List of motorways in New Zealand
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motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
s and
expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...
in New Zealand, including some proposed and under construction. There are currently 406 km of motorways and expressways in New Zealand. 68 km are currently under construction, with a further 60 km expected to be completed by 2029, at which time a total of 516 km of motorway and expressway is expected. ''Expressways'' in New Zealand are high standard all-purpose roads, usually
dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
, mainly for through traffic with no restrictions. Intersections may be controlled at-grade with roundabouts or traffic signals, or fully grade separated. ''Motorways'' in New Zealand are dual carriageway roads designed for efficient high volume motor vehicle traffic. They have a no stopping restriction and are closed to pedestrian, cycle and animal traffic. Intersections are grade-separated.


Summary


Under construction


Approved


Auckland


Northern Motorway (SH 1)

From the
Central Motorway Junction The Central Motorway Junction or CMJ (best known as Spaghetti Junction and rarely as Central Motorway Intersection), is the intersection of State Highways 1 and 16, just south of the central business district of Auckland. A multilevel structu ...
in downtown Auckland via the Auckland Harbour Bridge and the North Shore to
Puhoi Puhoi may refer to: * Puhoi, New Zealand Puhoi is a settlement located approximately 50 km north of Auckland, New Zealand on the banks of the Puhoi River. The name Puhoi is translated as "slow water". (Compare the Māori word , meaning "b ...
. Construction of the next section to just north of Warkworth has commenced in 2017.


Northwestern Motorway (SH 16)

From Ports of Auckland to Brigham Creek Rd, Whenuapai.


Southwestern Motorway (SH 20)

From the Southern Motorway in
Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...
to the Northwestern Motorway at Waterview.


Southern Motorway (SH 1)

From downtown Auckland via Manukau City to the
Bombay Hills The Bombay Hills are a range of hills to the south of Auckland, New Zealand. Though only a small and seemingly insignificant range of hills, they lie at the southern boundary of the Auckland region, and serve as a divide between Auckland and th ...
and terminating onto the
Waikato Expressway The Waikato Expressway is a dual carriageway section of (SH 1) in New Zealand's Waikato region. Constructed in stages, it forms part of the link between Auckland and Hamilton. Currently stretching from Auckland to south of Cambridge, the highw ...
.


Upper Harbour Motorway (SH 18)

Connecting the Northwestern and Northern Motorways via the
Upper Harbour Bridge The Upper Harbour Bridge (also called the Greenhithe Bridge) is a motorway bridge in west Auckland, New Zealand. It is technically two bridges, spanning an upper reach of the Waitematā Harbour, and connecting Hobsonville (in West Auckland) a ...
. Construction of the Northern Corridor connection between the Northern and Upper Harbour Motorways commenced in 2018, with the full interchange opening in 2022.


Waikato


Waikato Expressway (SH 1)

A mostly-constructed expressway between the Southern Motorway at Bombay and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, complete between the Southern Motorway and Rotokauri, Tamahere and Cambridge. By 2007 between Longswamp and Rangiriri was three lanes with a median barrier. In 2012 the Te Rapa Spur was opened, followed by the Ngāruawāhia section in 2013. The Cambridge bypass opened on 16 December 2015, six months ahead of schedule. The route has now been fully designated, and funding was secured for the Huntly and Hamilton sections. The Huntly section opened in March 2020, but the Hamilton section was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The 15 km Cambridge Section now has a 110kmph speed limit for light vehicles as of 11 December 2017.


Bay of Plenty


Takitimu Drive (Pyes Pa - Mount Maunganui Expressway) (SH 2/SH 29)

From Pyes Pa to Chapel Street near the city centre. An interchange exists with Tamatea Arikinui Drive, along with a "coat-hanger" interchange, which is used with Elizabeth Street and heads north towards Mt Maunganui. The section from Pyes Pa to the SH 2 interchange is tolled. From 1 August 2015 it was added to the New Zealand state highway network as part of SH 29.


Tamatea Arikinui Drive (Bethlehem - The Avenues Expressway) (SH 2)

From 15th Avenue to just before Bethlehem Town Centre, with interchanges at Cambridge Road, Waihi Road and Takitimu Drive (Pyes Pa - City Expressway).


Tauranga Eastern Link (SH 2)

Connects Tauranga to Paengaroa (with SH 33) via Papamoa, bypassing Te Puke. In late 2006 the first phase was opened from Maungatapu to Bayfair. Full motorway was completed in 2015 with the tolled section between Papamoa and Paengaroa opened to the public in August that year. The tolled section from Papamoa to Paengaroa now has speed limit for light vehicles of 110 kmph as of 11 December 2017


Hawke's Bay


Hawke's Bay Expressway (SH 2 / SH 50)

From
Hawke's Bay Airport Hawke's Bay Airport , commonly referred to as Napier Airport, is Hawke's Bay's main commercial airport, serving domestic flights to the main centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as well as smaller centres such as Gisborne, Wairoa ...
near
Napier Napier may refer to: People * Napier (surname), including a list of people with that name * Napier baronets, five baronetcies and lists of the title holders Given name * Napier Shaw (1854–1945), British meteorologist * Napier Waller (1893–19 ...
to Pakipaki, south of
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
. The entire expressway is part of , with approximately also concurrent with .


Wellington


Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway (SH 1 / SH 59)

Approximately in length, this is New Zealand's first motorway; the first section opening in 1950. The section of the motorway between the southern terminus at Johnsonville and the interchange with the Transmission Gully Motorway forms part of , with the small section north of this point forming part of .


Wellington Urban Motorway (SH 1)

From Ngauranga to Te Aro,


Kapiti Expressway (SH 1)

The Kapiti Expressway is a four-lane grade-separated expressway, stretching from
Mackays Crossing Mackays Crossing is a locality in the Kapiti Coast District of New Zealand's North Island, located between Paekākāriki to the south and Raumati South to the north. Name The locality was previously officially named MacKays Crossing, but was of ...
north of
Paekākāriki Paekākāriki () is a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island, New Zealand, and one of the northernmost suburbs of Wellington. It lies north of Porirua and northeast of the Wellington CBD. The town's name comes from ...
to just north of Ōtaki on the Kapiti Coast. It carries traffic through
Raumati Raumati is a New Zealand place name and may refer to: *Raumati Beach, Kapiti Coast, New Zealand *Raumati South, Kapiti Coast, New Zealand * Raumati Hearts, a former name of Kapiti Coast United, a New Zealand association football club * Raumati rail ...
,
Paraparaumu Paraparaumu () is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kapiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. Like other towns in the area, it has a partner settlement at the coast called Paraparaumu Bea ...
,
Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kapiti Coast, 60 kilometres north of the Wellington CBD. The name is a Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the grey mullet". The town lies between Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Ōtak ...
and Ōtaki. The section from Mackays Crossing to Raumati South was completed in 2007 with the grade separation of the Mackays railway level crossing. Work on the Raumati to
Peka Peka Peka Peka, sometimes spelled Pekapeka, is a seaside locality on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located just off New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1 and the North Island Main Trunk railway between Waikanae and Te ...
section started in December 2013 and opened on 24 February 2017, with minor finishing works completed by July. Construction of the section from Peka Peka north to Ōtaki commenced in late 2017 and opened in December 2022.


Transmission Gully Motorway (SH 1)

Officially opened on 30 March 2022, from
Mackays Crossing Mackays Crossing is a locality in the Kapiti Coast District of New Zealand's North Island, located between Paekākāriki to the south and Raumati South to the north. Name The locality was previously officially named MacKays Crossing, but was of ...
near
Paekākāriki Paekākāriki () is a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island, New Zealand, and one of the northernmost suburbs of Wellington. It lies north of Porirua and northeast of the Wellington CBD. The town's name comes from ...
to the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway in Linden, bypassing Centennial Highway.


Hutt Expressway (Hutt Road, Western Hutt Road, River Road) (SH 2)

From the Wellington Urban Motorway at
Ngauranga Ngauranga is a suburb of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, in the lower North Island. Situated on the western bank of Wellington Harbour, it lies to the north of the centre of the city. The name comes from the Maori-language ''ngā ūra ...
through the Hutt Valley to the Fergusson Drive intersection at Maoribank in northern Upper Hutt. It has three names: Hutt Road from Ngauranga to Petone, Western Hutt Road from Petone to Silverstream, and River Road from Silverstream to Maoribank. . The section south of Melling is dual carriage and is fully grade separated. The section from Melling north to Silverstream is dual carriage with a mixture of at-grade and grade separated intersections. The section north of Silverstream is a
2+1 road 2+1 road is a specific category of three-lane road, consisting of two lanes in one direction and one lane in the other, alternating every few kilometres, and usually separated with a steel cable barrier. The second lane allows faster-moving t ...
with at grade intersections.


Canterbury


Christchurch Northern Motorway (SH 1)

From north of Kaiapoi over the Waimakariri River through to the northern suburb of Belfast. Its southernmost interchange (Kainga/Marshland) is unusual in that northbound traffic merges from the right, while southbound traffic is carried on a large loop to the right up and over the onramp. The reason for this design was to accommodate a future southern extension into central Christchurch, with the northbound onramp being the first part of the northbound carriageway. Northbound there are three more interchanges; Tram Road (Oxford), north off, south on; Kaiapoi (diamond interchange); and Lineside Road ( to Rangiora), north off, south on. It is dual carriageway from Belfast (Main North Road) to Lineside Road, single lane each way with no median strip to Woodend.


Christchurch Southern Motorway (SH 76/ SH 1)

Short motorway bypassing a part of southern Christchurch city. Lost its status as a motorway after plans to extend the original section (between Curletts Road and Barrington Street, which was built in the early 1980s) stalled. Since 2012, the road has been extended Curletts Road to Halswell Junction Road with the original section widened to four lanes and interchanges at both Curletts Road and Barrington Street), thereby regaining motorway status. In 2020, extended to rejoin SH 1 at Templeton and continue alongside SH 1 until just west of Rolleston.


Christchurch-Lyttelton Motorway (SH 74)

From the intersection of Ferry and Dyers Roads along Tunnel Road through the Lyttelton Tunnel to the intersection of Norwich Quay and Simeon Quay. It is single lane with interchanges at Bridle Path and Port Hills Road. There is a passing lane southbound from the Port Hills Road interchange.


Western Belfast Bypass (SH 1)

The motorway links directly from the Christchurch Northern Motorway, at Chaneys interchange, to Johns Road at the Clearwater roundabout, bypassing the current section of State Highway One through the Belfast urban area.


Otago


Former Dunedin Northern Motorway (SH 1)

This undivided highway had its "motorway" signs removed several years ago, and is now officially called the
Dunedin-Waitati Highway Dunedin–Waitati Highway ( SH 1), formerly (and currently in official land-use planning contexts) called Dunedin Northern Motorway, is a two-to-four-lane limited-access road which provides the main route north from the city of Dunedin, New ...
, although it is still referred to by Dunedinites as "the northern motorway". It runs from Pine Hill to
Waitati Waitati, from the Māori Waitete, is a small seaside settlement in Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. It is located close to the tidal mudflats of Blueskin Bay, 19 kilometres north of the Dunedin city centre. The small Waitati ...
, and is the main route north from Dunedin.


Caversham Bypass (SH 1)

From Dunedin CBD to Caversham, SH1 has been widened to a four-lane road over its full length. It becomes the
Dunedin Southern Motorway The Dunedin Southern Motorway is the main arterial route south from the South Island city of Dunedin, part of New Zealand's State Highway 1. Despite its name, only a portion of the route is officially classified as motorway. The route is the sout ...
at its western end, close to
Lookout Point Caversham is one of the older suburbs of the city of Dunedin, in New Zealand's South Island. It is sited at the western edge of the city's central plain at the mouth of the steep Caversham Valley, which rises to the saddle of Lookout Point. Maj ...
. At its eastern end, it joins Dunedin's central city one-way street system.


Dunedin Southern Motorway (SH 1)

This route runs from
South Dunedin South Dunedin is a major inner city suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located, as its name suggests, to the south of the city centre, on part of a large plain known locally simply as "The Flat". The suburb is a mix of industrial ...
to Mosgiel. The section from
Lookout Point Caversham is one of the older suburbs of the city of Dunedin, in New Zealand's South Island. It is sited at the western edge of the city's central plain at the mouth of the steep Caversham Valley, which rises to the saddle of Lookout Point. Maj ...
at the southwestern end of Caversham, past the outer suburbs of Green Island, Abbotsford and Fairfield, to the intersection with at Mosgiel, is classified as motorway. It is one of the southernmost motorways in the world. The length of the motorway is 13 km.


See also

* New Zealand state highway network


References

{{New Zealand motorway list Motorways And Expressways In New Zealand Transport in Auckland