State Highway 25 (New Zealand)

State Highway 25 (SH 25) is a North Island state highway in New Zealand that loops around the Coromandel Peninsula. It is a major route for holidaymakers and tourists which has access to some of New Zealand's most idyllic beach holiday spots. The summer period around Christmas and New Year's Eve is a particularly busy period for the highway. The road is very scenic, but also windy in many parts as well as single carriage on the entire route, and is prone to accidents. It is New Zealand's third longest two-digit state highway, after SH 35 and SH 94. It is part of the Pacific Coast Highway.

State Highway 25
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length231 km (144 mi)
Major junctions
West end SH 2 near Mangatarata
East end SH 2 (Rosemont Road) at Waihi
Location
Primary
destinations		Thames, Coromandel, Whitianga, Tairua, Pauanui, Whangamatā
Highway system
← SH 24→ SH 26

There is one spur road, SH 25A, that crosses the peninsula west to east, almost intersecting SH 25 at both ends.

Route

SH 25 begins at SH 2 3 km north of Mangatarata at a roundabout intersection.[1] The highway travels eastwards across the Hauraki Plains where it crosses the Waihou River on the new Kopu Bridge, it hits the junction with SH 26 and moves northwards through the township of Thames. The road continues north, skirting the Firth of Thames into the small township of Coromandel before travelling eastwards across the peninsula to the Bay of Plenty side towards Whitianga. SH 25 veers south-west on the Whitianga Bypass, through Coroglen and Whenuakite and over windy hill roads into Tairua, where Pauanui is accessible. SH 25 then continues southwards, past the intersection of the spur highway SH 25A and towards Whangamatā. The road bypasses Whangamatā on the west side and continues southbound until it reaches its final terminus in Waihi at the intersection of Kenny Street & Rosemont Road.[2]

Spurs

State Highway 25A
LocationKopu–Hikuai
Length28.2 km (17.5 mi)

State Highway 25A (SH 25A) traverses the Coromandel Peninsula from west to east directly. This 28.2 km road begins at the intersection of SH 26 only 400m away from the SH 25/SH 26 intersection. It terminates on SH 25 between Tairua and Whangamatā.[3]

Route changes

SH 25 once went through the town centres of Whitianga and Whangamatā. In Whitianga, the bypass was constructed carrying traffic away from the original route via Buffalo Beach Road, Albert Street, and South Highway.[4] In Whangamatā, SH 25 bypasses the town via Tairua Road instead of using Harry Watt Drive, Hetherington Road and Port Road.

In the early 2000s the last sections of the highway were sealed, particularly around the northern end of the Coromandel Peninsula between Coromandel township and Whitianga.[5]

In 2011 NZTA completed the new Kopu Bridge, a two lane structure, across the Waihou River. It replaced the previous one-lane bridge, where at times holidaymakers had to queue for hours to cross. The old bridge, which was built in 1928, is scheduled to be deconstructed although a key part of its history will still be preserved.[6][7]

Major junctions
Territorial authority Location km jct Destinations Notes
Hauraki District Mangatarata 0 SH 2 south – Paeroa, Tauranga
SH 2 north – Auckland		 SH 25 begins
Thames-Coromandel District Kopu 23 New Kopu Bridge (Waihou River)
24 SH 26 – Paeroa, Hamilton SH 25A begins just south of this junction
Coromandel Township 84 Tiki Road – Coromandel Township
Whitianga 127 Buffalo Beach Road – Whitianga
Hikuai 180 SH 25A – Thames
Whangamatā 199 Harry Watt Drive – Whangamatā
202 Port Road – Whangamatā
Hauraki District Waihi 231 SH 2 south (Rosemont Road) – Katikati, Tauranga
SH 2 north (Rosemont Road) – Paeroa, Auckland		 SH 25 ends

See also

References
  1. "SH2/25 Intersection Improvement". New Zealand Transport Agency. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  2. State Highway 25 on Google Maps
  3. State Highway 25A on Google Maps
  4. "Revoking a Section of State Highway and Declaring a Section of State Highway-State Highway 25, Thames-Coromandel District". NZ Gazette. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  5. "Regions on the road to safer driving". New Zealand Herald. 30 June 2000.
  6. "Kopu Bridge replacement". New Zealand Transport Agency. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  7. "The future of old Kopu Bridge". New Zealand Transport Agency. 11 July 2013.
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