State Highway 1 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency | ||||
Length: | 2,033 km (1,263 mi) | |||
Tourist routes: |
Twin Coast Discovery Highway Thermal Explorer Highway Classic New Zealand Wine Trail Alpine Pacific Triangle Southern Scenic Route |
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Major junctions | ||||
North end: | Cape Reinga | |||
South end: | Bluff | |||
Location | ||||
Primary destinations: |
Whangarei, North Shore, Auckland, Manukau, Hamilton, Taupo, Porirua, Wellington, Picton, Blenheim, Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, Gore, Invercargill | |||
Highway system | ||||
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State Highway 1 (SH 1) is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading 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 official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the South Island.
SH 1 is 2,033 kilometres (1,263 mi) long, 1,081 km (672 mi) in the North Island and 952 km (592 mi) in the South Island. For the majority of its length it is a two-lane single carriageway, with at-grade intersections and property accesses, in both rural and urban areas. These sections have some passing lanes. Around 215 km (134 mi) of SH 1 is of motorway or expressway standard as of February 2017[update]: 191 km (119 mi) in the North Island and 23 km (14 mi) in the South Island. Current road construction will see an extra 102 km (63 mi) in the North Island and 11 km (7 mi) in the South Island upgraded to motorway or expressway standard by 2022.
SH 1 starts at Cape Reinga, at the northwestern tip of the Aupouri Peninsula, and since April 2010 has been sealed (mainly with either chipseal or asphalt) for its entire length. From Waitiki Landing south of Cape Reinga, SH 1 travels down the central-eastern side of the peninsula to Kaitaia, New Zealand's northernmost town, before turning south-east across the Northland Peninsula on to Kawakawa in the Bay of Islands, and then south to the city of Whangarei, the largest urban area in Northland.