State Highway 87 (SH 87) is a state highway in New Zealand servicing the

Taieri Plains The Taieri Plain (also referred to in the plural as the Taieri Plains) is an area of fertile agricultural land to the southwest of Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand. The plain covers an area of some 300 square kilometres, with a maximum extent of ...

and the Strath-Taieri Valley in Otago, connecting

Mosgiel Mosgiel (Māori: ''Te Konika o te Matamata'') is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin ...

Kyeburn Kyeburn is a small settlement in Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Maniototo, a wide, high plain stretching from the end of the Strath-Taieri valley. Kyeburn stands at the junction of State Highways 85 ("The Pigroot") ...

on the eastern flank of the

Maniototo The Maniototo Plain, usually simply known as The Maniototo, is an elevated inland region in Otago, New Zealand. The region roughly surrounds the upper reaches of the Taieri River and the Manuherikia River. It is bounded by the Kakanui Range t ...

Plains. The highway is two-lane for its entire length, and there are four sets of traffic lights in Mosgiel.

Route

SH 87 leaves at a junction at the southwestern end of 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 so ...

, immediately south of Mosgiel. It travels north through the town as its main street, Gordon Road, before heading west along the northern edge of the

Taieri Plain The Taieri Plain (also referred to in the plural as the Taieri Plains) is an area of fertile agricultural land to the southwest of Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand. The plain covers an area of some 300 square kilometres, with a maximum extent of ...

. The highway climbs the northeastern flank of

Maungatua Maungatua, known also as Maukaatua is a prominent ridge in the Taieri Plains in Otago, New Zealand. It rises 895 metres above the floodplain of the Taieri River, directly to the west of Dunedin's airport at Momona. It can be clearly seen from m ...

shortly after passing through Outram (where it crosses the

Taieri River The Taieri River is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is in Otago in the South Island. Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, it initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning southeast, reaching the sea sou ...

), its course becoming northwesterly. The course continues past the small settlements of

Lee Stream Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...

and

Clarks Junction Clarks Junction, also known simply as Clarks, is a locality in the Otago Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located at the junction of State Highway 87 and the Old Dunstan Road, approximately halfway between Outram and Middlemarch ...

before turning northeastward to head along the broad Strath-Taieri valley. After passing through

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * ...

, the highway reaches the town of

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, ...

. From Sutton, the highway runs close to the course of the Taieri River, and from Middlemarch the

Otago Central Rail Trail The Otago Central Rail Trail is a 150-kilometre walking, cycling and horse riding track in the South Island of New Zealand. A pioneering project for New Zealand, the successful rail trail joined the New Zealand Cycle Trail umbrella organisation ...

also runs nearby. The highway continues northeast past Hyde before emerging onto the high

plain. The highway terminates at

, 15 km to the east of Ranfurly, at a junction with . File:MosgielNZ.jpg, SH 87 as Gordon Road in Mosgiel File:State Highway 87, Middlemarch, NZ.JPG, Looking south along State Highway 87 at Middlemarch

External links

New Zealand Transport Agency
87 Transport in Dunedin Transport in Otago {{NewZealand-road-stub

Route

See also

External links