New Zealand State Highway 25
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

State Highway 25 (SH 25) is a
North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in New Zealand that loops around the Coromandel Peninsula. It is a major route for holidaymakers and tourists which has access to some of New Zealand's most idyllic beach holiday spots. The summer period around
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
and
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
is a particularly busy period for the highway. The road is very scenic, but also windy in many parts as well as single carriage on the entire route, and is prone to accidents. It is New Zealand's third longest two-digit state highway, after and . It is part of the Pacific Coast Highway. There is one spur road, SH 25A, that crosses the peninsula west to east, almost intersecting SH 25 at both ends.


Route

SH 25 begins at 3 km north of Mangatarata at a roundabout intersection. The highway travels eastwards across the Hauraki Plains where it crosses the
Waihou River The Waihou River is located in the northern North Island of New Zealand. Its former name, Thames River, was bestowed by Captain James Cook in November 1769, when he explored of the river from the mouth. An older Māori name was "Wai Kahou Roun ...
on the new Kopu Bridge, it hits the junction with and moves northwards through the township of
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
. The road continues north, skirting the Firth of Thames into the small township of
Coromandel Coromandel may refer to: Places India *Coromandel Coast, India **Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements **Dutch Coromandel *Coromandel, KGF, Karnataka, India New Zealand *Coromandel, New Zealand, a town on the Coromandel Peninsula *Corom ...
before travelling eastwards across the peninsula to the Bay of Plenty side towards
Whitianga Whitianga is a town on the Coromandel Peninsula, in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is located on Mercury Bay, on the northeastern coast of the peninsula. The town has a permanent population of as of making it the ...
. SH 25 veers south-west on the Whitianga Bypass, through Coroglen and Whenuakite and over windy hill roads into Tairua, where Pauanui is accessible. SH 25 then continues southwards, past the intersection of the spur highway SH 25A and towards Whangamatā. The road bypasses Whangamatā on the west side and continues southbound until it reaches its final terminus in Waihi at the intersection of Kenny Street & Rosemont Road.


Spurs

State Highway 25A (SH 25A) traverses the Coromandel Peninsula from west to east directly. This 28.2 km road begins at the intersection of only 400m away from the SH 25/SH 26 intersection. It terminates on SH 25 between Tairua and Whangamatā.


Route changes

SH 25 once went through the town centres of
Whitianga Whitianga is a town on the Coromandel Peninsula, in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is located on Mercury Bay, on the northeastern coast of the peninsula. The town has a permanent population of as of making it the ...
and Whangamatā. In Whitianga, the bypass was constructed carrying traffic away from the original route via Buffalo Beach Road, Albert Street, and South Highway. In Whangamatā, SH 25 bypasses the town via Tairua Road instead of using Harry Watt Drive, Hetherington Road and Port Road. In the early 2000s the last sections of the highway were sealed, particularly around the northern end of the Coromandel Peninsula between Coromandel township and Whitianga. In 2011 NZTA completed the new
Kopu Bridge The Historic Kopu Bridge (originally Hauraki Bridge and sometimes Waihou River Bridge) is a single-lane swing bridge that spans the Waihou River, near its emergence into the Firth of Thames in the Thames-Coromandel District of New Zealand's Nort ...
, a two lane structure, across the
Waihou River The Waihou River is located in the northern North Island of New Zealand. Its former name, Thames River, was bestowed by Captain James Cook in November 1769, when he explored of the river from the mouth. An older Māori name was "Wai Kahou Roun ...
. It replaced the previous one-lane bridge, where at times holidaymakers had to queue for hours to cross. The old bridge, which was built in 1928, is scheduled to be deconstructed although a key part of its history will still be preserved.


Major junctions


See also

*
List of New Zealand state highways This is a list of highways of the New Zealand state highway network and some touring routes. State highways are administered by the NZ Transport Agency, while all other roads are the responsibility of territorial authorities. Current North I ...


References


External links


New Zealand Transport Agency
{{New Zealand State Highway navbox 25 Coromandel Peninsula Transport in Waikato Firth of Thames