The New Zealand State Highway network consists of just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands, administered by Transit New Zealand. The speed limit is generally 100 km/h, with reductions in built-up areas and for safety reasons.
The highways were originally designated using a two-tier system, national (SH 1-8) and provincial, with national highways having a higher standard and funding priorities. Now all are state highways, and the network consists of SH 1 running the length of both main islands, SH 2-5 and 10-58 in the North Island, and SH 6-8 and 60-99 in the South Island, numbered approximately north to south. Former provincial highways are almost grouped by province in the South Island, with SH 7x in Canterbury, SH 8x Otago and SH 9x Southland.
State highways are marked by red shield-shaped signs with white numbering (shields for the former provincial highways were blue). Road maps usually number state highways in this fashion.
From 2004 information, the busiest stretch of SH 1 was just south of the Auckland Central Motorway Junction, with over 190,000 vehicles (either way) each day. The least busy parts of the network (excluding off-ramps and on-ramps) are on SH 43 north-east of Whangamomona, with fewer than 150 vehicles (counting both directions) in a day. Some of the lesser trafficked highways still include unsealed sections.
Contents
1History of State Highways
2Distance markers
3State Highway 1
4List of current New Zealand State Highways
4.1National
4.2North Island
4.3South Island
5List of former New Zealand State Highways
6See also
7External links
History of State Highways
In the early days all roads were managed by local roads boards. The idea of a national network of highways did not emerge until the early twentieth century, when a series of pieces of legislation was passed to allow for the designation of main highways (in 1922) and state highways (in 1936). This saw the National Roads Board, an arm of the Ministry of Works, responsible for the state highway network.
Since 1989, state highways have been the responsibility of Transit New Zealand, a Crown entity. In 1996 the funding of the network was removed from the operational functions with the creation of Transfund New Zealand, which has since merged with the Land Transport Safety Authority to create Land Transport New Zealand. This is intended to ensure that funding of state highways is considered on a similar basis to funding for local roads and regional council subsidised public transport.
Every five years Transit New Zealand embarks on a state highway review, which considered whether the existing network should be expanded or reduced, according to traffic flows, changes in industry, tourism and development. Highways around Tauranga and in the Napier/Hastings region have undergone major changes in recent years.
Distance markers
State highways are marked with posts at irregular intervals giving the distance in kilometres from the start of the highway. Until recently, all bridges on the network had at each end a small plaque showing the distance from the start of the highway, usually in the form of a number in kilometres, an oblique stroke, and a further number in kilometres, accurate to the nearest 10 metres. A plaque marked 237/14.12, for example, indicated that the bridge was 14.12 km past a set distance post, that post being 237 km from the start of the highway. In about 2004 these plaques were replaced by a new system, which gives each bridge a single number showing the distance from the start of the highway in hundreds of metres. Under the new system the bridge above would be numbered 2511, as it is 251.1 km from the start of the highway. Motorway on- and off-ramps are numbered using the same system.
In this way, travellers can accurately assess their location, and road authorities can identify each bridge uniquely.
Usually, houses with RAPID numbering can also be used to determine the position. For example, house number is 31530 is 315.3 km from the start of the highway. However, this only works if the road is addressed as a State Highway (e.g., 97863 State Highway 2, RD 1, Wellington).
State Highway 1 can be considered as a single highway running the length of both main islands, broken in the middle by the ferry connection at Cook Strait. It connects the five largest urban areas and includes the country's busiest stretch of road.
SH 1 Northern Motorway extension This is a temporary designation - it is likely to be removed and the road revert to normal road once motorway extension is completed, forecast for 2009
SH 16 Port of Auckland to SH 1 at Wellsford via Helensville (including the Northwestern Motorway in Auckland), 108 km
SH 17 SH 1 at Silverdale to SH 1 at Albany (old SH 1 route superseded by motorway), 18 km
SH 18 SH 1 at Upper Harbour Highway interchange to SH 16 at Massey (Upper Harbour Drive and Hobsonville Road - redesignated from Riverhead Road further north), 14 km (Motorway section from Albany Highway to Massey, running parallel to the existing state highway, under construction)
SH 20 Hillsborough to SH 1 Manukau interchange (Southwestern Motorway), 18 km. Will eventually bypass Manukau city centre and link to Northwestern Motorway (projected completion 2012)
SH 39 SH 1 at Ngaruawahia to SH 3 at Otorohanga. The western bypass of Hamilton, 57 km. The last 14km from junction of the Kawhia road to Otorohanga is a joint designation with SH 31.
SH 49 SH 4 at Tohunga Junction to SH 1 at Waiouru via Ohakune, 36 km
SH 50 SH 2 at Napier to SH 2 near Takapau (inland route), 94 km
SH 50A SH 50 10 km from Napier to Pakipaki, 7 km from Hastings via Flaxmere (Hawke's Bay Expressway), 17 km
SH 53 SH 2 at Featherston to Martinborough, 18 km (This breaks markedly with the general north-south pattern of the numbering, being some 200 km south of SH 54 and having the southernmost endpoints of North Island State Highways other than SH 1 and 2)
SH 71 SH 1 at Kaiapoi Interchange to Rangiora via Lineside Rd, 6 km
SH 73 SH 74 at the Tunnel Rd/Port Hills Rd interchange, Christchurch to SH 6 at Kumara Junction via Arthur's Pass and Porters Pass, 231 km
SH 73A Carmen/Main South Rds, Christchurch to Blenheim/Curtletts Rds (Originally part of SH1, then SH 73 until January 2004), 6 km
SH 74 SH 1 at Belfast to Lyttelton via Lyttelton Road Tunnel. As of January 2004 the route now follows the eastern part of the Christchurch Ring Road, 22 km
SH 74A SH73 at Brougham/Gardiners, Christchurch to SH 74 at Palinurus/Dyers via Gardiners and Palinurus Rds. Part of the Christchurch Ring Road, 2 km
SH 97 SH6 at Five Rivers to SH 94 at Mossburn, 21 km
SH 98 SH 6 at Lorneville to SH 1 near Dacre, 22 km
SH 99 SH 6 at Lorneville to SH 6 and road to Te Anau near Clifden, via Riverton and Tuatapere, 93 km
List of former New Zealand State Highways
The following state highways have been officially revoked by Transit New Zealand. After revocation, the roads revert to their original names (e.g. Crown Range Road) or are referred to as a route (e.g. Route 52).
SH 15 SH 1 at Whangarei to port of Whangarei, 4 km
SH 40 SH 3 at Ahititi to SH 4 at Maungatupoto via Ohura, 90 km
SH 47A SH 1 at Rangipo to SH 47 near Papakai, 19 km. This route is now known as State Highway 46.
SH 70 SH 1 4 km south of Kaikoura to SH 7 at Red Post Junction (2 km north of Culverden) via Waiau, 97 km
SH 72 SH 1 near Rangiora to SH 1 at Temuka via the Waimakariri and Rakaia Gorges (SH 77 now covers part of this route). This route is now known as the Inland Scenic Route.
SH 92 SH 1 at Balclutha to SH 1 at Invercargill via Owaka, 176 km. This route is known as The Catlins Route (part of the Southern Coastal Scenic Route).
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