Hutt Expressway

The Hutt Expressway (often erroneously referred to as the Hutt Motorway) is a 3-4 lane divided highway running from the Wellington Urban Motorway at the Ngauranga, past Lower Hutt and central Upper Hutt, to the intersection with Fergusson Drive in Maoribank in north-eastern Upper Hutt. State Highway 2 officially continues north of Maoribank to Te Mārua, Kaitoke, and over the Rimutaka Hill to Wairarapa, but this section is two lanes undivided and is covered in the main State Highway 2 article. The names Hutt Expressway and Hutt Motorway are not official, and actually refers to three different roads: Hutt Road from the Ngauranga Interchange to the Petone Overbridge, Western Hutt Road from the Petone Overbridge to the Silverstream Bridge, and River Road from Silverstream Bridge to Maoribank.

State Highway 2
River Road, Western Hutt Road, Hutt Road
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length30 km (20 mi)
Major junctions
Northeast endMaoribank
 Junction 962
State Highway 58
Exit 979
State Highway 1
Southwest endNgauranga
Ngauranga Interchange
Location
Primary
destinations
Upper Hutt, Stokes Valley, Avalon, Lower Hutt City Centre, Petone
Highway system

Design

South of the Silverstream Bridge intersection the road is mainly two lanes each way, with a three-lane northbound section just south of the Belmont Hills intersection, and is dual carriageway throughout. North of the Silverstream Bridge intersection, the road is dual carriageway as far as Gibbons Street, except for a small section on the Moonshine Bridge across the Hutt River, with the Gibbons Street to Maoribank section being single carriageway. Except for the Moonshine Bridge and Totara Park to Maoribank section, the road has three lanes in total: two in one direction and one in the other, alternating every kilometre (a 2+1 road)

Improvements

The section between the Petone and Normandale Overbridges was improved by the Dowse to Petone project, replacing three sets of traffic lights with a grade-separated roundabout and an overbridge.[1]

The grade-separation of the SH 58 intersection at Haywards was opened in 2017, converting the traffic light controlled intersection with a grade separated roundabout interchange. There are proposals to replace the Melling intersection with a grade-separated interchange also.[2]

Interchanges

All interchanges are at-grade unless otherwise specified. At-grade intersections are controlled by traffic lights, with minor ones controlled by Give Way and Stop signs. Several minor intersections were changed to prevent traffic turning right into or out of minor roads. The Haywards (SH 58), Dowse Drive, Petone, and Ngauranga interchanges are grade-separated.

Territorial authority Location km[lower-alpha 1] Destinations Notes
Upper Hutt City Maoribank 949.7 SH 2 Fergusson Drive (north) – Te Mārua, Masterton
Fergusson Drive (south) – Mangaroa, Upper Hutt City Centre
River Road begins
950.9 Totara Park Road (east)
Totara Park Road (west) – Totara Park
952.3 Gibbons Street – Upper Hutt City Centre Traffic light controlled seagull intersection
953.9 Whakataki Street – Wallaceville, Whitemans Valley
954.7 Moonshine Road – Trentham, Heretaunga Southbound exit and entrance
954.9 Moonshine Bridge over Hutt River
955.5 Moonshine Hill Road – Riverstone Terraces
Silverstream 959.1 Fergusson Drive – Silverstream, Stokes Valley Silverstream interchange – Traffic light controlled seagull intersection
River Road ends; Western Hutt Road begins
Hutt City Manor Park 961.5 SH 58 (Manor Park Road / Haywards Hill Road) Manor Park, Pauatahanui, Porirua Haywards interchange – grade-separated roundabout interchange
964.9 Hebden Crescent/Liverton Road
965.7 Hebden Crescent/Gurney Road Northbound exit and entrance
Belmont 966.4 Carter Street – Belmont Domain
966.9 Fairway Drive – Avalon, Naenae, Hutt Hospital Kennedy Good interchange – traffic light controlled staggered-T intersections
967.0 Major Drive – Kelson
967.8 Grounsell Crescent – Belmont Hills
968.4 Wairere Road/Pomare Road Northbound exit and entrance
Melling 969.3 Block Road (east) – Normandale
Tirohanga Road (west) – Tirohanga
Melling Interchange – Twin traffic light-controlled four-way intersections
969.4 Melling Link (east) – Lower Hutt City Centre, Waterloo
Harbour View Road (west) – Harbour View
971.7 Dowse Drive – Maungaraki, Petone, Lower Hutt City Centre Dowse Interchange – grade-separated roundabout interchange
Korokoro 973.2 Petone Southbound exit only
973.4 Priests Avenue – Petone, Korokoro Northbound exit and entrance
973.9 Cornish Street – Korokoro Industrial Area Northbound exit only
974.1 Hutt Road –Petone, Eastbourne, Wainuiomata Petone Interchange – Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Western Hutt Road ends
Wellington City 974.7 Horokiwi Road – Horokiwi Northbound only. Southbound entrance closed in 2010.
976.1 BP Hutt Road Northbound only
Ngauranga 978.4 SH 1 Hutt Road – Ngauranga, Porirua, Picton Ferry Ngauranga Interchange – Southbound exit and northbound entrance.
979.0 SH 1 Wellington Urban Motorway – Wellington City Centre, Airport State Highway 2 ends
Notes
  1. Distances are measured from the start of State Highway 2 near Pokeno

See also

References

  1. "Dowse to Petone Upgrade Project". NZ Transport Agency. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. "SH2 Melling Intersection Improvements". NZ Transport Agency. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
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