95-484: The Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway is a motorway in Wellington , New Zealand. The majority of the motorway forms part of State Highway 1 , the main route of traffic in and out of the city, with the northernmost 2.1 km (1.3 mi), formerly part of SH 1 until 7 December 2021, designated as State Highway 59 . Completed in the 1950s, it was New Zealand's first motorway. The motorway runs from Johnsonville , in
190-663: A dual highway ) in 1932 between Cologne and Bonn . It then rapidly constructed the first nationwide system of such roads. The first North American freeways (known as parkways) opened in the New York City area in the 1920s. Britain, heavily influenced by the railways, did not build its first motorway , the Preston By-pass ( M6 ), until 1958. Most technologically advanced nations feature an extensive network of freeways or motorways to provide high-capacity urban travel, or high-speed rural travel, or both. Many have
285-466: A median separates the opposite directions of traffic. This strip may be as simple as a grassy area, or may include a crash barrier such as a " Jersey barrier " or an "Ontario Tall Wall" to prevent head-on collisions . On some freeways, the two carriageways are built on different alignments; this may be done to make use of available corridors in a mountainous area or to provide narrower corridors through dense urban areas . Control of access relates to
380-561: A class of highways with somewhat less isolation from other traffic. In countries following the Vienna convention , the motorway qualification implies that walking and parking are forbidden. A fully controlled-access highway provides an unhindered flow of traffic, with no traffic signals , intersections or property access . They are free of any at-grade crossings with other roads, railways, or pedestrian paths, which are instead carried by overpasses and underpasses . Entrances and exits to
475-707: A cloverleaf and trumpet interchange when it opened in 1937, and until the Second World War , boasted the longest illuminated stretch of roadway built. A decade later, the first section of Highway 401 was opened, based on earlier designs. It has since gone on to become the busiest highway in the world. The word freeway was first used in February 1930 by Edward M. Bassett . Bassett argued that roads should be classified into three basic types: highways, parkways , and freeways. In Bassett's zoning and property law -based system, abutting property owners have
570-620: A freeway, specialized pedestrian footbridges or tunnels may also be provided. These structures enable pedestrians and cyclists to cross the freeway at that point without a detour to the nearest road crossing. Access to freeways is typically provided only at grade-separated interchanges , though lower-standard right-in/right-out (left-in/left-out in countries that drive on the left) access can be used for direct connections to side roads. In many cases, sophisticated interchanges allow for smooth, uninterrupted transitions between intersecting freeways and busy arterial roads . However, sometimes it
665-746: A full Sandhills Expressway on the old designation won by 2009, although opposed by Jenny Rowan the Green Party Mayor of Kapiti Coast . Transmission Gully was approved by a Board of Inquiry. Construction started in 2014, and, although delayed by Covid-19 restrictions, opened in 2022; as did the Pekapeka to Otaki section. But the Otaki to Levin section was cancelled and then rescheduled by the Sixth Labour Government , and has not restarted. So on 15 December 2009 Joyce announced
760-434: A larger number of guide signs than other roads, and the signs themselves are physically larger. Guide signs are often mounted on overpasses or overhead gantries so that drivers can see where each lane goes. Exit numbers are commonly derived from the exit's distance in miles or kilometers from the start of the freeway. In some areas, there are public rest areas or service areas on freeways, as well as emergency phones on
855-499: A legal status which limits the types of vehicles that can use a highway, as well as a road design that limits the points at which they can access it. Major arterial roads will often have partial access control , meaning that side roads will intersect the main road at grade, instead of using interchanges, but driveways may not connect directly to the main road, and drivers must use intersecting roads to access adjacent land. At arterial junctions with relatively quiet side roads, traffic
950-536: A level crossing over the railway line and bridge over the stream, and other accessways. The four-lane Johnsonville bypass connecting Ngauranga Gorge to the south end of the Johnsonville-Porirua motorway was completed in the late 1950s soon after the completion of the extension to Porirua. The bypass took traffic away from the congested Johnsonville Road and the Johnsonville town centre. Built on
1045-639: A local road, again constructed along with the motorway, that provides access to the Porirua City Centre , before the motorway terminates at Linden on the boundary of Porirua and Wellington City , where it merges on to the older Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway . The length is 27 kilometres (17 miles), with a maximum grade of about 8.3 percent between the Paekākāriki Interchange and the Wainui Saddle. The Transmission Gully route
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#17327946217831140-527: A milepost system but does not use milepost markers. In Europe and some other countries, motorways typically have similar characteristics such as: Two-lane freeways , often undivided, are sometimes built when traffic volumes are low or right-of-way is limited; they may be designed for easy conversion to one side of a four-lane freeway. (For example, most of the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway in eastern Kentucky
1235-447: A motorway is understood as a public road with dual carriageways and at least two lanes each way. All entrances and exits are signposted and all interchanges are grade separated. Central barrier or median present throughout the road. No crossing is permitted, while stopping is permitted only in an emergency. Restricted access to motor vehicles, prohibited to pedestrians, animals, pedal cycles, mopeds, agricultural vehicles. The minimum speed
1330-777: A national-level or even international-level (e.g. European E route ) system of route numbering . There are several international standards that give some definitions of words such as motorways, but there is no formal definition of the English language words such as freeway , motorway , and expressway , or of the equivalent words in other languages such as autoroute , Autobahn , autostrada , autocesta, autoput , that are accepted worldwide—in most cases these words are defined by local statute or design standards or regional international treaties. Descriptions that are widely used include: One green or blue symbol (like [REDACTED] ) appears at motorway entry in countries that follow
1425-549: A new route between the Kāpiti Coast and Wellington. From its northern terminus at Mackays Crossing , the route proceeds a short distance to an interchange providing access to Paekākāriki and Pukerua Bay before rising steeply inland to the Wainui Saddle, and then gently descends through Transmission Gully following the Horokiri Stream to Pāuatahanui, where an interchange with State Highway 58 provides access to and from
1520-600: A number of patterns. The actual pattern is determined by a number of factors including local topology, traffic density, land cost, building costs, type of road, etc. In some jurisdictions feeder/distributor lanes are common, especially for cloverleaf interchanges ; in others, such as the United Kingdom, where the roundabout interchange is common, feeder/distributor lanes are seldom seen. Motorways in Europe typically differ between exits and junctions. An exit leads out of
1615-624: A park and where intersecting streets crossed over bridges. The Southern State Parkway opened in 1927, while the Long Island Motor Parkway was closed in 1937 and replaced by the Northern State Parkway (opened 1931) and the contiguous Grand Central Parkway (opened 1936). In Germany, construction of the Bonn-Cologne Autobahn began in 1929 and was opened in 1932 by Konrad Adenauer , then
1710-457: A private venture, was the world's first limited-access roadway. It included many modern features, including banked turns , guard rails and reinforced concrete tarmac . Traffic could turn left between the parkway and connectors, crossing oncoming traffic, so it was not a controlled-access highway (or "freeway" as later defined by the federal government's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices ). Modern controlled-access highways originated in
1805-609: A reduction in deaths in a range from 20% to 50% on those sections. Speed, in Europe, is considered to be one of the main contributory factors to collisions. Some countries, such as France and Switzerland, have achieved a death reduction by a better monitoring of speed. Tools used for monitoring speed might be an increase in traffic density; improved speed enforcement and stricter regulation leading to driver license withdrawal; safety cameras; penalty point; and higher fines. Some other countries use automatic time-over-distance cameras (also known as section controls ) to manage speed. Fatigue
1900-496: A route to kiwi populations. After the highway was completed, the amount of ferrets found in traps increased. In some cases, half of kiwi populations had been killed within weeks. Some opponents of the Transmission Gully project believed that its overall cost was too high, and that the region had insufficient funds to spend on it, with a benefit/cost ratio of 0.6. Then Mayor of Wellington, Kerry Prendergast , described
1995-541: A separate roadway or altogether eliminates it. In some parts of the world, notably parts of the US , frontage roads form an integral part of the freeway system. These parallel surface roads provide a transition between high-speed "through" traffic and local traffic. Frequent slip-ramps provide access between the freeway and the frontage road, which in turn provides direct access to local roads and businesses. Except on some two-lane freeways (and very rarely on wider freeways),
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#17327946217832090-634: A series of public hearings, the EPA-appointed board of inquiry into the Transmission Gully proposal stated in a draft decision that it would grant resource consents for the project. On 22 June 2012, the Environmental Protection Authority released the Transmission Gully Board of Inquiry's final report. The Board of Inquiry approved the resource consents and the notices of requirement required for
2185-510: A similar system of express and local lanes for a maximum width of 21 lanes on a 2-mile (3.2 km) segment between Interstate 805 and California State Route 56 . In Mississauga , Ontario, Highway 401 uses collector-express lanes for a total of 18 lanes through its intersection with Highway 403 / Highway 410 and Highway 427 . These wide freeways may use separate collector and express lanes to separate through traffic from local traffic, or special high-occupancy vehicle lanes , either as
2280-411: A special restriction on the innermost lane or a separate roadway, to encourage carpooling . These HOV lanes , or roadways open to all traffic, can be reversible lanes , providing more capacity in the direction of heavy traffic, and reversing direction before traffic switches. Sometimes a collector/distributor road , a shorter version of a local lane, shifts weaving between closely spaced interchanges to
2375-552: A two-lane flyover over the railway line and Porirua stream to connect Mungavin Avenue to the newly constructed four-lane Titahi Bay Road. At a later date, a second flyover was constructed to provide four-lanes. The flyovers eliminated the level crossing and bridge over the stream to the south. In 1989, the Mungavin Avenue intersection was replaced with a grade-separated roundabout interchange , with State Highway 1 passing under
2470-535: Is a 27-kilometre-long (17-mile), four-lane motorway north of Wellington , New Zealand; it is part of the State Highway 1 route. Construction began on 8 September 2014 and completion was originally scheduled for April 2020, but contractual negotiations as well as difficulties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays. The motorway was officially opened on 30 March 2022 and opened to public traffic
2565-420: Is a vital key to the future economic performance and prosperity of the whole region, and the Transmission Gully highway is a vital link in that chain". Opponents of Transmission Gully stated that there were better ways to improve access to Wellington. The highway would require an extremely steep gradient on its northernmost end and many opponents consider that it would thus not actually offer any improvement over
2660-452: Is considered as a risk factor more specific to monotonous roads such as motorways, although such data are not monitored/recorded in many countries. According to Vinci Autoroutes , one third of accidents in French motorways are due to sleepy driving. Transmission Gully Motorway Transmission Gully Motorway The Transmission Gully Motorway ( Māori : Te Ara Nui o Te Rangihaeata )
2755-735: Is controlled mainly by two-way stop signs which do not impose significant interruptions on traffic using the main highway. Roundabouts are often used at busier intersections in Europe because they help minimize interruptions in flow, while traffic signals that create greater interference with traffic are still preferred in North America. There may be occasional interchanges with other major arterial roads. Examples include US 23 between SR 15 's eastern terminus and Delaware, Ohio , along with SR 15 between its eastern terminus and I-75 , US 30 , SR 29 / US 33 , and US 35 in western and central Ohio. This type of road
2850-655: Is necessary to exit onto a surface road to transfer from one freeway to another. One example in the United States (notorious for the resulting congestion) is the connection from Interstate 70 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike ( Interstate 70 and Interstate 76 ) through the town of Breezewood, Pennsylvania . Speed limits are generally higher on freeways and are occasionally nonexistent (as on much of Germany's Autobahn network). Because higher speeds reduce decision time, freeways are usually equipped with
2945-450: Is not lower than 50 km/h [31 mph] and the maximum speed is not higher than 130 km/h [81 mph] (except Germany where no speed limit is defined). Motorways are designed to carry heavy traffic at high speed with the lowest possible number of accidents. They are also designed to collect long-distance traffic from other roads, so that conflicts between long-distance traffic and local traffic are avoided. According to
Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway - Misplaced Pages Continue
3040-431: Is provided with separate carriageways for the two directions of traffic). Principal arterials may cross through urban areas, serving suburban movements. The traffic is characterized by high speeds and full or partial access control (interchanges or junctions controlled by traffic lights). Other roads leading to a principal arterial are connected to it through side collector roads. In this view, CARE's definition stands that
3135-407: Is sometimes called an expressway . Freeways are usually limited to motor vehicles of a minimum power or weight; signs may prohibit cyclists , pedestrians and equestrians and impose a minimum speed. It is possible for non-motorized traffic to use facilities within the same right-of-way, such as sidewalks constructed along freeway-standard bridges and multi-use paths next to freeways such as
3230-480: Is specially sign-posted as a motorway and is reserved for specific categories of road motor vehicles." Urban motorways are also included in this definition. However, the respective national definitions and the type of roads covered may present slight differences in different EU countries. The first version of modern controlled-access highways evolved during the first half of the 20th century. The Long Island Motor Parkway on Long Island , New York , opened in 1908 as
3325-545: Is the result of several changes, including infrastructure safety and road user behavior (speed or seat belt use), while other matters such as vehicle safety and mobility patterns have an impact that has not been quantified. Motorways are the safest roads by design. While accounting for more than one quarter of all kilometres driven, they contributed only 8% of the total number of European road deaths in 2006. Germany's Federal Highway Research Institute provided International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD) statistics for
3420-408: Is two lanes, but work has begun to make all of it four-lane.) These are often called Super two roads. Several such roads are infamous for a high rate of lethal crashes; an outcome because they were designed for short sight distances (sufficient for freeways without oncoming traffic, but insufficient for the years in service as two-lane road with oncoming traffic). An example of such a "Highway to Hell"
3515-604: The British Empire took place before Te Rangihaeata retreated to Poroutawhao in the Horowhenua District . The motorway opened to motorists on the morning of 31 March 2022. On opening day, a Holden VF Commodore police car drove into the northbound truck arrester bed due to driver error. It was repaired and continued in service until it reached the end of its service life in May that year. After being retired
3610-561: The Centennial Highway . This route began construction in 1936 and opened on 4 November 1939, with the section north from Pukerua Bay running along a narrow strip of coastline below the Paekakariki escarpment. Despite this, in the succeeding years public interest remained, and consideration was still given to constructing the route through the Wainui Saddle as Field had envisaged. A popular rumour persisted for many years that
3705-629: The Dartford Crossing (the furthest downstream public crossing of the River Thames ) or where it was not economic to build a motorway alongside the existing road such as the former Cumberland Gap . The A1 is a good example of piece-wise upgrading to motorway standard—as of January 2013, the 639-kilometre-long (397 mi) route had five stretches of motorway (designated as A1(M)), reducing to four stretches in March 2018 with completion of
3800-543: The Green Party and the lobby group Option 3, believed that the money would be better spent on improving Wellington's public transport , particularly the existing rail line. They argued that the original choice between building Transmission Gully or upgrading the coastal route was a false dichotomy , and that in reality neither option was necessary or desirable. In October 2023 it was reported that pests such as possums, stoats, and ferrets were using Transmission Gully as
3895-591: The Hutt Valley . It continues south around the eastern edge of the Porirua suburbs of Whitby , Waitangirua and Cannons Creek , with an interchange providing access to local roads constructed at the same time as the motorway that link with these suburbs, before crossing the Te Ara a Toa Bridge, a 90-metre-high (300-foot) structure spanning 300 metres (980 feet) across Cannons Creek. A subsequent interchange links to
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3990-867: The Suncoast Trail along the Suncoast Parkway in Florida . In some US jurisdictions, especially where freeways replace existing roads, non-motorized access on freeways is permitted. Different states of the United States have different laws. Cycling on freeways in Arizona may be prohibited only where there is an alternative route judged equal or better for cycling. Wyoming , the second least densely populated state, allows cycling on all freeways. Oregon allows bicycles except on specific urban freeways in Portland and Medford . In countries such as
4085-653: The Transmission Gully Motorway in Linden , 2.1 km (1.3 mi) from its northern end. The motorway was constructed using the cut and fill technique where material removed from cuttings is used to fill gullies. Some additional material was needed and excavated in Linden from the area that is now the northern of the Tawa College playing fields to the east of the motorway. The first section of
4180-632: The US Marines stationed on the Kāpiti coast during World War II made an offer to the New Zealand government to build the road, but there is no evidence of the offer having been made. Construction of the Transmission Gully route eventually commenced in November 2014. The Transmission Gully route complements the previous Centennial Highway route (now State Highway 59 ) along the coast, and provides
4275-538: The United Kingdom new motorways require an Act of Parliament to ensure restricted right of way. Since upgrading an existing road (the "King's Highway") to a full motorway will result in extinguishing the right of access of certain groups such as pedestrians, cyclists and slow-moving traffic, many controlled access roads are not full motorways. In some cases motorways are linked by short stretches of road where alternative rights of way are not practicable such as
4370-424: The United Kingdom , do not distinguish between the two, but others make a distinction; for example, Germany uses the words Kreuz ("cross") or Dreieck ("triangle") for the former and Ausfahrt ("exit") for the latter. In all cases one road crosses the other via a bridge or a tunnel, as opposed to an at-grade crossing . The inter-connecting roads, or slip-roads , which link the two roads, can follow any one of
4465-490: The shoulder at regular intervals. In the United States, mileposts usually start at the southern or westernmost point on the freeway (either its terminus or the state line). California , Ohio and Nevada use postmile systems in which the markers indicate mileage through the state's individual counties. However, Nevada and Ohio also use the standard milepost system concurrently with their respective postmile systems. California numbers its exits off its freeways according to
4560-501: The A1(M) through North Yorkshire . The most frequent way freeways are laid out is by building them from the ground up after obstructions such as forestry or buildings are cleared away. Sometimes they deplete farmland, but other methods have been developed for economic, social and even environmental reasons. Full freeways are sometimes made by converting at-grade expressways or by replacing at-grade intersections with overpasses; however, in
4655-556: The Council were in favour of Transmission Gully, and the Council has changed its stance in response. Opponents of upgrading the coastal route said that doing so would cause significant disruption to the communities it passes through, whereas Transmission Gully avoids urban areas. The former Mayor of Porirua, Jenny Brash , has said that an upgrade would generate large numbers of complaints from Porirua residents, and would therefore have difficulty receiving resource consent. Others, such as
4750-752: The Government's commitment to the project as one of seven Roads of National Significance , with a predicted project cost of NZ$ 1.025 billion. On 15 August 2011, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), Porirua City Council, and Transpower jointly applied to the Environmental Protection Authority (New Zealand) (EPA) for notices of requirement and resource consents for the Transmission Gully Proposal. On 4 May 2012, after
4845-553: The Johnsonville-Porirua motorway to the Transmission Gully Motorway , then under construction itself. On 7 December 2021, shortly before the opening of the Transmission Gully Motorway, SH 1 was shifted to the newer motorway with the section of the Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway north of this point redesignated as SH 59 . Much of the first section between Johnsonville and Takapu Road used
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#17327946217834940-525: The Sandhills motorway from Raumati to Waikanae, the previous government had proposed allowing it to be used by the local district council for a new local road. Using the old highway route through the Paraparaumu and Waikanae shopping areas would require bulldozing houses and splitting the two towns in half. The NZTA proposed other options like the existing highway route at several community meetings, but
5035-575: The Transmission Gully Proposal. On 16 May 2013, national grid owner Transpower applied for consent to the Kāpiti Coast District Council to rebuild its Valley Road, Paraparaumu substation to 220 kV and build two short transmission lines to connect it to the two Bunnythorpe to Haywards 220 kV lines to the east. This would allow Transpower to demolish the existing 110 kV line between Pāuatahanui and Paraparaumu through Transmission Gully, rather than having to relocate it around
5130-409: The US, any at-grade intersection that ends a freeway often remains an at-grade intersection. Often, when there is a two-lane undivided freeway or expressway, it is converted by constructing a parallel twin corridor, and leaving a median between the two travel directions. The median-side travel lane of the old two-way corridor becomes a passing lane. Other techniques involve building a new carriageway on
5225-484: The United States, allow for limited exceptions: some movable bridges , for instance the Interstate Bridge on Interstate 5 between Oregon and Washington , do require drivers to stop for ship traffic. The crossing of freeways by other routes is typically achieved with grade separation either in the form of underpasses or overpasses . In addition to sidewalks (pavements) attached to roads that cross
5320-712: The Vienna Convention. Exits are marked with another symbol: [REDACTED] . The definitions of "motorway" from the OECD and PIARC are almost identical. In the European Union , for statistical and safety purposes, some distinction might be made between motorway and expressway . For instance a principal arterial might be considered as: Roads serving long distance and mainly interurban movements. Includes motorways (urban or rural) and expressways (road which does not serve properties bordering on it and which
5415-793: The bridge. The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge / Dartford tunnel at London Orbital is an example of this. London Orbital or the M25 is a motorway surrounding London , but at the last River Thames crossing before its mouth, motorway rules do not apply. (At this crossing the London Orbital is labeled A282 instead.) A few of the more common types of junction are shown below: There are many differences between countries in their geography, economy, traffic growth, highway system size, degree of urbanization and motorization, etc.; all of which need to be taken into consideration when comparisons are made. According to some EU papers, safety progress on motorways
5510-627: The car was preserved at the Southward Car Museum . Developing a Transmission Gully road has been a topic of considerable debate in Wellington politics for some time, even as far back as 1919. Supporters claimed that it will improve access to Wellington City , arguing that the existing coastal route is too congested, is accident-prone, and could be damaged in a serious earthquake. Peter Dunne , former MP for Ohariu, says that "[i]mproving Wellington City's northern access and egress
5605-492: The common European definition, a motorway is defined as "a road, specially designed and built for motor traffic, which does not serve properties bordering on it, and which: (a) is provided, except at special points or temporarily, with separate carriageways for the two directions of traffic, separated from each other, either by a dividing strip not intended for traffic, or exceptionally by other means; (b) does not cross at level with any road, railway or tramway track, or footpath; (c)
5700-522: The current motorway. The northern end was located at the point where the Takapu Road northbound off-ramp and southbound on-ramp meet the present motorway. The second section, opened about 1956, runs for four miles (6 km) from Takapu Road to Porirua. It bypassed narrow winding sections of road through Tawa, the Tawa town centre, and Kenepuru. It cut through already planned and surveyed subdivisions on
5795-517: The early 1920s in response to the rapidly increasing use of the automobile , the demand for faster movement between cities and as a consequence of improvements in paving processes, techniques and materials. These original high-speed roads were referred to as " dual highways " and have been modernized and are still in use today. Italy was the first country in the world to build controlled-access highways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only. The Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"),
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#17327946217835890-438: The eastern side of Tawa. Land was reserved for a planned interchange at Collins Avenue in Linden, Tawa, but the construction of this interchange was deferred as a cost saving measure. With the completion of the second section, the northern end of the motorway was shifted to a point 500 metres south of Mungavin Avenue in Porirua. At the time, there was a road intersection just north of this point connecting SH 1 to Kenepuru Drive with
5985-537: The existing coastal highway. The route that the highway must take is along the major fault line of the region, which would make it at least as earthquake prone as the existing coastal highway. Some suggested that the existing coastal route should be upgraded, rather than building a completely new route. This was the original recommendation of the Regional Council, and was put forward as the primary alternative to building Transmission Gully. Public submissions to
6080-601: The existing coastal route, but changed its position after public consultation. In 2009 Steven Joyce was Minister of Transport in the Fifth National Government , and was lobbied by MPs Peter Dunne and Nathan Guy for Transmission Gully as part of the Levin to Airport Road of National Significance. It had been proposed for years, but delayed as too expensive. When he flew over the route by helicopter, alternatives from engineers were stacking one direction of
6175-485: The first built in the world, connecting Milan to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore , and now parts of the A8 and A9 motorways, was devised by Piero Puricelli and was inaugurated in 1924. This motorway, called autostrada , contained only one lane in each direction and no interchanges. The Bronx River Parkway was the first road in North America to utilize a median strip to separate the opposing lanes, to be constructed through
6270-412: The first half of the 20th century. Italy was the first country in the world to build controlled-access highways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only. Italy opened its first autostrada in 1924, A8 , connecting Milan to Varese . Germany began to build its first controlled-access autobahn without speed limits (30 kilometres [19 mi] on what is now A555 , then referred to as
6365-496: The following day. A highway connecting the Kāpiti Coast to Pāuatahanui through the Wainui Saddle was first proposed in 1919 by William Hughes Field , the MP for Ōtaki at the time, as one of two alternatives to the steep, narrow and windy Paekakariki Hill Road between Paekākāriki and Pāuatahanui. His alternative proposal would become the main route north of Wellington from Ngauranga to Paekākāriki through Pukerua Bay , known as
6460-570: The former alignment of the North Island Main Trunk railway built in the 1880s by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company and bypassed by the Tawa Flat deviation built in the 1930s. The north-bound entrance to the motorway from Johnsonville uses a cutting originally cut for the railway. When the motorway first opened in 1950, the towering Belmont railway viaduct , which bridged a deep gully at Paparangi, could be seen from
6555-413: The grass, and the second section of the motorway and subsequent motorways were built on a single level. The Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway was the first road in New Zealand to use white on green signage. Initially, green signage was restricted to motorways so that motorists could easily distinguish a motorway from other highways. After the establishment of Transit New Zealand in 1989 the use of green signage
6650-504: The highway are provided at interchanges by slip roads (ramps), which allow for speed changes between the highway and arterials and collector roads . On the controlled-access highway, opposing directions of travel are generally separated by a median strip or central reservation containing a traffic barrier or grass. Elimination of conflicts with other directions of traffic dramatically improves safety, while increasing traffic capacity and speed. Controlled-access highways evolved during
6745-426: The highway on top of the other along the bottom of the cliff at Pukerua Bay, or wiping out much of Pukerua Bay village, and taking off the end of the bluff at Plimmerton . So Transmission Gully was the only option. But if it rejoined the old highway at Paekakariki traffic would come to a screeching halt at the Paraparaumu or Waikanae traffic lights. While a planner with foresight 50 years earlier had designated land for
6840-485: The homes existing before the motorway opened. All exits are unnumbered. Motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway , motorway , and expressway . Other similar terms include throughway or thruway and parkway . Some of these may be limited-access highways , although this term can also refer to
6935-473: The interchange. However, with the completion of this interchange, the northern end of the Johnsonville-Porirua motorway was not relocated and remains in the same location 500 metres south of Mungavin Avenue as SH 1 north of this point does not meet full motorway standards. In July 2016, work began on the construction of the Linden Interchange, between Collins Avenue, Linden, and Porirua, to connect
7030-469: The mayor of Cologne . The German Autobahn became the first nationwide highway system. In Canada , the first precursor with semi-controlled access was The Middle Road between Hamilton and Toronto , which featured a median divider between opposing traffic flow, as well as the nation's first cloverleaf interchange . This highway developed into the Queen Elizabeth Way , which featured
7125-425: The motorway and adds to the general noise in the valley. Traffic is now well above the level where noise mitigation would be required if this was a new motorway construction or above levels where noise mitigation would be required due to increased traffic in other countries. Transit New Zealand has resisted noise mitigating using the dubious argument of "existing use" despite the significant traffic increase and most of
7220-400: The motorway system, whilst a junction is a crossing between motorways or a split/merge of two motorways. The motorway rules end at exits, but not at junctions. However, on some bridges, motorways, without changing appearance, temporarily end between the two exits closest to the bridge (or tunnel), and continue as dual carriageways . This is in order to give slower vehicles a possibility to use
7315-521: The motorway to the east of the new motorway embankment on the straight north of Johnsonville. The original wooden trestle structure built by Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company was the largest of its kind in New Zealand, standing 125 ft (38 m) high and 341 ft (102 m) long. It was replaced by a steel viaduct in 1903. The derelict and rusting structure was demolished with explosives by Territorial Army engineers on 15 December 1951. The abutments can still be distinguished. The Takapu Road interchange
7410-510: The motorway, running for three miles (5 km) from Johnsonville to Takapu Road at the southern edge of Tawa, was opened on Saturday 23 December 1950. It bypassed a winding two-lane road now called Middleton Road, through Glenside ; part of the Old Porirua Road . This section was New Zealand's first motorway. The southern end of the motorway was located at the point where the Johnsonville northbound on-ramp and southbound off-ramp meet
7505-538: The motorway. In spite of significant opposition, construction of the four-lane motorway began on 8 September 2014 with completion originally scheduled for April 2020. Delays due to contractual disputes and difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the budget out and the opening was scheduled for late 2021. In mid-December 2021, it was announced that the road would not be open by Christmas. On 30 March 2022, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern officially opened
7600-743: The motorway. The road was officially gifted the name Te Ara Nui o Te Rangihaeata / Great Path of Te Rangihaeata by the Ngati Toa tribe in honour of Te Rangihaeata, a chief who played a leading role in the Wairau Affray and the Hutt Valley Campaign in the New Zealand Wars . The motorway passes to the side of the location of the Battle of Battle Hill , where the final stand-off between Te Rangihaeata and forces loyal to
7695-481: The north of Wellington City proper, to Porirua . It is approximately 11 kilometres long with moderate grades. At its southern end, it connects to the Wellington Urban Motorway through the Johnsonville bypass and Centennial Highway, which runs along Ngauranga Gorge — Centennial Highway is not considered motorway, meeting most but not all of the criteria. The motorway has a connection to
7790-439: The other. Other methods involve constructing a service drive that shortens the long driveways (typically by less than 100 metres (330 ft)). An interchange or a junction is a highway layout that permits traffic from one controlled-access highway to access another and vice versa, whereas an access point is a highway layout where traffic from a distributor or local road can join a controlled-access highway. Some countries, such as
7885-560: The project as "unaffordable". It was suggested that making Transmission Gully a toll road would help resolve this problem and tolls would only cover a fraction of the funds necessary to build the highway. In May 2012, Julie Anne Genter , the Greens' spokeswoman on transport, described the motorway as incurring costs of $ 1 billion when the official business case benefits were $ 600 million, in order to ease congestion for an unlikely projected growth of 1500 vehicles per day. In February 2020 it
7980-477: The rate is higher than the risk on urban roads. Speeds are higher on rural roads and autobahns than urban roads, increasing the severity potential of a crash. According to ETSC, German motorways without a speed limit, but with a 130 km/h (81 mph) speed recommendation, are 25% more deadly than motorways with a speed limit. Germany also introduced some 130 km/h (81 mph) speed limits on various motorway sections that were not limited. This generated
8075-437: The release of water from the side streams into the main stream. This reduced peak water flow and flood risk during heavy rain events. A proposal to widen the motorway to the east to provide an extra lane will risk reducing the amount of water that can be stored and may lead to flooding of the motorway. Traffic on the motorway has increased considerably since the 1950s and now creates a significant noise problem for some homes near
8170-643: The rights of light , air and access to highways, but not parkways and freeways; the latter two are distinguished in that the purpose of a parkway is recreation, while the purpose of a freeway is movement. Thus, as originally conceived, a freeway is simply a strip of public land devoted to movement to which abutting property owners do not have rights of light, air or access. Freeways, by definition, have no at-grade intersections with other roads, railroads or multi-use trails . Therefore, no traffic signals are needed and through traffic on freeways does not normally need to stop at traffic signals. Some countries, such as
8265-432: The side of a divided highway that has a lot of private access on one side and sometimes has long driveways on the other side since an easement for widening comes into place, especially in rural areas. When a third carriageway is added, sometimes it can shift a directional carriageway by 20–60 metres (50–200 ft) (or maybe more depending on land availability) as a way to retain private access on one side that favors over
8360-422: The side of the steep hill above the town centre, this section is narrower than the motorway north of Johnsonville and built without a wide medium strip and shoulders. Wooden crash barriers were used to separate northbound and southbound traffic and prevent northbound cars leaving the road on the left-hand side. These barriers have since been replaced with steel barriers. With the completion of the Johnsonville bypass,
8455-418: The southern end of the motorway was shifted to a point fifty metres north of the point where the northbound off-ramp from Ngauranga Gorge leaves State Highway 1 (SH 1) and remains at this point. Construction of the Mungavin Avenue, Titahi Bay Road intersection in the 1960s enabled the connection of the Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway to the then new four-lane Porirua-Paremata expressway. The work included building
8550-406: The year 2010, comparing overall fatality rates with motorway rates (regardless of traffic intensity): The German autobahn network illustrates the safety trade-offs of controlled access highways. The injury crash rate is very low on autobahns, while 22 people died per 1,000 injury crashes—although autobahns have a lower rate than the 29 deaths per 1,000 injury accidents on conventional rural roads,
8645-443: Was European route E4 from Gävle to Axmartavlan , Sweden. The high rate of crashes with severe personal injuries on that (and similar) roads did not cease until a median crash barrier was installed, transforming the fatal crashes into non-fatal crashes. Otherwise, freeways typically have at least two lanes in each direction; some busy ones can have as many as 16 or more lanes in total. In San Diego, California , Interstate 5 has
8740-529: Was announced that the expected cost of $ 850m had been increased by another $ 191m. In March 2021 the road was reported to cost a projected $ 1.25 billion by its then-expected opening date in September 2021, and would not include a planned extra merge lane at the Linden interchange to relieve congestion. There had been claims that the route of Transmission Gully is problematic due to steep gradients, environmental damage and earthquake hazards. The route passes near
8835-402: Was extended to the entire state highway network to conform with Australian usage. A feature of both the first and second sections of the motorway was the use of the motorway to form a series of dams on the eastern side of the valley to reduce the flooding risk in the Tawa valley. The motorway created dams across side valleys and gullies with small diameter spun concrete culverts used to control
8930-409: Was formally declared a motorway on 16 August 2021 with the declaration coming into force 28 days later. Although first proposed in 1919, it was only late in the first decade of the 21st century that serious steps were taken towards construction. The Greater Wellington Regional Council , in preparing its Western Corridor Plan, initially rejected Transmission Gully as unaffordable, preferring to upgrade
9025-562: Was the first motorway interchange in New Zealand. A feature of the first section, built on the eastern side of the Tawa Valley, is the split level construction with the northbound lanes built at a lower level than the southbound lanes over part of the route. This reduced construction costs and largely eliminated headlight glare from oncoming traffic. However, the grassed medium bank between the north and south-bound lanes proved difficult and expensive to maintain, requiring lane closure to mow
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