State Highway 31 (SH 31) is a
New Zealand state highway in the
Waikato
Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...
region. It provides a link to the harbour town of
Kawhia
Kawhia Harbour (Maori: ''Kāwhia'') is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwe ...
on the west coast of the
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 ...
.
Route description
SH 31 route begins at in
Ōtorohanga
Ōtorohanga is a north King Country town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located south of Hamilton and north of Te Kūiti, on the Waipā River. It is a service town for the surrounding dairy-farming district. ...
. The first section of this route is a joint designation with . SH 31/SH 39 initially travels north-west along Kawhia Road. After 14 km and just after the locality of Tihiroa the highway meets a junction where SH 39 carries on north and SH 31 turns sharply west, staying on Kawhia Road. The road from here on is extremely windy and treachourous, having in 2012 been assessed as the state highway with the highest personal risk. SH 31 eventually reaches Pouewe Street in Kawhia where it terminates.
It was classified as a state highway on 1 April 1948.
Major intersections
History
In 1885 the road crossing the river was only wide at
Ōpārau. From about 1900 a coach ran for passengers between Kawhia and Te Awamutu, with a launch between Kawhia and Ōpārau. Ōpārau Ferry Bridge opened in 1913. In 1924 a concrete bridge was built over the Ōpārau to carry what is now SH 31.
Metalling
A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cobbles ...
of the road was completed in 1926.
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
31
Transport in Waikato
{{NewZealand-road-stub