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State Highway 3

Statistics:

• Length: 495 km
• Northern Terminus: SH1 (Lorne St) and Ohaupo Rd at Melville
• Southern Terminus: SH2 (Vogel St) and McLean St at Woodville
• Miscellaneous: Roads that form the route: Ohaupo Road, Great South Road, Albert Park Drive, Sloane Street, Kihikihi Road, Lyon Street, Otorohanga Road, Main North road, Maniapoto Street, Te Kuiti Road, Carroll Street, Awakino Road, Moa Street, North Street, Mokau Road, Nikorima Street, Devon Road, Northgate, Leach Street, Eliot Street, Coronation Avenue, Junction Road, New Plymouth Southern Motorway, Rata Street, Matai Street, Mountain Road, Broadway, High Street, Boylan Road, Ketamarae Road, Waihi Road, South Road, Kakaramea Road, Taranaki Road, Egmont Street, Bedford Street, Patea Road, Weraroa Road, Main Road, London Street, Carlton Avenue, Bridge Street, Dundas Road, Rangitikei Line, Rangitikei Street, grey Street, Princess Street, Main Street, Napier Road and Vogel Street
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route: Melville, Hamilton Airport, Otorohanga, Hangatiki, Te Kuiti, Eight Mile Junction, Brixton, New Plymouth, Inglewood, Stratford, Hawera, Whanganui, Putiki, Bulls, Sanson, Newbury, Ashhurst and Woodville

Route Numbering:

• Current:
• Multiplexes:

General Information:

State Highway 3 is a rural highway that mostly traverses the west coast of New Zealand's north island.

The route is a mix of divided and undivided multi-lane road and also undivided single carriageway, and features the Awakino Tunnel near the small town of Awakino and also the Mt Messenger Tunnel.

Multiplexes along the route include:

• SH1, for 6 km, between Bulls and Sanson

History:

• 1897: A Mokau-Awakino horse track was widened to a dray track. 1
• 1910: Te Kuiti meeting called for metalling of the road to Awakino. 2
• 1916: Mt Messenger tunnel opened in 1916 and its single lane was enlarged. 3
• 1919: £3,000 was provided for the Awakino Gorge section, including the tunnel. 4
• March 1923: Awakino Gorge section was opened at a total cost of about £60,000. 5
• 1924: Most of the route was gazetted as a government main highway. 6
• 1925: some sections were tar-sealed in 1925. 7
• October 1927: Mokau Bridge opened. 8 The 12 ft (3.7 m) wide, single-lane 7, 11-span, 670 ft (200 m), steel 9, Mokau Bridge was officially opened on 17 December, replacing a punt. 10 The cost was £35,000. 11 It had a lifting span allowing passage of vessels up to 50 ft (15 m) wide and with a 60 ft (18 m) clearance at high tide. 10
• 1936: Most of the route sealed. 12
• 1949 By this time, the road was sealed as far south as Te Kuiti and the reinforced concrete bridge over the Waipa at Otorohanga had been started 13
• 2001: the 1927 Mokau bridge was replaced by the current 9-span, 230 m (250 yd), double lane, pre-stressed concrete bridge for $6.2m 14. The new bridge doesn't allow for shipping, as the first ship to pass under the old lifting span was withdrawn three months after the bridge opened. 15
• 1983: Mt Messenger tunnel's single lane was enlarged. 3
• March 2010: Work to upgrade the State Highway 3 / Cambridge Road / Arawata Street Roundabout in Te Awamutu started. The work involved upgrading the existing one-lane roundabout to a two-lane roundabout and the provision of a shared footpath for cyclists and pedestrians. 16
• 2006: Construction began on Bell Block Bypass at New Plymouth. 17
• August 2008; Safety improves on SH3 between Urenui and the SH3 / SH3A intersection near Waitara. The construction of the new pullover bay at the junction with Onaero River Road, just south of Urenui, was a major component of the works. The works also included the widening of the sealed shoulder at two other locations in Onaero, the installation of a total 650 metres of guard railing (including almost 400 metres at Onaero) and the clearance of numerous roadside hazards to improve safety and sight visibility. 18
• 7 August 2009: Henwood Street Overbridge at New Plymouth. opened to traffic. 17
• 2010: Construction of a bypass of Bell Block, a satellite town of New Plymouth, was completed. The bypass is a four-lane, divided expressway with an interchange at Henwood Road providing access to Bell Block. 19
• March 2011: A right turn bay installed at Jary Road and McFalls Road between Ohaupo and Te Awamutu. 20
• April 2011: Awakino tunnel enlarged. 21
• January 2015: Work began on Normanby Overbridge bypass. 22
• March 2015: Construction of a turning bay and straightening of a curve at the junction of Raynes Rd and SH3 between Hamilton and Rukuhia. 23 A series of passing lanes on State Highway 3 between Hamilton Airport and Te Awamutu werer removed to improve safety on the route. The stretch of highway was the only one in the country with passing lanes for north and southbound traffic side by side, without a median barrier and with access to properties. The two four-lane sections were remarked as three lanes creating room for central medians or wide center lines to separate oncoming traffic. 24
• January 2016: Construction of Hamilton Airport roundabout commenced, and replacement of undivided 4 lane road with a divided 3 lane alignment. 25 Work on a $4.5 million roundabout at the Hamilton Airport started. The four-leg, two-lane roundabout replaced the intersection of State Highway 3 (Ohaupo Road) and State Highway 21 (Airport Road), south of Hamilton. 26
• 2016: A section of SH3 in Taranaki was realigned replacing the Normanby overbridge. 27

Preview:	Description:
	Advance Direction Sign: AD sign on Cambridge St at Te Awamutu approaching SH3 and Arawata St, February 2006. This sign has since been replaced. Image © Paul Mech

1 New Zealand Herald, Communication Between Auckland And Taranaki, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10474, 21 June 1897
2 Waikato Argus, King Country Roads, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4302, 18 January 1910
3 Kete New Plymouth: Taranaki Tunnels, Mt Messenger Tunnel - SHW 3
4 Taranaki Daily News, Public Works Estimates, 25 October 1919
5 New Zealand Herald, Link With Taranaki, Volume LX, Issue 18362, 31 March 1923
6 Evening Post, Main Roads, Volume CVII, Issue 139, 13 June 1924
7 New Zealand Herald, Road To Taranaki, Volume LXII, Issue 19011, 7 May 1925
8 New Zealand Herald, Main Highway From Auckland To Taranaki Now Completed: The Mokau River Bridge Open For Traffic, Page 6, 17 October 1927
9 New Zealand Herald, Mokau River Bridge, Volume LXII, Issue 19062, 6 July 1925
10 New Zealand Herald, Mokau River Bridge, Volume LXIV, Issue 19822, 17 December 1927
11 Press Association, Mokau Bridge Opened, Volume LXIII, Issue 19187, 19 December 1927
12 New Zealand Herald, Better Roads, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22553, 19 October 1936
13 AtoJs Online, 1949 Session I, D-01 Ministry Of Works Statement
14 Smithbridge Group Pty Ltd, Mokau Bridge
15 Taranaki Daily News, Stories From The Past, The story of the steamer Wetere, 09 November 2013
16 NZTA, Media Releases, Te Awamutu Roundabout upgrade to start next week, 9 March 2010
17 NZTA, Media Releases, Opening of Overbridge marks big step towards Bypass Completion. 7 August 2009
18 NZTA, Media Releases, Highway improvements make turning safer at Onaero, 15 August 2008
19 Taranaki Daily News, Bypass ready to roll, 12 March 2010
20 NZTA, Media Releases, Safety works to begin on State Highway 3 in South Waikato, 1 March 2011
21 NZTA, Media Releases, Works planned to trim back the inside walls of the Awakino Tunnel on State Highway 3, 12 Apr 2011
22 NTZA, Media Releases, Normanby highway realignment getting ready for construction, 29 January 2015
23 NZTA, Media Releases, Safety improvements to begin at SH3/Raynes Rd intersection, 20 February 2015
24 NZTA, Media Releases, Safety improvements to be made on SH3 between Hamilton and Te Awamutu, 11 March 2015
25 NZTA, Media Releases, Safety improvements to be made on SH3 near Hamilton, 14 January 2016
26 NZTA, Media Releases, Work on $4.5M roundabout designed to improve safety around Hamilton Airport starts in January, 23 December 2015
27 Taranaki Daily News, Normanby overbridge bypass ready for use from Monday, 16 October 2016

Last updated: 04-Feb-2017 13:48

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