New Zealand State Highway 1

Story

State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading 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.SH 1 is long, 1081km in the North Island and 952km in the South Island. For the majority of its length it is a two-lane single carriageway, with at-grade intersections and property accesses, in both rural and urban areas. These sections have some passing lanes. Around 215km of SH 1 is of motorway or expressway standard : 191km in the North Island and 23km in the South Island. Current road construction will see an extra 102km in the North Island and 11km in the South Island upgraded to motorway or expressway standard by 2022.RouteNorth Island (SH 1N)SH 1 starts at Cape Reinga, at the northwestern tip of the Aupouri Peninsula, and since April 2010 has been sealed (mainly with either chipseal or asphalt) for its entire length. From Waitiki Landing south of Cape Reinga, SH 1 travels down the central-eastern side of the peninsula to Kaitaia, New Zealand's northernmost town, before turning south-east across the Northland Peninsula on to Kawakawa in the Bay of Islands, and then south to the city of Whangarei, the largest urban area in Northland.