New Zealand State Highway 73

State Highway 73
Route information
	Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length	231 km (144 mi)
Tourist; routes	Great Alpine Highway ; Christchurch Ring Road; Inland Scenic Route between Sheffield and Waddington.
Major junctions
Northwest end	State Highway 6 at Kumara Junction, New Zealand
Southeast end	Curletts Road/Christchurch Southern Motorway / at Middleton, New Zealand
Location
Primary; destinations	Kumara, Dillmanstown, Jacksons, Otira, Arthur's Pass, Bealey, Cass, Castle Hill Village, Springfield, Sheffield, Waddington, Darfield, Kirwee, Aylesbury, West Melton, Yaldhurst, Christchurch
Highway system

Last updated June 09, 2019

State Highway 73 (SH 73) is a major east-west South Island state highway in New Zealand connecting Christchurch on the east coast with Cass/Hokitika via the Southern Alps. It is mostly two lane, with some single-lane bridges north of Springfield but is mostly dual carriageway in Christchurch. The fourth and fifth-highest points of New Zealand's state highway network are on this road at Porters Pass and Arthur's Pass respectively.

The South Island, also officially named Te Waipounamu, is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area; the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres (58,084 sq mi), making it the world's 12th-largest island. It has a temperate climate.

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.

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. The Christchurch urban area lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula. It is home to 404,500 residents, making it New Zealand's third-most populous city behind Auckland and Wellington. The Avon River flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park located along its banks.

History

The route connecting the West and East coasts of the South Island via the Southern Alps were known for hundreds of years by the Māori people, due to a flourishing pounamu trade. The Europeans were informed of the route by a local chief in the mid-19th century but was not used during his lifetime. In 1864, Arthur Dudley Dobson traversed from the east to the west coast from the Waimakariri River, thereby discovering Arthur's Pass. A route connecting Christchurch to Hokitika was fully completed in 1866, with the first Cobb & Co coach began operating that same year for the burgeoning gold rush.

The Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages some time between 1250 and 1300. Over several centuries in isolation, the Polynesian settlers developed a unique culture, with their own language, a rich mythology, and distinctive crafts and performing arts. Early Māori formed tribal groups based on eastern Polynesian social customs and organisation. Horticulture flourished using plants they introduced; later, a prominent warrior culture emerged.

Pounamu are several types of hard and durable stone found in southern New Zealand. They are highly valued by the Māori, and objects made from pounamu play an important role in Māori culture. Geologically, pounamu are usually nephrite jade, bowenite, or serpentinite, but the Māori classify pounamu by color and appearance.

Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson was a pioneer surveyor, engineer and explorer. Born in London, he came to Lyttelton, New Zealand in 1850 on one of the First Four Ships. He is best known for taking the first party of Europeans over Arthur's Pass.

SH 73 through Arthur's Pass ArthursPass.jpg — SH 73 through Arthur's Pass

Construction of a rail link had started in 1890, and the Midland Line between Canterbury and the West Coast was finally completed on 4 August 1923, with the opening of the Otira Tunnel. This signalled the end of the Cobb & Co coach in New Zealand.^[1] When the section of the line from Springfield to Broken River in Canterbury was opened in 1906, it was then possible to travel from Canterbury to the West Coast in a single day with a 40-mile (64 km) coach journey between the railheads at Broken River and Otira.

The Midland line is a 212km section of railway between Rolleston and Greymouth in the South Island of New Zealand. The line features five major bridges, five viaducts and 17 tunnels, the longest of which is the Otira tunnel. It is the route of the popular TranzAlpine passenger train.

The Otira Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Midland Line in the South Island of New Zealand, between Otira and Arthur's Pass. It runs under the Southern Alps from Arthur's Pass to Otira – a length of over 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi). The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over 250 m (820 ft) lower than the Arthur's Pass end.

Cobb & Co is the name of a company that operated a fleet of stagecoaches in Australia in the late 19th century. Cobb & Co themselves did not operate in New Zealand officially but their name was used by many private stage coach operators.

Due to the geography and topography between Springfield and Kumara, the road has been subjected to several closures and road realignments, with both Porters and Arthur's Pass subjected to frequent closures during the winter months. The road between Arthur's Pass and Otira in particular was amongst the most dangerous in the country, due to the road located on scree slopes which frequently gave way. As a result, numerous studies were conducted into alternative options for fixing the road around Candy's Bend, Starvation Point and the Zig Zag. Construction of the Otira Viaduct and the protective roofs from slips began in 1997 and opened in 1999.^[2]

Springfield is a small town in the Selwyn District of Canterbury, in the South Island, of New Zealand. The Maori name for Springfield is Tawera. In 2001 it had a population of 219. At the foot of the Southern Alps, 65 kilometres (40 mi) west of Christchurch, it is the most westerly town of the central Canterbury Plains. Springfield has a long association with the Midland railway line.

Kumara, New Zealand Place in West Coast, New Zealand

Kumara is a town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Greymouth, close to the western end of State Highway 73, which leads across Arthur's Pass to Christchurch. The Taramakau River flows past to the north.

Porters Pass is a mountain pass in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island.

Route

Kumara Junction to Christchurch

As of May 2016, this is the current route of the highway.^[3]

State Highway 73 begins 11 km south of Greymouth at Kumara Junction. The highway passes through undulating farmland, scrubland and forest as it passes through the settlements of Kumara and Dillmanstown. The road veers sharply to the left as it approaches the mountains to the front of the road. The road then hugs the Taramakau River as it proceeds down the valley. At Jacksons, the Midland Line crosses the river and begins to run parallel to the road. Just before Aickens at the confluence of the Taramakau and Otira Rivers, the road and rail line veers to the right and runs to the south before reaching Otira.

Greymouth Place in West Coast, New Zealand

Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is 13,550, which accounts for 42% of the West Coast's inhabitants. The Greymouth urban area had an estimated population of 9,700. The District Council expects growth of 1.5% per year between 2006 and 2016.

The Taramakau River is in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps, 80 kilometres due east of Hokitika, and immediately below the saddle of the Harper's Pass, and runs westward for 75 kilometres into the Tasman Sea 15 kilometres south of Greymouth.

Jacksons is a settlement and railway station in the Westland District of the West Coast of New Zealand. The TranzAlpine Express passes through Jacksons.

Beyond Otira, the road breaks with the railway line and crosses the river before climbing up towards the Otira Viaduct and Arthur's Pass. At 920 metres, Arthur's Pass is the second highest pass on the road and is one of the three alpine passes connecting the east and west coasts. After peaking, the road descends into Arthur's Pass village with the railway line emerging from the Otira Tunnel nearby.

After the village, the road and rail line runs along the Bealey River valley and crosses the Waimakariri River before veering left and running parallel to both the river and the rail line on the opposite side. Before Cass, the road runs along a bluff and turns right to proceed past some more farmland as well as Lakes Grasmere and Pearson.

The road then climbs up towards Castle Hill Village and runs through a valley before passing beside Lake Lyndon where it curves left before climbing up towards Porters Pass which, at 939 metres, is the highest point on the road. After cresting, the road descends into the Kowai River valley and runs roughly parallel with the river until it reaches Springfield.

The former Springfield doughnut with Mount Torlesse in the background Donut-springfield-nz.png — The former Springfield doughnut with Mount Torlesse in the background

After Springfield, the road emerges onto the Canterbury Plains and runs straight through the settlements of Annat, Sheffield and Waddington before arriving at Darfield. The road then passes through the settlements of Kirwee, Aylesbury and West Melton as well as dairy and lifestyle farms characteristic of the plains. The road passes by Paparua Prison and arrives in Christchurch via Yaldhurst.^[4]

Christchurch

As Yaldhurst Road, the proceeds in an easterly direction towards Riccarton. The road widens to four lanes at Avonhead, but by Curletts Road/Peer Street, the highway turns right (while Yaldhurst Road becomes Riccarton Road and heads towards the city centre).

As Curletts Road, the road temporarily reverts to two lanes divided by a flush median. After Blenheim Road, however the road widens again, crosses over the Main South Line and eventually terminates at the Christchurch Southern Motorway (SH 76).

Route changes

Over the past 40 years SH 73 has been subjected to several route changes both in the Christchurch and the Arthur's Pass-Otira areas. In the early years SH 73 originally ended at the Blenheim Road and Hansons Lane corner in Upper Riccarton. In 1999, one of the worst sections of highway in the country (around Candy's Bend) were replaced with the Otira Viaduct. Meanwhile, in Christchurch, since SH 1 was rerouted to bypass the CBD, SH 73 was extended to Brougham Street/Waltham Road intersection, with the rest of the route covered by SH 74.

In 2004, with SH 74 being rerouted to run along the Ring Road and the entire length of Tunnel Road instead of through the CBD, SH 73 was extended further to the Port Hills Road interchange on SH 74. It was also rerouted from the intersection of Blenheim Road to follow Curletts Road and Yaldhurst Road, instead of via Main South Road through Hornby, meeting back again with SH 1 at the intersection of Masham and Russley Roads.^[5]

As of December 2012, with the extension of the Christchurch Southern Motorway, the section of SH 73 east of Curletts Road was re-gazetted as SH 76 in line with the new motorway extension.

Former spur sections

State Highway 73A was a spur section of SH 73 connecting the suburbs of Hornby, New Zealand and Sockburn, New Zealand via Main South Road and Blenheim Road. Before 2004 it formed part of the old route of SH 73 and further before that SH 1. It was one of the few state highways in New Zealand to be wholly dual carriageway. In 2014, the entire highway has been revoked due to completion of the Christchurch Southern Motorway (gazetted SH 76 in 2012) which runs almost parallel to this route.^[6]

Major junctions

Territorial authority	Location	km	Destinations	Notes
Christchurch City	Middelton	0	SH 75 – Akaroa SH 76 west (Christchurch Southern Motorway) – Timaru	SH 73 begins
			SH 76 east (Christchurch Southern Motorway) – City Centre, Lyttelton
			(Lunns Road)
			(Parkhouse Road)
	Upper Riccarton	1	(Blenheim Road) – Sockburn, Hornby, Riccarton, City Centre
			(Main South Road) – Sockburn, Church Corner
			(Peer Street) – Ilam (Yaldhurst Road) – Riccarton, City Centre
			(Middlepark Road)
	Avonhead		(Avonhead Road)
	Russley	5	SH 1 south – Hornby, Timaru SH 1 north – Belfast, Picton
	Yaldhurst		(Sir John McKenzie Avenue)
			(Pound Road) – Templeton
			(Old West Coast Road) – Waddington
			(Buchanans Road) – Hei Hei
	West Melton	15	(Chattertons Road/Dawsons Road)
Selwyn District		15	(Chattertons Road/Dawsons Road)
			(Weedons Ross Road) – Rolleston, Timaru ( ) (West Melton Road)
	Aylesbury		(Bealey Road/Aylesbury Road) – Burnham (Station Road)
	Kirwee		Midland Line
	Darfield		(Bray Street) – Rakaia, Timaru ( )
	Darfield	41	SH 77 (Bangor Road) – Mount Hutt, Methven, Ashburton
	Waddington		Inland Scenic Route (Deans Road) – Mount Hutt, Methven, Ashburton
	Waddington	52	Inland Scenic Route (Waimakariri Gorge Road) – Oxford, Rangiora, Amberley
	Springfield	68	Kowai River – Bridge #1
	Porters Pass	81	Porters Pass (939 m (3,081 ft))
		90	Porter River
	Castle Hill Village		(Castle Hill Drive) – Castle Hill Village
	Cass		(Mount White Road)
	Bealey	131	Broad Stream
		133	Bruce Stream
		136	Waimakariri River – Bealey Bridge
	Arthur's Pass	145	Rough Creek
		151	Arthur's Pass (920 m (3,020 ft))
Westland District		151	Arthur's Pass (920 m (3,020 ft))
	Otira	153	Otira Viaduct
		156	Otira River – Yorkeys Point Bridge
		159	Otira River
		165	Kellys Creek
		165	Midland Line
	Jacksons		Midland Line
		174	Rocky Creek Bridge
			(Lake Brunner Road) – Moana, Stillwater, Greymouth via Lake Brunner
	Turiwhate	191	Taipo River
	Turiwhate	197	Big Waihinihini River Bridge
	Kumara Junction	226	Hokitika Line SH 6 south – Hokitika, Haast, New Zealand SH 6 north Greymouth, Westport	Rail line bisects roundabout SH 73 ends

Related Research Articles

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Sockburn is an industrial suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located between Hornby and Riccarton, some 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the Christchurch city centre. The suburb is roughly bounded by the triangle formed by State Highway 1 in the west, Main South Road (SH73a) in the south and SH73 in the north. The suburb of Wigram, containing the city's former RNZAF base is located nearby. One of the city's main horseracing circuits, Riccarton Racecourse, is located close to Sockburn's northern edge, and Racecourse was the initial name for the area. The name Sockburn is likely to have come from the village of Sockburn in County Durham, England.

References

Churchman, Geoffrey B (1991). On the Trans-Alpine Trail: A Travel Guide to State Highway 73 and the Midland Railway. Johnsonville, Wellington: IPL Books. ISBN 0-908876-73-4.

↑ "Story:Canterbury places Page 14, Porters Pass to Arthur's Pass" . Retrieved 29 May 2010.
↑ "The road from Arthur's Pass to Otira - a spectacular journey along Highway 73" . Retrieved 13 May 2016.
↑ State Highway 73 at Google Maps
↑ "From Christchurch To Arthur's Pass By Road" . Retrieved 13 May 2016.
↑ "Revoking Sections of State Highway and Declaring New Sections of State Highway". NZ Gazette. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
↑ "Revoking a Section of State Highway and Declaring a Section of State Highway- State Highway 73A and State Highway 76, Christchurch". Gazette.govt.nz. 19 June 2014.

External links

New Zealand Transport Agency

A Selection of photos of SH 73
Great Alpine Highway - a tourist site promoting the road

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Story:Canterbury places Page 14, Porters Pass to Arthur's Pass" . Retrieved 29 May 2010.

[2] "The road from Arthur's Pass to Otira - a spectacular journey along Highway 73" . Retrieved 13 May 2016.

[3] State Highway 73 at Google Maps

[4] "From Christchurch To Arthur's Pass By Road" . Retrieved 13 May 2016.

[5] "Revoking Sections of State Highway and Declaring New Sections of State Highway". NZ Gazette. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 7 July 2016.

[6] "Revoking a Section of State Highway and Declaring a Section of State Highway- State Highway 73A and State Highway 76, Christchurch". Gazette.govt.nz. 19 June 2014.

v t e New Zealand state highways
List of New Zealand state highways List of motorways and expressways in New Zealand
National	SH 1 (incl. SH 1B) SH 2 (incl. SH 2B) SH 3 (incl. SH 3A) SH 4 SH 5 SH 6 (incl. SH 6A) SH 7 (incl. SH 7A) SH 8 (incl. SH 8A, SH 8B)
North Island	SH 10 SH 11 SH 12 SH 14 SH 15 SH 16 SH 18 SH 20 (incl. SH 20A, SH 20B) SH 21 SH 22 SH 23 SH 24 SH 25 (incl. SH 25A) SH 26 SH 27 SH 28 SH 29 (incl. SH 29A) SH 30 (incl. SH 30A) SH 31 SH 32 SH 33 SH 34 SH 35 SH 36 SH 37 SH 38 SH 39 SH 41 SH 43 SH 44 SH 45 SH 46 SH 47 SH 48 SH 49 SH 50 (incl. SH 50A) SH 53 SH 54 SH 56 SH 57 SH 58
South Island	SH 60 SH 62 SH 63 SH 65 SH 67 (incl. SH 67A) SH 69 SH 71 SH 73 SH 74 (incl. SH 74A) SH 75 SH 76 SH 77 SH 78 SH 79 SH 80 SH 82 SH 83 SH 84 SH 85 SH 86 SH 87 SH 88 SH 90 SH 93 SH 94 SH 95 SH 96 SH 97 SH 98 SH 99
Former state highways	SH 1A SH 1F SH 2A SH 15 SH 15A SH 17 SH 36 SH 40 SH 47A SH 49A SH 52 SH 57A SH 61 SH 70 SH 72 SH 73A SH 89 SH 91 SH 92
Touring routes	Twin Coast Discovery Highway Thermal Explorer Highway Pacific Coast Highway Classic New Zealand Wine Trail Alpine Pacific Triangle Great Alpine Highway Foothills Scenic Route Inland Scenic Route Southern Scenic Route