State Highway 8 (New Zealand)

Last updated

State Highway 8 NZ.svg
State Highway 8
NZ-SH8 map.png
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
Length457 km (284 mi)
Major junctions
North (clockwise) endState Highway 1 NZ.svg SH 1 (Hilton Highway) at Washdyke
Major intersectionsState Highway 8a NZ.svgState Highway 6 NZ.svg SH 8A (Bells Lane) to SH 6 near Tarras
State Highway 8b NZ.svgState Highway 6 NZ.svg SH 8B to SH 6 near Cromwell
South (anticlockwise) endState Highway 1 NZ.svg SH 1 at Clarksville
Location
Country New Zealand
Primary
destinations
Pleasant Point, Fairlie, Lake Tekapo, Twizel, Omarama, Cromwell, Clyde, Alexandra, Roxburgh, Lawrence
Highway system
State Highway 7 NZ.svg SH 7 State Highway 10 NZ.svg SH 10

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.

Contents

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.

Route

NZSH 8 runs through rugged terrain, such as the rocky hill country south of Alexandra. NZSH8Alex.jpg
NZSH 8 runs through rugged terrain, such as the rocky hill country south of Alexandra.
State Highway 8 runs through Lawrence. LawrenceNZ.jpg
State Highway 8 runs through Lawrence.

Main route

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.

Spur sections

Deadmans Point bridge, looking towards Cromwell Deadmans Point Bridge Lake Dunstan Cromwell.jpg
Deadmans Point bridge, looking towards Cromwell

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.

Route changes

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.

History

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.

Statistics

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]

Major intersections

Territorial authority LocationkmmiDestinationsNotes
Timaru District Washdyke 00.0State Highway 1 NZ.svg SH 1 north Temuka, Christchurch
State Highway 1 NZ.svg SH 1 south Timaru, Dunedin
SH 8 begins
Mackenzie District Fairlie 5735State Highway 79 NZ.svg SH 79  Geraldine, Christchurch
Burkes Pass 8352 Burkes Pass 706 m (2,316 ft)
Lake Pukaki 14691State Highway 80 NZ.svg SH 80  Glentanner, Aoraki / Mount Cook
Waitaki District Omarama 185115State Highway 83 NZ.svg SH 83  Kurow, Oamaru
Waitaki District / Central Otago District boundary Lindis Pass 219136 Lindis Pass 972 m (3,189 ft)
Central Otago District Tarras 267166State Highway 8a NZ.svg SH 8A Wānaka, West Coast
Cromwell 294183State Highway 8b NZ.svg SH 8B Cromwell, Queenstown
Alexandra 328204State Highway 85 NZ.svg SH 85  Ranfurly, Dunedin
Central Otago District / Clutha District boundary Raes Junction 397247State Highway 90 NZ.svg SH 90  Tapanui, Gore
Clutha District Clarksville 460290State Highway 1 NZ.svg SH 1 north Milton, Dunedin
State Highway 1 NZ.svg SH 1 south Balclutha, Invercargill
SH 8 ends

References

  1. "Traffic Data Booklet 2002 – 2006" (PDF). Transit New Zealand. May 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2007.