81-768: The Wellington Urban Motorway , part of State HIghway 1 , is the main road into and out of Wellington , New Zealand. It is 7 km long, ranges from three to seven lanes wide, and extends from the base of the Ngauranga Gorge into the Wellington CBD. From the Ngauranga Interchange (State Highways 1 & 2), the motorway travels south across reclaimed land alongside the Wairarapa and North Island Main Trunk railway lines. After passing through
162-459: A motorway ) to the northern outskirts of Dunedin . From here it descends a steep, twisting stretch of Pine Hill Road through Pine Hill , before passing the University of Otago and heading through the city centre. For much of its route through Central Dunedin the highway is split into two separate northbound and southbound roads, part of the city's one-way street system. These roads traverse
243-779: A broadly southeast direction across the Auckland isthmus , then through Manukau and Papakura to the top of the Bombay Hills , just short of the Auckland/ Waikato boundary. At Bombay, SH 1 becomes the Waikato Expressway , a four-lane dual-carriageway expressway. The expressway takes the highway down the Bombay Hills to Mercer, where SH 1 meets the Waikato River , which it broadly follows for
324-489: A bypass, sometimes the former route is designated a spur until such time as the road can be transferred to the local council. All these routes are unsigned and appear as local arterial roads on maps. State Highway 1 has been earmarked for several motorway projects most of which have surfaced from the National government's Roads of National Significance package announced in 2009. The section of Marsden Point to Whangārei
405-528: A large vault underneath a memorial lawn at the cemetery, while others were reinterred at other cemeteries. Salvaged gravestones were shifted to other parts of the cemetery. A footbridge (the Denis McGrath Bridge, named for the deputy mayor) was built over the motorway to link the two now-separate halves of the cemetery. Shell Gully is an elevated stretch of the motorway extending from just south of Aurora Terrace to Boulcott Street, passing through
486-626: A major freight route. With the detour bridges reaching the end of their lifespan, NZTA replaced the fords with culverts . Construction of motorways and expressways has diverted the route of State Highway 1 in many places. The opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge and the Auckland Northern Motorway between Northcote Road and Fanshawe Street in May 1959 saw State Highway 1 diverted from its former route around
567-492: A narrow gully between the Terrace and the hillside. Two carriageways were built at different levels and slightly overlapping to fit them into the narrow space in the gully. Short bridges pass over the motorway at Boulcott Street and Everton Street. There is an on-ramp at Clifton Terrace and an off-ramp to the Terrace. A two-storey public car park sits underneath the motorway in this area. Earthquake strengthening of this section of
648-558: A new Vivian Street off-ramp along the line of the former on-ramp. In 2016 the Wellington Urban Motorway, along with State Highway 1 to Johnsonville and State Highway 2 to Petone, became New Zealand's first ' smart motorway '. Speed limits are adjusted automatically according to the amount of traffic on the road, with the aim of smoothing out the flow of traffic. The project was budgeted at $ 55.8 million, but actually cost $ 88 million because design changes were made after
729-579: A new on-ramp underneath Vivian St. Closure of the Vivian St on-ramp and construction of a new off-ramp at Vivian St. Vivian St would be converted to one-way eastbound operation between Willis St and Taranaki St. The Ghuznee St off-ramp would be closed and Ghuznee St reverted to two-way operation. Stage 2 was seen as a medium-term measure, providing sufficient relief for ten years before consideration of Stage 3. Stage 3. Construction of an almost entirely cut-and-cover grade-separated arterial tunnel highway from
810-769: A roundabout at the entrance to the airport. The South Island section of SH 1 starts in Picton , adjacent to the railway station. Leaving Picton, SH 1 rises steeply to cross the Elevation saddle into the valley of the Tuamarina River . It descends alongside this river and across the Wairau Plain before reaching Blenheim . SH 1 passes through Weld Pass and Dashwood Pass to enter the Awatere Valley , then countiuses southward before passing Lake Grassmere . From
891-838: A white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island , SH 1S in the South Island . SH 1 is 2,006 kilometres (1,246 mi) long, 1,074 km (667 mi) in the North Island and 932 km (579 mi) in the South Island. Since 2010 new roads have reduced the length from 2,033 km (1,263 mi). For the majority of its length it is a two-lane single carriageway , with at-grade intersections and property accesses, in both rural and urban areas. These sections have some passing lanes. Around 315 km (196 mi) of SH 1
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#1732779829866972-477: Is 460 metres long with three traffic lanes. It was provided with mechanical ventilation and carbon monoxide detectors, and the lighting automatically adjusted according to the brightness of the day outside. Between 2010 and 2012, the tunnel was upgraded with new safety features including a deluge system for firefighting, improved ventilation, lighting, traffic management including detection of over-height vehicles, and earthquake-safety improvements. In 2024, LED lighting
1053-530: Is almost complete with one exception, the Bowen Street off-ramp which would have been a counter-clockwise loop splitting off from the Tinakori Road off-ramp. A section of the Tinakori Road off-ramp has a different type of barrier to the rest of the off-ramp, showing where it would have been. Funding for the second tunnel was indefinitely shelved in the 1970s due to fiscal pressures on government, and
1134-472: Is of motorway or expressway standard as of August 2022 : 281 km (175 mi) in the North Island and 34 km (21 mi) in the South Island. SH 1 starts at Cape Reinga , at the northwestern tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula , and since April 2010 has been sealed (mainly with either chipseal or asphalt ) for its entire length. From Waitiki Landing south of Cape Reinga, SH 1 travels down
1215-587: Is to be upgraded to four lanes as part of the New Zealand Upgrade Programme . The Puhoi to Wellsford motorway (Ara Tūhono) is one of the projects of the Roads of National Significance . This planned new road is also referred to as the "Holiday Highway" as the current SH 1 becomes heavily congested in holiday periods from holidaymakers travelling to and from Auckland in the summer holiday season and public holiday weekends. Construction of
1296-486: The 2016 Kaikōura earthquake . SH 1 passes through Amberley and Woodend before becoming the Christchurch Northern Motorway and bypassing Kaiapoi to the west. At The Groynes west of Belfast , the motorway narrows to a four-lane divided arterial. SH 1 continues around the north-western urban fringe of Christchurch , passing just east of Christchurch International Airport . At Hornby ,
1377-552: The Lake Taupō shoreline south of the town near the airport . SH 1 follows the eastern shore of the lake for 50 km (31 mi) to Tūrangi , at the southern end of the lake. Via SH32/41 the distance is about 6 km (3.7 mi) shorter than this section of SH1. Turning southwards again, SH 1 leaves Tūrangi and ascends onto the North Island Volcanic Plateau , passing through the fringes of
1458-644: The Rangitikei River through Taihape to meet the main river at Utiku. It then follows the western bank of the Rangitikei through Ohingaiti and Hunterville to Bulls . At Bulls, SH 1 turns southeast to cross the river, turning southwest again 5 km (3.1 mi) down the road at Sanson . SH 1 crosses the Manawatū Plains , passing the city of Palmerston North about 20 km (12 mi) west of it. It passes through Foxton , before reaching
1539-661: The Taieri Plains . The area between the Taieri and Waipori Rivers is flood-prone, and the highway crosses this on a major embankment known colloquially as the flood-free highway . SH 1 continues through gentle hill country and along the shore of Lake Waihola , then crosses the Tokomairiro Plains into Milton . South of Milton is a major junction with SH 8 at Clarksville Junction. SH 1 continues to cross rolling hill country to reach Balclutha . From Balclutha,
1620-583: The Taieri River was realigned during the 1970s. SH 1A ran from Orewa to Silverdale . When the Northern Gateway Toll Road opened, part of SH 1A was incorporated into SH 1N and the rest had its highway status revoked. SH 1F was the name previously given to the northernmost section of SH 1N – between Cape Reinga and the junction with SH 10 . This section is no longer a spur and is now part of SH 1N. Where SH 1 has moved onto
1701-753: The Tongariro National Park and into the Rangipo Desert , passing the volcanoes of Ruapehu , Ngauruhoe and Tongariro . The road between Rangipo (10 km (6.2 mi) south of Tūrangi) and Waiouru is commonly known as the Desert Road . SH 1 enters the Manawatū-Whanganui Region, and descends through an army training area to the end of the Desert Road at Waiouru . From Waiouru, the highway follows tributaries of
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#17327798298661782-663: The Waitematā Harbour , which it briefly follows before crossing it by the Auckland Harbour Bridge . The motorway comes off the bridge into Auckland's city centre, and forms its western boundary as SH 1 proceeds to the Central Motorway Junction . At this junction, SH 1 becomes the Auckland Southern Motorway , and, after sweeping around the southern end of central Auckland, proceeds in a south-easterly direction. The motorway continues in
1863-836: The Wellington Urban Motorway , skirting the shore of the harbour then passing the city centre to the west. The motorway ends at Te Aro , where a one-way system takes traffic to the Basin Reserve . Northbound traffic uses the Wellington Inner City Bypass (opened 2007), while southbound traffic uses Vivian Street . From the Basin Reserve, SH 1 travels through the Mount Victoria Tunnel to Wellington's eastern suburbs and Wellington International Airport . SH 1 ends at
1944-466: The 18.5 km (11.5 mi) Puhoi to Warkworth section began on 8 December 2016 with the official sod-turning. The motorway runs west of the current SH 1 alignment, starting at the end of the existing Auckland Northern Motorway and terminating onto the existing highway at Kaipara Flats Road, north of Warkworth township. The new motorway opened in June 2023. The NZTA released its preferred alignment for
2025-719: The Christchurch Southern Arterial Motorway, Curletts Road, Blenheim Road, and Main South Road. The section from the Queen Elizabeth II Drive to Brougham Street is now a local road, while the remainder of the route forms parts of SH 74 and 76. Re-routing also occurred in Whangarei and Timaru, removing SH 1 from their city centres. The original route through Whangārei via Kamo Road, Bank Street, Water Street and Maunu Road
2106-528: The Hawkestone Street off-ramp in 1972. Hundreds of old houses in Thorndon, including one of Katherine Mansfield's family homes, were demolished to make way for the motorway, with no assistance given to displaced tenants and homeowners. Public protest over the destruction of the suburb eventually led to Thorndon becoming New Zealand’s first built heritage conservation area. Other protestors questioned
2187-661: The Hutt Road into Wellington and in the city itself. In the 1950s the National Roads Board , an arm of the Ministry of Works , began the search for better road access into the heart of Wellington. In 1955 Wellington City Council's City Engineer proposed that an elevated expressway be built along the waterfront, but this was deemed too expensive. Construction of a motorway between Ngauranga and Aotea Quay began in 1959 with earthmoving works and reclamation. Also in 1959,
2268-434: The Hutt Road south of Ngauranga, and making the Wellington Urban Motorway between Ngauranga and Aotea Quay both State Highway 1 and 2. While the Ngauranga Interchange relieved the severe congestion experienced at the traffic light controlled intersection at Ngauranga, it did double the usage of the rest of the motorway, generating peak-time congestion at the end of the motorway, and in the morning peaks with merging traffic from
2349-717: The Hutt Valley. The construction of the Ngauranga Interchange flyovers in 1984 allowed SH 1 to be diverted onto the motorway, bypassing central Wellington streets. The Christchurch Northern Motorway opened in October 1967 between Tram Road and Belfast, providing a second road crossing of the Waimakariri River . The motorway was extended northward to Pineacres in December 1970, bypassing Kaiapoi . The Western Belfast Bypass spur opened on 31 October 2017, extending
2430-501: The Hutt. Meanwhile, the original plans to extend the motorway beyond Willis Street had been significantly reviewed, with a new plan for an "arterial extension" at a 70 km/h standard proposed along the motorway alignment towards the existing Mount Victoria Tunnel (the original full motorway plan had been scrapped, as it would have meant the destruction of the Basin Reserve, and an unaffordable duplicate Mount Victoria Tunnel). That plan
2511-675: The Ministry of Works put a proposal to Wellington City Council for a motorway through the city along the western foothills, and plans were submitted to the National Roads Board in June 1960. U.S. consultants De Leuw Cather were engaged late in 1960 to design a motorway scheme and advise on traffic improvements within the city. De Leuw Cather's report was released in August 1963. It assumed that the Ngauranga – Thorndon motorway that
Wellington Urban Motorway - Misplaced Pages Continue
2592-593: The Moir Hill section, the road widens to 6 lanes with the addition of crawler lanes on the uphill sections. Near Puhoi , on the Hibiscus Coast , SH 1 becomes the Auckland Northern Motorway . This 7.5 km (4.7 mi) section of the motorway is an automated toll road . At Orewa , the motorway becomes toll-free, crossing farmland to the North Shore of Auckland . The road crosses through suburbs to
2673-675: The Molesworth Street Bridge. The last major extension was completed in 1978, with the construction of the Terrace Tunnel and the termination of the motorway at the Ghuznee and Vivian Street intersections with Willis Street. The motorway was officially opened on 31 May 1978 by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon. Between Ngauranga and Vivian Street, the motorway had five on-ramps, five off-ramps, 11 bridges crossing over it and six bridges underneath it. The cost to that date
2754-486: The Northern and Southern Motorways, taking State Highway 1 off inner Auckland streets. The Waikato Expressway north of Te Kauwhata has largely been built on the existing line of SH 1N, although at Pōkeno the highway was diverted to bypass the town to the east. South of Te Kauwhata, most of the expressway has been built on a new line bypassing the towns of Ohinewai , Ngāruawāhia , Te Rapa and Cambridge , as well as
2835-565: The SH 1 designation until the new motorway opened. The Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway was constructed in the 1940s and 1950s to replace the Old Porirua Road . The first section of motorway between Johnsonville and Takapu Road opened on 23 December 1950, and is New Zealand's oldest motorway. The Wellington Urban Motorway was constructed between 1969 and 1978, but was originally part of State Highway 2 as it could only be accessed from
2916-609: The SH ;1 is classified as a regional strategic road, and north of Kawakawa where SH 1 is classified as a primary collector road. The sections between Wellsford and Wairakei , between Ōhau and Wellington Airport , and between Woodend and Rolleston are classified as high volume roads. The section from the Central Motorway Junction and the Newmarket Viaduct, 3 km (1.9 mi) to
2997-457: The Terrace Tunnel to Mt Victoria Tunnel, resembling the 1980s "arterial extension" proposal. This was seen as the long-term proposal. Between 1995 and 2002, Transit New Zealand pursued the Stage 2 proposal, which became known as the Wellington Inner City Bypass . Given the appeals and opposition to Stage 2 from some groups, Transit quietly shelved further work on Stage 3 as it focused on completing
3078-476: The Tinakori Road on-ramp and Hawkestone Street off-ramp going south, the motorway is a considerably scaled down concept from what was initially proposed, and it was never extended as far as the Basin Reserve. The first phase of the motorway was a 2.7 miles (4.3 km) section between Ngauranga and Aotea Quay which began with reclamation works in 1959 and opened in April 1968 as part of State Highway 2. This relieved
3159-590: The Waitematā Harbour. Northern extensions of the motorway in 1969 (to Tristram Avenue), 1979 (to Sunset Road) and 1984 (to Dairy Flat Highway via Greville Road) diverted State Highway 1 off Wairau Road and Albany Highway. A motorway extension from Greville Road to Silverdale in 1999 bypassed Dairy Flat Highway, which was re-designated State Highway 17. In 2009, the Northern Motorway was extended to Puhoi, bypassing Hibiscus Coast Highway through Orewa which
3240-638: The Warkworth to Wellsford section for consultation in February 2017. The motorway will run from the Puhoi to Warkworth section west of Warkworth northward, passing east of Wellsford and Te Hana to terminate onto the existing highway at Mangawhai Road, just short of the Auckland/Northland boundary. Many ideas have come forth to create a Second Harbour Crossing over Waitematā Harbour to complement
3321-629: The aging Auckland Harbour Bridge. These include ideas for a second bridge, or a second tunnel with capacity for rail. At this stage, any meaningful progress is unlikely until at least 2025. As of October 2017, the NZTA is investigating extending the Waikato Expressway south of Cambridge 16 km (9.9 mi) to the SH 1/SH 29 intersection at Piarere, bypassing the existing highway around the shores of Lake Karapiro . Kaiwharawhara Stream Too Many Requests If you report this error to
Wellington Urban Motorway - Misplaced Pages Continue
3402-473: The beginning of far greater scrutiny of the quality of highway expenditure. It was clear that until the Wellington Urban Motorway was connected to State Highway 1 at Ngauranga Gorge, a single Terrace Tunnel would be adequate for the traffic demands of the 1970s. The Ngauranga Interchange connecting the motorway to State Highway 1 to the north opened in 1984, removing the State Highway designation from
3483-422: The bypass. In the southern South Island, several particularly twisting sections of SH 1S have been rebuilt to remove sharp bends and to generally improve road conditions. These include stretches at Normanby, near Timaru ; Waianakarua ; two stretches at Flag Swamp and Tumai between Palmerston and Waikouaiti ; and on the Dunedin Northern Motorway near Waitati . An extensive section between Allanton and
3564-433: The central city 2–3 blocks southeast of the heart of the CBD . At the southern end of central Dunedin, the highway becomes the Caversham By-pass, which rises along the Caversham Valley before again becoming a motorway at the saddle of Lookout Point. The four-lane motorway ( Dunedin Southern Motorway ) runs through Dunedin's southern suburbs until the interchange with SH 87 at Mosgiel . SH 1 then heads southwest across
3645-429: The central-eastern side of the peninsula to Kaitaia , New Zealand's northernmost town, then travels through a new piece of road in the Mangamuka Gorge before turning south-east across the Northland Peninsula on to Kawakawa in the Bay of Islands where the roadway is shared by the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway track, and then south to the city of Whangārei , the largest urban area in Northland. SH 1 then skirts
3726-454: The chronic congestion at the traffic signal controlled intersections at the bottom of Ngauranga Gorge and Ngaio Gorge where long delays and peak time queues of several kilometres occurred during the morning and evening peaks. This section included several traffic overbridges, a rail access tunnel for the Gear Meat Company and the Ngauranga Railway Bridge. The motorway was extended in phases: to Murphy Street in 1969, May Street in 1970 and to
3807-532: The city of Hamilton . Most old sections of SH 1N reverted to local arterial roads, while the former section through Hamilton became the SH 1C spur. Construction of the Peka Peka to Ōtaki extension to the Kāpiti Expressway began in mid 2017 and opened to traffic in December 2022. The project added 13 kilometres (8 mi) of expressway to the northern end of the Kāpiti Expressway at Peka Peka, to terminate north of Ōtaki at Taylors Road. The controversial Transmission Gully Motorway began construction in 2014, and
3888-400: The city of Invercargill . In central Invercargill it meets the southern end of SH 6 and turns due south, skirting the estuary of the New River and Bluff Harbour. It passes through the small town of Bluff before reaching its terminus at Stirling Point , a kilometre south of Bluff. A commemorative signpost at Stirling Point indicates distances to major world centres and to the start of
3969-490: The coast at Moeraki . From here the road again hugs the coast along Katiki Beach , remaining closer to the ocean than at any point since Kaikōura. The highway turns inland at Shag Point, passing through Palmerston and Waikouaiti . South of Waikouaiti the road again becomes steep, rising sharply over the Kilmog hill before dropping down to the coast at Blueskin Bay , then rising again via Dunedin-Waitati Highway (a two- to four-lane carriageway which used to be designated
4050-525: The coast, which it reaches at Timaru . Between Ashburton and Timaru it crosses Rangitata Island in the Rangitata River . South of Timaru, the road again passes through gentle hill country, staying close to the coast but largely out of sight of it. The road veers inland briefly, bypassing Waimate as it reaches the plains around the mouth of the Waitaki River , which it crosses to enter Otago . It passes through Oamaru , from where it turns inland briefly, crossing undulating hill country before again reaching
4131-405: The end of the coastal plain at Mackays Crossing . It then becomes the Transmission Gully Motorway and steeply ascends through mountainous terrain to the Wainui Saddle, before descending through its namesake to Pāuatahanui and bypassing Porirua to the east before reaching the northern suburbs of Wellington , New Zealand's capital city. Immediately after entering the city of Wellington in
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#17327798298664212-418: The end of the plain at Levin . From Levin, SH 1 follows the narrowing western coastal plain southwards. The highway crosses into the Wellington Region 15 km (9 mi) south of Levin, and just north of Ōtaki widens into the Kāpiti Expressway , a fully grade-separated four-lane dual carriageway. This expressway bypasses the Kāpiti conurbation of Waikanae , Paraparaumu and Raumati , before reaching
4293-414: The highway at Picton. SH 1 has two spurs, both in the vicinity of Hamilton : SH 1 has varied road conditions. For most of its length it is a two-lane single carriageway road with at-grade intersections and access, sealed with chipseal in rural areas or asphalt in urban and high-traffic areas. The highway has frequent passing lanes on these sections, to allow traffic to pass other vehicles safely. Parts of
4374-416: The highway crosses the Mataura River ; from here the road again turns south to roughly follow the river. The highway passes through Mataura before turning west at Edendale . Many travellers choose to turn onto SH 93 at Clinton, as this route shortens the journey between Clinton and Mataura by about 10 km (6.2 mi) and bypasses Gore . Over its last stretch the road veers southwest before reaching
4455-455: The highway turns south-west, narrows to a two-lane undivided road and passes through Templeton . It then merges onto the Christchurch Southern Motorway where the highway becomes expressway standard until it approaches Rolleston. South of Rolleston, SH 1 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
4536-401: The highway turns west, veering briefly north as it heads inland to avoid the rough hills of The Catlins . It passes through the small town of Clinton before reaching the major provincial town of Gore . Because of the names of these two towns, this stretch of the highway was christened "The Presidential Highway" during the time of the Clinton-Gore administration in the United States. At Gore,
4617-435: The lack of effectiveness of the new system. The motorway is the subject of the ongoing Ngauranga to Airport Strategic Study , which is investigating Wellington's future transport growth needs. State Highway 1 (New Zealand) State Highway 1 ( SH 1 ) is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand road network , running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as
4698-409: The middle of the Bolton Street cemetery. The cemetery had long been closed to new interments, but had huge historical significance as the burial place of many early Wellington settlers, and there was controversy about disturbing the graves. Between 1968 and 1971 the cemetery was closed to public access while about 3700 burials in the way of the motorway were exhumed. Most of the remains were reinterred in
4779-429: The motorway between Ngauranga and the Bowen Street overbridge as built very closely matches the original 'foothill' proposal, with the exception that the proposed interchange at Ngaio Gorge (with on- and off-ramps over the railway to Kaiwharawhara) was never completed, although the stumps of a southbound on-ramp and northbound on- and off-ramps remain visible today broadly parallel to Kaiwharawhara railway station . Beyond
4860-520: The motorway southwest to The Groynes, allowing SH 1 traffic to bypass Belfast. The extension of the Dunedin Southern Motorway has also seen changes in the highway, notably to bypass the suburbs of Fairfield and Sunnyvale. In Hamilton, SH 1N originally ran through the city centre via Te Rapa Road, Ulster Street (first agreed as an alternative to the northern end of Victoria St in 1930), Victoria Street, Bridge Street and Cobham Drive; this original route later became Hamilton Urban Route 4. In 1992, SH 1N
4941-401: The motorway took place in 2003. Part of the motorway, which would have connected to a second Terrace Tunnel, was never built but the pillars remain in place. The Terrace Tunnel, opened in 1978, passes through the crush zone of an earthquake fault line, under a populated area. It was initially excavated as six small tunnels, and some areas were dug out by hand to minimise disturbance. The tunnel
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#17327798298665022-402: The need for a motorway at all. Walkways were built along each side of the Shell Gully area of the motorway. In 1972, the Ministry of Works won an environmental award presented by the New Zealand Institution of Engineers for the motorway's design, consideration of environmental factors, and landscaping and gardens alongside the motorway. A plaque celebrating the award was affixed to the slope of
5103-451: The next 220 km (140 mi). The Waikato Expressway bypasses Hamilton city centre to the east, then bypasses Cambridge to the north before reverting to a single carriageway east of the town. The highway continues eastward to the town of Tīrau , where it turns south to pass through Putāruru and Tokoroa and the surrounding exotic pine plantation forest area. At Wairakei, SH 1 takes an eastern route to bypass Taupō and meet
5184-402: The one-way system across Te Aro. Until 2006 the northbound motorway started at the Vivian Street on-ramp. On 28 December 2006 this on-ramp was closed, with a new northbound on-ramp created at Karo Drive as part of the Wellington Inner City Bypass. Until 2007 the southbound motorway terminated at the Ghuznee Street off-ramp. On 25 March 2007 this off-ramp was closed, and traffic diverted to
5265-431: The project was approved. Although the smart motorway technology was supposed to lessen congestion and create shorter, more reliable travel times, data released after the first year of operation showed that "peak-time northbound journeys between Hobson St and Petone had actually become longer, while southbound journeys had only improved by an average of about 30 seconds". NZTA's highway manager blamed poor driving behaviour for
5346-440: The remaining tunnel. About half of the southbound carriageway has been built but is unpaved, including the Bowen Street on-ramp which is now a walkway. The Shell Gully/Clifton Tce carpark under the motorway, accessible from the Terrace, clearly shows the pillars, and part of the carriageway (now part of the carpark) that would have carried the additional three southbound lanes to the second Terrace Tunnel. The northbound carriageway
5427-416: The road are steep by international standards. Most steep sections having a combination of passing lanes (uphill), and crawler lanes or stopping bays (downhill) to allow heavy and slow vehicles to pull out of the way to let other vehicles pass. Waka Kotahi classifies the most part of State Highway 1 as a national strategic road. The exceptions are between Kawakawa and Whangārei and south of Mosgiel, where
5508-399: The small town of Ward the highway heads to the coast and follows it to Kaikōura . After passing Kaikōura, it veers inland, twisting tortuously through the Hundalee Ranges before emerging at the northern end of the Canterbury Plains . The section of highway between the Clarence River and Hapuku Rivers north of Kaikōura was closed from 14 November 2016 to 15 December 2017, due to damage from
5589-457: The south, is the country's busiest section of road, with more than 200,000 vehicle movements a day between Khyber Pass Road and Gillies Ave. NZTA announced in September 2010 that it was replacing the last three fords on SH 1S. The shingle fan fords are near Kaikōura , and while generally being dry, on about 28 days a year state highway traffic used to detour around them due to high water levels on old single-lane bridges, leading to delays on
5670-453: The south-western Whangārei Harbour, nearing the coast briefly at Ruakākā , before proceeding down to wind through the Brynderwyn Hills before approaching the upper reaches of the Kaipara Harbour . The highway crosses into the Auckland Region , and passes through Wellsford and Warkworth , again heading for the east coast. Just north of Warkworth , the road widens to a four-lane motorway known as Ara Tuhono, Puhoi to Warkworth motorway. In
5751-410: The suburb of Linden , the Transmission Gully Motorway ends, and SH 1 merges on to the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway . The motorway gradually ascends through Tawa before reaching Johnsonville . Here, the motorway ends, and SH 1 as a six-lane arterial road steeply descends through the Ngauranga Gorge to the Ngauranga Interchange , on the shore of Wellington Harbour . At Ngauranga , SH 1 becomes
5832-605: The suburb of Kaiwharawhara, the motorway travels across the 1335m long Thorndon overbridges, the longest bridges in the North Island , before entering the suburb of Thorndon. Shortly after, it enters the Terrace Tunnel before terminating at Vivian Street in Wellington City. Following the Second World War the population of the Hutt Valley and Porirua basin increased, leading to growing congestion on
5913-483: Was $ 68.9 million. The Thorndon Overbridge is a 1.3 km-long overbridge consisting of two three-lane structures with an 8 feet (2.4 m) gap between them (covered by a grille for use as an emergency median). It stretches from the Kaiwharawhara Stream to past Thorndon Quay. The overbridge was built in three stages between 1967 and 1972 on land reclaimed at various periods during the 20th century. When it
5994-431: Was already under construction would be completed, and proposed to connect to it with either a 'waterfront' motorway along Aotea Quay, Waterloo Quay and Jervois Quay to Kent Terrace, or a 'foothill' motorway crossing Thorndon and the city to the Basin Reserve and Mt Victoria Tunnel. The foothill motorway was De Leuw Cather's preferred option, in line with the council's previously stated preference. The alignment and scale of
6075-712: Was built, the overbridge was described as "the largest pre-stressed concrete structure of its type in New Zealand". The overbridge passes over the Cook Strait ferry terminal and rail yards, and it crosses over the Wellington Fault . In 1996, earthquake-strengthening work was done on the overbridge. Part of the work involved wrapping 81 of the overbridge's 125 columns with layers of a fibreglass kevlar material, filled with epoxy, so that they are less likely to fail in an earthquake. The motorway plan took it through
6156-671: Was diverted to run through Frankton via Avalon Drive, Greenwood Street, Kahikatea Drive and Normandy Avenue. The Frankton route then became the SH 1C spur in July 2022, with SH 1N being diverted to the newly-opened Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway . In Christchurch, SH 1S originally ran via the city centre rather than around the outskirts via Harewood. The original route was via Main North Road, Cranford Street, Sherborne Street, Bealey Avenue, Madras and Gasson Streets (north)/Barbadoes Street and Waltham Road (south), Brougham Street,
6237-515: Was diverted via Western Hills Drive, while the original route through Timaru via Stafford and King Streets was diverted via Theodosia Street and Craigie Avenue. In 2010, the Taupō Bypass was constructed shifting the original SH 1 from the township and lakeside to the eastern outskirts of Taupō. The bypass starts at Wairakei near the existing SH 1/SH 5 intersection and finishes to the north of Taupo Airport. The concurrency with SH 5 also follows part of
6318-411: Was installed. The original concept was for six lanes to proceed to Willis Street, with the existing three-lane Terrace Tunnel being the northbound route with a duplicate southbound tunnel. The current alignment of the motorway up to the Terrace off-ramp clearly shows how six lanes were curtailed to three, by using the Terrace interchange to lose a lane each way, and a third lane merging southbound towards
6399-501: Was officially opened on 30 March 2022. It provides a new alignment for State Highway 1 between Mackays Crossing and Linden , diverting the route from the Centennial Highway between Paekākāriki and Pukerua Bay , as well as providing an eastern bypass of Porirua . The previous route of State Highway 1 was renumbered to State Highway 59 on 7 December 2021, which created a temporary 26.2 kilometres (16.3 mi) gap in
6480-468: Was re-designated part of SH 17. However, SH 17 was short lived, being revoked in September 2012 and reverting to a local arterial road. Ara Tuhono, the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway, was opened in June 2023. The Auckland Southern Motorway was built between 1953 and 1978, bypassing the former route via Great South Road . The construction of the Central Motorway Junction between 1973 and 1978 connected
6561-568: Was shelved in 1993 because of funding constraints. Transit New Zealand prioritised a three-stage approach to addressing the traffic issues between the Terrace Tunnel and the Mt Victoria Tunnel: Stage 1. Conversion of Buckle St to one-way westbound, and Vivian St from Taranaki Street to Cambridge Terrace to one-way eastbound operation. This was seen as a short-term measure to prepare for Stage 2. Stage 2. Widening of Arthur Street and extension towards Victoria and Willis St to
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