The Western Corridor is a road 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 which connects the suburb of

Belfast, New Zealand Belfast () is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is in the north of the city 10 km from Cathedral Square, close to the banks of the Waimakariri River. History Belfast is named after Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was originally k ...

, in the north to

Hornby Hornby may refer to: Places In England * Hornby, Lancashire * Hornby, Hambleton, village in North Yorkshire * Hornby, Richmondshire, village in North Yorkshire Elsewhere * Hornby, Ontario, community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canad ...

in the south and connects the Canterbury region to

Christchurch Airport Christchurch Airport is the main airport that serves Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Harewood. Christchurch (Harewood) Airport officially opened on 18 May 1940 and became New Zea ...

. Most of the traffic on the corridor heads to the city, the airport, Belfast or Hornby, while 15% of traffic travels further north or south. The route features a four-laned semi-urban

grade separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tra ...

and

at-grade At-grade may refer to: * At-grade intersection, a crossing between roads on the same level * Road junction *Level crossing, where a road or path crosses a railway on the same level * Diamond crossing, where two railway tracks cross * At-grade railwa ...

limited-access road A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...

New Zealand State Highway 1 State Highway 1 (SH 1) is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand road network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the of ...

from The Groynes to the centre of Hornby and provides a motorway bypass of Belfast, connecting the Western Corridor directly to the

Christchurch Northern Motorway The Christchurch Northern Motorway is the main northern route into and out of Christchurch, New Zealand. The motorway forms part of (SH 1) and (SH 74). The motorway, which heads in a northerly direction, is approximately 16.5 km in length ...

Route

The Western Corridor currently comprises, form north to south, Johns Road, Russley Road, Masham Road and Carmen Road.

Speed limit

The Western Corridor has a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph) for most of its length. The only exceptions are the

Western Belfast Bypass The Western Belfast Bypass is an approximately , four lane, grade separated motorway recently built to bypass the northern Christchurch suburb of Belfast, New Zealand. It is estimated that its construction will result in 17,000 fewer vehicles us ...

which has a speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph) and the 50–60 km/h (31–37 mph) speed limited southern urban section from the Yaldhurst Road intersection to the terminus at Main South Road.

History

The Western Corridor upgrade was announced by the government as a Road of National Significance in 2009. The section between Avonhead Road and Yaldhurst Road was completed in 2013. The next section to open was further north along the corridor between Sawyers Arms Road and Harewood Road creating a four-lane 80 km/h section of highway and restricting McLeans Island Road to a left in, left out intersection.

Sections of the Western Corridor

The Western Corridor consists of multiple sections that were fully completed near to the end of 2017. All sections are listed from north to south: *

– A controlled-access, four-lane median-separated motorway between the Northern Motorway and Johns Road bypassing the Belfast urban area. * Groynes to Sawyers Arms Road – This section has been widened to four lanes and separated by a central median. Some intersections have been restricted to left in, left out and a service lane has been constructed between Wilkinsons Road and Gardiners Road. * Sawyers Arms Road to Harewood Road – A four-laned road separated by a central median. McLeans Island Road restricted to left in, left out. Completed late 2013. * Harewood Road to Avonhead Park – A four-laned road separated by a central median. A

interchange (Memorial Avenue Gateway Bridge) has replaced the roundabout at Memorial Avenue (for

Christchurch International Airport Christchurch Airport is the main airport that serves Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Harewood. Christchurch (Harewood) Airport officially opened on 18 May 1940 and became New Zea ...

) and an additional

trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...

has been constructed as an extra airport access road south of Avonhead Road. * Avonhead to Yaldhurst – A four-laned road separated by a central median. (First completed section in 2013) * Masham/Carmen Road – Masham and Carmen roads widened four lanes with raised median between Yaldhurst and Waterloo roads. Completed in 2014.

References

{{New Zealand motorway list State Highway 1 (New Zealand) Transport in Christchurch