cycle and animal traffic. Intersections are grade-separated. [1] [4]
Summary
| Name | State Highway(s) | Type | Length | First section opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland Northern Motorway | SH 1 | Motorway | 58 km (36 mi) | 1959 |
| Auckland Southern Motorway | SH 1 | Motorway | 44 km (27 mi) | 1953 |
| Waikato Expressway | SH 1 | Expressway | 101 km (63 mi) | 1995 |
| Kāpiti Expressway | SH 1 | Expressway | 31 km (19 mi) | 2017 |
| Transmission Gully Motorway | SH 1 | Motorway | 27 km (17 mi) | Early 2022 |
| Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway | SH 1; SH 59 | Motorway | 11 km (7 mi) | 1950 |
| Wellington Urban Motorway | SH 1 | Motorway | 7 km (4 mi) | 1969 |
| Christchurch Northern Motorway | SH 1; SH 74 | Motorway | 16 km (10 mi) | 1967 |
| Western Belfast Bypass | SH 1 | Motorway | 5 km (3 mi) | 2017 |
| Dunedin Southern Motorway | SH 1 | Expressway (Kensington–Lookout Point) Motorway (Lookout Point–Mosgiel) |
13 km (8 mi) | 1972 |
| Tauranga Eastern Link | SH 2 | Expressway (Te Maunga–Papamoa) Motorway (Papamoa–Paengaroa) |
23 km (14 mi) | 2015 |
| Northwestern Motorway | SH 16 | Motorway | 21 km (13 mi) | 1952 |
| Upper Harbour Motorway | SH 18 | Motorway | 12 km (7 mi) | 2007 |
| Southwestern Motorway | SH 20 | Motorway | 24 km (15 mi) | 1977 |
| Auckland Airport Motorway | SH 20A | Motorway | 4 km (2 mi) | 1997 |
| Christchurch Southern Motorway | SH 76; SH 1 | Motorway | 19 km (12 mi) | 1981 |
Under construction
| Name | State Highway(s) | Type | Length | Expected opening |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takitimu North Link | SH 2 | Expressway | 7 km (4 mi) | late 2027 [5] |
| Manawatū-Tararua Highway | SH 3 | Expressway | 12 km (7 mi) | mid 2025 |
Approved
| Name | State Highway(s) | Type | Length | Expected opening |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omokoroa to Te Puna | SH 2 | Expressway | 7 km (4 mi) | late 2027 |
| Whangarei to Marsden Point | SH 1 | Expressway | 22 km (14 mi) | 2027-2028 |
| Kāpiti Expressway (Ōtaki to north of Levin) | SH 1 | Expressway | 24 km (15 mi) | 2029 |
Auckland
Northern Motorway (SH 1)
From the Central Motorway Junction in downtown Auckland via the Auckland Harbour Bridge and the North Shore to Warkworth.
Northwestern Motorway (SH 16)
From Ports of Auckland to Brigham Creek Rd, Whenuapai.
Southwestern Motorway (SH 20)
From the Southern Motorway in Manukau City to the Northwestern Motorway at Waterview.
Southern Motorway (SH 1)
From downtown Auckland via Manukau City to the Bombay Hills and transitioning into the Waikato Expressway.
Upper Harbour Motorway (SH 18)
Connecting the Northwestern and Northern Motorways via the Upper Harbour Bridge. Construction of the Northern Corridor connection between the Northern and Upper Harbour Motorways commenced in 2018, and the full interchange opened in 2023. [6]
Auckland Airport Motorway (SH 20A)
From the Southwestern Motorway in Māngere to George Bolt Memorial Dr, Auckland Airport
Waikato
Waikato Expressway (SH 1)
An expressway between the Southern Motorway at Bombay and Cambridge, By 2007 SH 1 between Longswamp and Rangiriri was three lanes with a median barrier. In 2012 the Te Rapa Spur was opened, followed by the Ngāruawāhia section in 2013. The Cambridge bypass opened on 16 December 2015, six months ahead of schedule. The route has now been fully designated, and funding was secured for the Huntly and Hamilton sections. The Huntly section opened in March 2020, but the Hamilton section was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 15 km Cambridge Section now has a 110kmph speed limit for light vehicles as of 11 December 2017.
Bay of Plenty
Takitimu Drive (Pyes Pa - Mount Maunganui Expressway) (SH 2/SH 29)
From Pyes Pa to Chapel Street near the city centre. An interchange exists with Tamatea Arikinui Drive, along with a "coat-hanger" interchange, which is used with Elizabeth Street and heads north towards Mt Maunganui. The section from Pyes Pa to the SH 2 interchange is tolled. From 1 August 2015 it was added to the New Zealand state highway network as part of SH 29. [7]
Tamatea Arikinui Drive (Bethlehem - The Avenues Expressway) (SH 2)
From 15th Avenue to just before Bethlehem Town Centre, with interchanges at Cambridge Road, Waihi Road and Takitimu Drive (Pyes Pa - City Expressway).
Tauranga Eastern Link (SH 2)
Connects Tauranga to Paengaroa (with SH 33) via Papamoa, bypassing Te Puke. In late 2006 the first phase was opened from Maungatapu to Bayfair. Full motorway was completed in 2015 with the tolled section between Papamoa and Paengaroa opened to the public in August that year. The tolled section from Papamoa to Paengaroa now has speed limit for light vehicles of 110 kmph as of 11 December 2017
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay Expressway (SH 2 / SH 50)
From Hawke's Bay Airport near Napier to Pakipaki, south of Hastings. The entire expressway is part of SH 2, with approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) also concurrent with SH 50.
Wellington
Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway (SH 1 / SH 59)
Approximately 11 km (6.8 mi) in length, this is New Zealand's first motorway; the first section opening in 1950. [8] [9] The section of the motorway between the southern terminus at Johnsonville and the interchange with the Transmission Gully Motorway forms part of SH 1, with the small 2.1 km (1.3 mi) section north of this point forming part of SH 59. [10]
Wellington Urban Motorway (SH 1)
From Ngauranga to Te Aro, 7 km (4.3 mi)
Kāpiti Expressway (SH 1)
The Kāpiti Expressway is a four-lane grade-separated expressway, stretching 33 km (21 mi) from Mackays Crossing north of Paekākāriki to just north of Ōtaki on the Kapiti Coast. It carries traffic through Raumati, Paraparaumu, Waikanae and Ōtaki. The section from Mackays Crossing to Raumati South was completed in 2007 with the grade separation of the Mackays railway level crossing. Work on the Raumati to Peka Peka section started in December 2013 [11] and opened on 24 February 2017, [12] with minor finishing works completed by July. Construction of the section from Peka Peka north to Ōtaki commenced in late 2017 and opened in December 2022.
Transmission Gully Motorway (SH 1)
Officially opened on 30 March 2022, [13] from Mackays Crossing near Paekākāriki to the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway in Linden, bypassing Centennial Highway.
Hutt Expressway (Hutt Road, Western Hutt Road, River Road) (SH 2)
From the Wellington Urban Motorway at Ngauranga through the Hutt Valley to the Fergusson Drive intersection at Maoribank in northern Upper Hutt. It has three names: Hutt Road from Ngauranga to Petone, Western Hutt Road from Petone to Silverstream, and River Road from Silverstream to Maoribank. 30 km (19 mi).
The section south of Melling is dual carriage and is fully grade separated. The section from Melling north to Silverstream is dual carriage with a mixture of at-grade and grade separated intersections. The section north of Silverstream is a 2+1 road with at grade intersections.
Canterbury
Christchurch Northern Motorway (SH 1)
From north of Kaiapoi over the Waimakariri River through to the northern suburb of Belfast. Its southernmost interchange (Kainga/Marshland) is unusual in that northbound traffic merges from the right, while southbound traffic is carried on a large loop to the right up and over the onramp. The reason for this design was to accommodate a future southern extension into central Christchurch, with the northbound onramp being the first part of the northbound carriageway. Northbound there are three more interchanges; Tram Road (Oxford), north off, south on; Kaiapoi (diamond interchange); and Lineside Road ( SH 71 to Rangiora), north off, south on. It is dual carriageway from Belfast (Main North Road) to Lineside Road, single lane each way with no median strip to Woodend.
Christchurch Southern Motorway (SH 76 / SH 1)
Short motorway bypassing a part of southern Christchurch city. Lost its status as a motorway after plans to extend the original section (between Curletts Road and Barrington Street, which was built in the early 1980s) stalled. Since 2012, the road has been extended Curletts Road to Halswell Junction Road with the original section widened to four lanes and interchanges at both Curletts Road and Barrington Street), thereby regaining motorway status. In 2020, extended to rejoin SH 1 at Templeton and continue alongside SH 1 until just west of Rolleston.
Christchurch-Lyttelton Motorway (SH 74)
From the intersection of Ferry and Dyers Roads along Tunnel Road through the Lyttelton Tunnel to the intersection of Norwich Quay and Simeon Quay. It is single lane with interchanges at Bridle Path and Port Hills Road. There is a passing lane southbound from the Port Hills Road interchange.
Western Belfast Bypass (SH 1)
The motorway links directly from the Christchurch Northern Motorway, at Chaneys interchange, to Johns Road at the Clearwater roundabout, bypassing the current section of State Highway One through the Belfast urban area. [14]
Otago
Former Dunedin Northern Motorway (SH 1)
This undivided highway had its "motorway" signs removed several years ago, and is now officially called the Dunedin-Waitati Highway, although it is still referred to by Dunedinites as "the northern motorway".
It runs from Pine Hill to Waitati, and is the main route north from Dunedin.
Caversham Bypass (SH 1)
From Dunedin CBD to Caversham, SH1 has been widened to a four-lane road over its full length. [15] It becomes the Dunedin Southern Motorway at its western end, close to Lookout Point. At its eastern end, it joins Dunedin's central city one-way street system.
Dunedin Southern Motorway (SH 1)
This route runs from South Dunedin to Mosgiel. The section from Lookout Point at the southwestern end of Caversham, past the outer suburbs of Green Island, Abbotsford and Fairfield, to the intersection with SH 87 at Mosgiel, is classified as motorway. It is one of the southernmost motorways in the world. The length of the motorway is 13 km.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Manual of Traffic Signs and Markings (MOTSAM) Part 3: Motorways and Expressways". NZ Transport Agency. June 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ "State highway frequently asked questions". NZ Transport Agency. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ "Cycling and the Law: Things that can go on or with a Bike – Cycling in Christchurch". 9 August 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ^ "§82: Restrictions on use of motorways". Transit New Zealand Act 1989. New Zealand Legislation. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ Gillespie, Kiri (22 February 2024). "Mayor's worry for people using congested SH2 as new route delayed". Bay of Plenty Times.
- ^ "$2.4b Auckland motorway project completed with construction of new underpass". Stuff. 21 March 2023.
- ^ "Tolls and fees". NZTA. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ AJHR D1, 1951 page 29
- ^ Dominion 27 December 1950 page 11; Evening Post 21 December 1950 page 6, 27 December 1950 page 10 (photos)
- ^ "State Highway 59 switch confirmed for December" (Press release). New Zealand Transport Agency. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ "Work starts on MacKays to Peka Peka expressway". Fairfax New Zealand (via Stuff.co.nz). 2 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ "Traffic finally flows on to $630m Kāpiti Expressway as road quietly opens". Stuff. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ Wong, Justin (30 March 2022). "Wellington's Transmission Gully is officially open". Stuff. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Western Belfast Bypass". NZTA. New Zealand Transport Agency. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ Oldham, Stu (19 January 2011). "Work starts on multimillion-dollar upgrade". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 15 October 2011.