State Highway 54 (SH 54) is a New Zealand state highway in the

Manawatū District Manawatū District is a territorial authority district in the Manawatū-Whanganui local government region in the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Manawatū District Council. It includes most of the area between the Manawatū River ...

in 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 ...

. It runs from at

Vinegar Hill Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ...

(near

Hunterville Hunterville is a small community on State Highway 1, in the Rangitikei district of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located halfway between Taupo and Wellington and has a population (2018 census) of 411, a decrease of 18 people from 2013 ...

) to near

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. The highway connects the Manawatu agricultural town of

Feilding Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has w ...

to the

New Zealand state highway network The New Zealand state highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Nearly 100 roads in the North and South Islands are state highways. All state highways are administered by the NZ Transport Agency. The highways were ...

and forms an alternative route to SH 1 and SH 3 between the

North Island Volcanic Plateau The North Island Volcanic Plateau (often called the Central Plateau and occasionally the Waimarino Plateau) is a volcanic plateau covering much of central North Island of New Zealand with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes. It contains t ...

and Palmerston North.

Route

SH 54 begins at a junction with near the locality of

, north of

. It steeply descends to cross the

Rangitikei River Rangitikei may refer to the following in New Zealand: * Rangitikei River, one of country's longest rivers * Rangitikei District, a district council in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region * Rangitīkei (New Zealand electorate), a current general electorate ...

before winding along the eastern side of the Rangitikei Valley. The route then exits the valley and heads to

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, where it meets Kimbolton Road at a T-junction. From Cheltenham, the route turns south on to Kimbolton Road and proceeds to

, where it then parallels the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

railway line for a short distance along Aorangi Street and Waughs Road. It then leaves Waughs Road and travels south along Camerons Line and east along Milson Line, before leaving Milson Line and turning south on Kairanga-Bunnythorpe Road. The SH 54 designation ends at the junction of Kairanga-Bunnythorpe Road with near the settlement of Newbury, north of

Route changes

SH 54 previously began further north at

Mangaweka } Mangaweka is a township on the State Highway One (SH1), Manawatū-Whanganui region, in the North Island of New Zealand, with a population of just under 200. It is between Taihape to the north and Hunterville to the south. The Rangitikei River ...

, leaving on Ruahine Road and travelling via

Rangiwahia Rangiwahia is a small, elevated, farming settlement in the North Island, New Zealand, northeast of Kimbolton, New Zealand, Kimbolton in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. It is in the Kiwitea valley, near the Whanahuia Range of the Ruahine Range ...

to Kimbolton, where it travelled along Kimbolton Road to

before continuing along its current route to

and beyond. SH 54 was shifted to the Cheltenham-Hunterville Road (its current route between SH 1 and Cheltenham) in the 1990s.

References

External links

New Zealand Transport Agency
54 Manawatu District Transport in Manawatū-Whanganui {{NewZealand-road-stub

Route

Route changes

See also

References

External links