State Highway 27 (SH 27) is a

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 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 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 ...

of New Zealand. It is an important north–south link along the Waihou/ Piako valley and forms an important transport route across the mostly dairy farming

Matamata-Piako District Matamata-Piako District is a local government area in the Waikato region of New Zealand. It lies to the east of the city of Hamilton. Geography The district encompasses the southern end of the Hauraki Plains and much of the Thames Valley, and i ...

. SH 27, in conjunction with , is often used as an alternative route to between

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

and

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town on the north-eastern shore of Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake, in the central North Island. It is the largest urban area of the Taupō District, and the second-largest urban area in the Wai ...

. For its entire length, SH 27 is a single carriageway road with one lane in each direction and at-grade intersections and property access. The New Zealand Transport Agency classifies the highway as an arterial route. Traffic at

Kaihere Kaihere is a dispersed Waikato rural settlement on SH27, overlooking the Hauraki Plains. It has a school, hall, domain a rest area and is the starting point for the Hapuakohe Walkway. Demographics Kaihere's meshblock (1069500 includes the s ...

increased by 31%, from an average of 3,965 vehicles a day in 2008, to 5,182 in 2017 and 5,467 in 2019. In 2017 982 (19%) of those were heavy vehicles, mainly trucks. The road was gravelled and classified as No.19 Main Highway in 1926.

Major junctions

References

27 Transport in Waikato {{NewZealand-road-stub

Major junctions

See also

References