New Zealand State Highway 20

Last updated

State Highway 20 NZ.svg

State Highway 20
Southwestern Motorway
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length25 km (16 mi)
Existed1977–present
Major junctions
South end State Highway 1 NZ.svg SH 1 Southern Motorway at Manukau City Centre
 SH 20B at Puhinui
SH 20A at Mangere
North end State Highway 16 NZ.svg SH 16 Northwestern Motorway at Point Chevalier
Highway system
State Highway 18 NZ.svg SH 18 SH 21 State Highway 21 NZ.svg
Aerial view of the interchange between SH 20 (diagonal from bottom left to upper right) and SH 20A towards the airport (towards bottom right). SH20-SH20A Interchange In Mangere.jpg
Aerial view of the interchange between SH 20 (diagonal from bottom left to upper right) and SH 20A towards the airport (towards bottom right).

State Highway 20, also known as the Southwestern Motorway, is a New Zealand state highway linking State Highway 1 at Manukau City Centre with State Highway 16 in Point Chevalier, via Mangere and Onehunga. Along with its spurs, State Highway 20A and 20B, the state highway serves Auckland Airport, the country's largest, therefore making State Highway 20 a key arterial route connecting the airport to the wider Auckland region and most of the upper North Island. The route also forms the southern part of the Western Ring Route, a 48 kilometres (30 mi) motorway route bypassing central Auckland. It is the only New Zealand State Highway that is entirely motorway.[ citation needed ]

The New Zealand state highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Nearly 100 roads in the North and South Islands are state highways. All state highways are administered by the NZ Transport Agency.

New Zealand State Highway 1 road in New Zealand

State Highway 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 official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the South Island.

Manukau Suburb in Auckland Council, New Zealand

Manukau, or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, south of Papatoetoe, and north of Manurewa. The industrial and commercial suburb of Wiri lies to the east and south.

Contents

Route

SH 20 stretches from the Auckland Southern Motorway (SH 1) at Manukau to SH 16 at Point Chevalier. From south to north the motorway passes through, or adjacent to, the suburbs of Wiri, Mangere, Onehunga, Hillsborough, Mount Roskill, Mount Albert, Waterview and Point Chevalier.

Auckland Southern Motorway road in New Zealand

The Auckland Southern Motorway is the major route south out of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is part of State Highway 1.

Point Chevalier Suburb in Auckland Council, New Zealand

Point Chevalier is a suburb and peninsula in the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located five kilometres to the west of the city centre on the southern shore of the Waitematā Harbour.

Wiri Suburb in Auckland Council, New Zealand

Wiri is a mostly industrial-commercial focused suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It was formerly part of Manukau City until the merger of all of Auckland's councils into the 'super city' in 2010.

The final terminus is Northwest Motorway (SH 16) via the Waterview Connection which opened in July 2017. [1]

Waterview Connection road in New Zealand

The Waterview Connection is a motorway section through west/central Auckland, New Zealand. It connects State Highway 20 in the south at Mt Roskill to State Highway 16 in the west at Point Chevalier, and is a part of the Western Ring Route.

Airport connection

SH 20, SH 20A, and SH 20B form an almost triangular shape between the Puhinui Interchange of the Southwestern Motorway, Auckland International Airport, and the SH 20/SH 20A motorway junction. The Southwestern Motorway bypasses Auckland International Airport, with spurs SH 20A from the north and SH 20B from the east both providing airport access.

SH 20A leaves the Southwestern Motorway in Mangere and travels south along an additional stretch of motorway, commonly referred to as the "Airport Motorway". The motorway passes underneath Kirkbride Road at a grade separated intersection which until 2017 was the former terminus for the motorway (and a known black spot). [2] The motorway continues south and terminates at the intersection with Verissimo and Landing Drives [3] where SH 20A also terminates. From there the road continues south, along George Bolt Memorial Drive, to the airport.

SH 20B leaves SH 20 at the Cavendish Dr/Puhinui Rd/Roscommon Rd Interchange of the Southwestern Motorway and travels west along Puhinui Road to the airport, officially terminating at the intersection with Orrs Road.

History

The first section of what would become the Southwestern Motorway was the Onehunga Bypass from Queenstown Road in Hillsborough to Neilson Street in Onehunga, but the start of the motorway proper was not completed until 1983 when the bypass was connected through the new Mangere Bridge to Coronation Road in Mangere.

Mangere Bridge (bridges) bridge in New Zealand

Mangere Bridge, officially also called the Manukau Harbour Crossing, is a dual motorway bridge over the Manukau Harbour in south-western Auckland, New Zealand, crossing between the suburb also known as Mangere Bridge and the suburb of Onehunga.

The northern section was extended first to Hillsborough Road, then to Hayr Road, then to Maioro Street, the last section opening on 15 May 2009. [4]

The southern section was extended to Puhinui Road in 1997, along with the extensions SH 20A and SH 20B connecting to Auckland International Airport. The final southern section connecting Puhinui Road to State Highway 1 at Manukau was completed in 2010. [5] A duplication of Mangere Bridge, with future provision for rail, was also opened in 2010. [6] [7]

The final section of the Southwestern Motorway, the Waterview Connection, connecting Maioro Street with State Highway 16 at the Great North Road Interchange commenced construction in 2012 and opened to traffic in July 2017. [1] [8]

Exit list

Territorial authority Locationkm Exit DestinationsNotes
AucklandOtara-Papatoetoe/Manurewa BoardsManukau CBD0.01State Highway 1 NZ.svg SH 1 south (Southern Motorway) — Hamilton, Tauranga SH 20 and Southwest Motorway begins
State Highway 1 NZ.svg SH 1 north (Southern Motorway) — Auckland
2Lambie Drive — Manukau, Wiri
Puhinui3Route 30 Cavendish Drive/Roscommon Road – Manukau, Wiri No southbound exit (use Puhinui Road)
Northbound entrance and connection to SH 20B and BSicon FLUG.svg
AucklandOtara-Papatoetoe BoardState Highway 20b NZ.svgAirport Sign.svg SH 20B (Puhinui Road) — Airport, Papatoetoe No northbound exit (use Cavendish Drive)
Southbound entrance and connection to SH 20B and BSicon FLUG.svg
AucklandMangere-Otahuhu Board Mangere 7Route 14 Massey Road – Mangere
9State Highway 20a NZ.svgAirport Sign.svg SH 20A — AirportRight-hand southbound exit and northbound entrance.
No southbound entrance (use SH20B or Massey Road)
10Walmsley RoadSouthbound
Coronation RoadNorthbound
Mangere Bridge 12Mahunga Drive — Mangere Bridge Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Mangere Bridge over Manukau Harbour
AucklandMaungakiekie-Tāmaki Board Onehunga
13Neilson Street — Onehunga Wharf, Onehunga, Penrose, Mt Wellington
Hillsborough15Route 12 Queenstown Road — Epsom, Royal Oak, Auckland CBDNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
AucklandPuketāpapa Board
16Route 15 Hillsborough Road – Hillsborough, Blockhouse Bay
Mount Roskill18Route 4 Dominion Road – Mount Roskill
19.719Maioro Street – New Lynn, Sandringham Waterview Connection begins
Auckland — Albert-Eden BoardWaterview23.824AState Highway 16 NZ.svg SH 16 west (Northwestern Motorway) — Helensville, Wellsford SH 20 and Southwest Motorway ends
Waterview Connection ends
24BState Highway 16 NZ.svg SH 16 east (Northwestern Motorway) — Auckland
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

Related Research Articles

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Northwestern Cycleway

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Onehunga Harbour Road Bridge

The Onehunga Harbour Road Bridge is a walking and cycling bridge over Onehunga Harbour Road, a heavily trafficked road at the southwestern edge of Onehunga, New Zealand. The bridge provides easy and safe access from Onehunga to both the Waikaraka Cycleway running west-east, and Old Mangere Bridge to the south, which in turn links over the Mangere Inlet mouth of the Manukau Harbour. The bridge is 3.5m wide, and distinguished by its sweeping, curved structure.

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Auckland Airport Line

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Waterview Tunnel Road tunnel in Auckland, New Zealand

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References

  1. 1 2 "Waterview Connection". NZTA.
  2. "SH20A improvements to airport journeys now open to traffic". NZ Transport Agency. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  3. "Friday night transformation of intersection on SH20A to Auckland airport". NZ Transport Agency. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  4. Dearnaley, Mathew (18 May 2009). "Another piece slots into city's commuter jigsaw". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  5. "SH20-1 Manukau Extension". NZTA.
  6. "Western ring route progressing". The New Zealand Herald . 7 June 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  7. "Mangere Bridge Opened Today". The New Zealand Herald. 25 July 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  8. "Auckland's Waterview Tunnel open to traffic at last". Stuff.co.nz. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.