State Highway 76 (SH 76) 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
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, New Zealand. This highway was gazetted in 2012 after stage 1 of the
Christchurch Southern Motorway
The Christchurch Southern Motorway is the main southern route into and out of Christchurch, New Zealand. The motorway forms part of (SH 1) and (SH 76) .
The motorway, which heads in a generally south-west direction, is approximately 20 k ...
was completed. Beforehand, much of SH 76 was part of
SH 73 and included the former two-lane Christchurch Arterial Motorway, which was upgraded to four lanes. SH 76 includes the entire length of the Christchurch Southern Motorway and forms the most direct route from the south of Christchurch to the city centre and
Lyttelton.
Route
The highway currently begins at a grade separated intersection with
SH 74 on the northern approach to the
Lyttelton road tunnel
The Lyttelton road tunnel runs through the Port Hills to connect the New Zealand city of Christchurch and its seaport, Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton. It opened in 1964 and carries just over 10,000 vehicles per day as part of New Zealan ...
. It travels east to west through suburban
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
via Port Hills Road, Opawa Road and Brougham Street. This section of road used to be part of
SH 73 and the speed limit is mostly . At the western end of Brougham Street at the Collins Street/Simeon Street lights, the Christchurch Southern Motorway commences. The speed limit here is . Midway up the motorway is the Curletts Road interchange, a major interchange where two state highways commence:
SH 75 to
Akaroa
Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", which would be spelled in standard ...
via
Banks Peninsula
Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...
and SH 73 to the West Coast via
Arthur's Pass
Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for explorin ...
.
The motorway continues west for 7.5 kilometres, passing under the Halswell Junction Road and Shands Road interchanges, eventually terminating at
SH 1 just north of
Rolleston Rolleston may refer to:
Places
* Rolleston, Queensland, Australia
* Rolleston, Leicestershire, England
* Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, England
** Rolleston railway station
* Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire, England
** Rolleston Hall
* Rolleston, ...
.
Major intersections
Future
As part of the government's
Roads of National Significance
Roads of National Significance (RoNS) was a name given by the 5th National Party Government, to a programme to speed up road construction in New Zealand between 2009 and 2017.
RoNS were first announced on 20 March 2009 by Transport Minister, ...
, stage 2 of the
Christchurch Southern Motorway
The Christchurch Southern Motorway is the main southern route into and out of Christchurch, New Zealand. The motorway forms part of (SH 1) and (SH 76) .
The motorway, which heads in a generally south-west direction, is approximately 20 k ...
commenced construction in October 2016. This extended SH 76 to terminate with SH 1 further west near the intersection of Robinsons Road.
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
{{New Zealand State Highway navbox
76
Transport in Canterbury, New Zealand