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State Highway 8 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency | ||||
Length | 457 km (284 mi) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
North (clockwise) end | SH 1 (Hilton Highway) at Washdyke | |||
SH 8A (Bells Lane) to SH 6 near Tarras SH 8B to SH 6 near Cromwell | ||||
South (anticlockwise) end | SH 1 at Clarksville | |||
Location | ||||
Country | New Zealand | |||
Primary destinations | Pleasant Point, Fairlie, Lake Tekapo, Twizel, Omarama, Cromwell, Clyde, Alexandra, Roxburgh, Lawrence | |||
Highway system | ||||
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State Highway 8 is one of New Zealand's eight national highways. It forms an anticlockwise loop through the southern scenic regions of the Mackenzie Basin and Central Otago, starting and terminating in junctions with State Highway 1. Distances are measured from north to south.
For most of its length SH8 is a two-lane single carriageway, with at-grade intersections and property accesses directly off the road, both in rural and urban areas.
The highway leaves SH1 at Washdyke, an industrial suburb of Timaru, travelling initially northwest through Pleasant Point then continuing to the town of Fairlie. From here the route tends westward and rapidly increases in altitude, passing the southern end of the two great Mackenzie Basin lakes of Tekapo and Pukaki.
From Pukaki the highway turns southwest across the upper reaches of the Waitaki Valley, passing through the former hydroelectricity service town of Twizel and Omarama before again climbing to cross the Lindis Pass, which, at 971 metres, is the highest point on the highway's path. The highway winds along the valley of the Lindis River, reaching the upper Clutha River not far from Tarras.
From here, the highway runs close to the eastern shore of the man-made Lake Dunstan before passing the historic town of Cromwell. The highway turns south as it travels through the Cromwell Gorge passing the country's third largest[ citation needed ] hydroelectric dam, the Clyde Dam at Clyde. The highway continues along the Clutha Valley through the town of Alexandra and past Lake Roxburgh to the town of Roxburgh. Much of this part of the highway's journey is past fruit orchards, and historic gold-diggings from the Otago gold rush.
From Roxburgh, the highway turns southeastward, passing Ettrick, Raes Junction and Beaumont, where it turns away from the Clutha, before reaching Lawrence, close to the original strike in the Otago gold rush. From here, the highway continues past Waitahuna and the twisting Manuka Gorge, reaching the plain of the Tokomairaro River at Clarksville, three kilometres south of Milton.
State Highway 8 has two spurs: State Highway 8A and State Highway 8B. These two spurs connect the highway with State Highway 6, which lies on the western bank of Lake Dunstan. State Highway 8A runs for 23 km from SH 6 at Luggate to connect with SH8 close to Tarras. State Highway 8B runs for just 2.6 km from SH8 at Deadmans Point across the lake to the town of Cromwell. SH 8B forms part of the main route between Queenstown and Christchurch.
The course of SH8 between Clyde and Tarras was substantially altered during the 1980s as part of the construction of the Clyde Dam, which flooded much of the Cromwell Gorge, including the former route of the highway. A completely new section was built between Clyde and Cromwell; for SH8B the old single-lane bridge crossing the Clutha was replaced with a new two-lane bridge approximately 1.5 km to the north.
The southern end of SH8 between Clarksville and Cromwell roughly follows the route taken by many miners and prospectors during the Otago gold rush of the 1860s. Many of the important sites of the gold rush lie close to the Highway and the Kawarau Gorge which extends to the northwest from Cromwell. These include the town of Lawrence, which was the hub of prospecting around the original gold strike at Gabriel's Gully.
The former Roxburgh Branch rail line ran roughly parallel with the highway's southern course for much of its length.
In 2006, SH8 had an annual average daily traffic volume (AADT – daily estimate) of between 1,188 vehicles at Bendigo, and 4,897 vehicles on the Clyde side of Alexandra. Over the eleven sites measured, between 9.0% and 15.3% of the vehicles were classified as heavy (3.5 tonnes or greater). For the spurs, SH8A AADT ranged from 646 to 858 vehicles, while the volume of vehicles on SH8B was 3,930 on Deadmans Point Bridge, and 4,500 near the SH6 junction. [1]
Territorial authority | Location | km | mi | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Timaru District | Washdyke | 0 | 0.0 | SH 1 north – Temuka, Christchurch SH 1 south – Timaru, Dunedin | SH 8 begins |
Mackenzie District | Fairlie | 57 | 35 | SH 79 – Geraldine, Christchurch | |
Burkes Pass | 83 | 52 | Burkes Pass 706 m (2,316 ft) | ||
Lake Pukaki | 146 | 91 | SH 80 – Glentanner, Aoraki / Mount Cook | ||
Waitaki District | Omarama | 185 | 115 | SH 83 – Kurow, Oamaru | |
Waitaki District / Central Otago District boundary | Lindis Pass | 219 | 136 | Lindis Pass 972 m (3,189 ft) | |
Central Otago District | Tarras | 267 | 166 | SH 8A – Wānaka, West Coast | |
Cromwell | 294 | 183 | SH 8B – Cromwell, Queenstown | ||
Alexandra | 328 | 204 | SH 85 – Ranfurly, Dunedin | ||
Central Otago District / Clutha District boundary | Raes Junction | 397 | 247 | SH 90 – Tapanui, Gore | |
Clutha District | Clarksville | 460 | 290 | SH 1 north – Milton, Dunedin SH 1 south – Balclutha, Invercargill | SH 8 ends |
Alexandra is a town in the Central Otago district of the South Island of New Zealand. It is on the banks of the Clutha River, on State Highway 8, 188 kilometres (117 mi) by road from Dunedin and 33 kilometres (21 mi) south of Cromwell. The nearest towns to Alexandra via state highway 8 are Clyde seven kilometres to the northwest and Roxburgh forty kilometres to the south. State highway 85 also connects Alexandra to Omakau, Lauder, Oturehua, Ranfurly and on to Palmerston on the East Otago coast.
The Clutha River is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast 338 kilometres (210 mi) through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, 75 kilometres (47 mi) south west of Dunedin. It is the highest volume river in New Zealand, and the swiftest, with a catchment of 21,000 square kilometres (8,100 sq mi), discharging a mean flow of 614 cubic metres per second (21,700 cu ft/s). The river is known for its scenery, gold-rush history, and swift turquoise waters. A river conservation group, the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, is working to establish a regional river parkway, with a trail, along the entire river corridor.
The Clyde Dam, New Zealand's second-largest hydroelectric dam, is built on the Clutha River / Mata-Au near the town of Clyde. It is owned and operated by Contact Energy.
Cromwell is a town in Central Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Cromwell is located on the shores of Lake Dunstan where the Kawarau river joins Lake Dunstan. Cromwell was established during the Otago gold rush and is now more known as one of the sub regions of the Central Otago wine region. In 2018, the town of Cromwell was home to a population of 5610 people.
Central Otago is an area located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference".
The Kawarau River is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains Lake Wakatipu in northwestern Otago via the lake's Frankton Arm. The river flows generally eastwards for about 60 kilometres (37 mi) and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it joins Lake Dunstan near Cromwell. Before the construction of the Clyde High Dam, the Kawarau joined the Clutha River / Mata-Au in a spectacular confluence at Cromwell. The Shotover River enters the Kawarau from the north; the Nevis River enters it from the south. With many rapids and strong currents, the river can be dangerous and has claimed many lives. It is popular for bungy jumping and kayaking.
Lake Dunstan is a man-made lake and reservoir in the South Island of New Zealand.
The Cromwell Gorge is a steep gorge cut by the former Clutha River in the Central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It winds 19 km (12 mi) between the Dunstan and Cairnmuir Mountains, linking the townships of Cromwell and Clyde. It is one of three substantial river gorges in Central Otago, the others being the Kawarau Gorge to the west of Cromwell, and the Roxburgh Gorge south of Alexandra.
Clyde, formerly Dunstan, is a small town in Central Otago, New Zealand with a population of 1,260 in June 2023. It is located on the Clutha River, between Cromwell and Alexandra.
The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.
The Roxburgh Branch was a branch line railway built in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island that formed part of the country's national rail network. Originally known as the Lawrence Branch, it was one of the longest construction projects in New Zealand railway history, beginning in the 1870s and not finished until 1928. The full line was closed in 1968.
Tarras is a small farming settlement in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.
State Highway 6 is a major New Zealand state highway. It extends from the Marlborough region in the northeastern corner of the South Island across the top of the island, then down the length of the island, initially along the West Coast and then across the Southern Alps through inland Otago and finally across the Southland Plains to the island's south coast. Distances are measured from north to south.
The Kawarau Gorge is a major river gorge created by the Kawarau River in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. The towns of Queenstown and Cromwell are linked by State Highway 6 through the gorge.
The Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, New Zealand, was registered as an Incorporared Society in December 2003 and registered with Charities Servics in 2008 The Group was set up in response to land development issues along the Clutha River / Mata-Au corridor, much of which has high scenic and recreational values. The project aims to establish a regional river parkway, including a river trail, along the entire 338 km river corridor from Lake Wānaka to the Pacific Ocean.
Horatio Hartley (1826–1903) was an American gold prospector who participated in the Otago gold rush in New Zealand in the 1860s.
The Bendigo Goldfields region of Central Otago is an historic area comprising several former mining settlements in the southern South Island of New Zealand. It was part of the Otago gold rush that occurred during the 1860s, leading to an influx of miners from rushes in California and Victoria, Australia. These miners brought with them a rich diversity of cultures from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Sweden, China, Australia, Canada, and the United States. The area was named after the goldfield by the same name in Victoria.
The Dunstan Mountains are a mountain range in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. The mountains lie on the eastern shore of the man-made Lake Dunstan and overlook the towns of Cromwell to the west, Clyde to the south and Omakau to the east. The highest named peak on the mountain range, a rocky knoll simply called Dunstan, is 1,667 m.
Deadman's Point Bridge crosses Lake Dunstan at Cromwell, Central Otago, as part of New Zealand's State Highway 8 (SH8). A short spur section, SH8B, joins SH8 on the true left bank of Lake Dunstan, crossing Deadman's Point Bridge to meet State Highway 6 immediately west of Cromwell.
Christopher Reilly was an Irish gold prospector who participated in the Otago gold rush in New Zealand in the 1860s.