State Highway 39 (New Zealand)

State Highway 39 (SH 39) is a New Zealand state highway that forms a western bypass of the city of Hamilton. Gazetted in 1999,[1] it is a generally quicker route to get between Auckland and New Plymouth as well as connecting to the Waitomo Caves, just south of the SH 39 southern terminus. The southernmost 14 km section has a concurrency with SH 31, as this highway has existed for much longer (SH 31 continues west to Kawhia).

State Highway 39
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length65.5 km (40.7 mi)
Major junctions
North end SH 1 at Te Rapa, Hamilton
South end SH 3 at Otorohanga
Location
Primary
destinations		Te Kowhai, Whatawhata, Pirongia
Highway system
← SH 38→ SH 40

Route

SH 39 begins at SH 1 on the Te Rapa section of the Waikato Expressway at Koura Drive, just north of the city of Hamilton. It veers south briefly before reaching a roundabout junction where it follows Te Kowhai Road westbound, eventually changing to Limmer Road. At the intersection of Horotiu Road SH 39 veers south (the northbound road formed the previous SH 39 route) until the intersection with SH 23 at Whatawhata. It shares a brief concurrency, turning left into SH 23, then immediately right back onto SH 39 southbound. Following Kakaramea Road, the highway passed through Ngāhinapōuri then the township of Pirongia. After Pironga the state highway intersects SH 31 to Kawhia. For the final 14 km the road is jointly designated SH 31 and SH 39 before terminating in the town of Otorohanga with SH 3.[2]

SH 39 is classified as an 'arterial' highway under the One Network Road Classification.[3]

The traffic flow records indicate that through traffic forms about half the flow, with traffic from Hamilton via SH 23 adding to the flow through Whatawhata and via Temple View and Tuhikaramea Rd adding to the flow through Ngāhinapōuri and from Kawhia adding a little to the flow at the southern end of SH 39 -[4]

Average annual daily traffic
Location 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 % Heavy vehicles
east of Te Kowhai 1572 3243 3761 13
north of Whatawhata 5062 15
north of Tuhikaramea Rd 3133 3152 3020 2918 3230 19
Ngāhinapōuri 5503 5413 5430 5500 5666 15
Puketotara 3166 3202 3243 3269 3545 17
before SH 31 Intersection 2456 2503 2666 2589 2801 20
after SH 31 Intersection 2576 2714 2755 2781 2929 20

Major intersections
Territorial authorityLocationkmjctDestinationsNotes
Waikato DistrictBurbush SH 1 north – Auckland
SH 1 south – Hamilton		SH 39 begins
Te Kowhai Road
Burbush Road
Te KowhaiHorotiu Road – Te Kowhai, NgāruawāhiaFormer SH 39 route
Whatawhata SH 23 west – RaglanStaggered T-junction
SH 23 east – Hamilton
Waipa DistrictTihiroa SH 31 west – KawhiaSH 39/SH 31 concurrency begins
Otorohanga DistrictOtorohanga SH 3 north – Hamilton
SH 3 south – New Plymouth		SH 39 ends
SH 39/SH 31 concurrency ends

Previous route

SH 39's northern terminus has changed. In 2013 after the completion of the Waikato Expressway, Ngāruawāhia Section, SH 1 used to travel through Ngāruawāhia and Te Kowhai further north than currently.[5] After the expressway was completed, the Waikato Expressway become the new SH 1. As the expressway is a faster route, SH 39 was diverted away from Ngāruawāhia to its current terminus at Te Rapa. The current route was temporarily designated SH 39A[6] whilst it was being upgraded to highway status and in June 2014 this section become SH 39 and the old section revoked.[7][8]

History

In 1936/7 the road was declared a main highway under the Main Highways Act 1922 from Horotiu/Ngāruawāhia to Te Rore via Whatawhata and improvements made.[9] At that time, AADT south of Whatawhata was 102.[10]

Floods

The road runs close to the Waipa River for most of its length. Until the 1930s improvements, floods closed the road in 1904,[11] 1907[12] and 1926.[13]

Buses

The only bus now using SH 39 is a very short section of the Raglan-Hamilton route.[14] In the 1930s the road was served by Pirongia-Whatawhata-Hamilton[15] and Kawhia-Te Awamutu buses.[16]

See also

References
  1. "Declaring New Sections of State Highway: State Highway No. 1B and State Highway No. 39". NZ Gazette. 16 December 1999. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  2. State Highway 39 on Google Maps
  3. "One Network Road Classification: North Island State Highways" (PDF). New Zealand Transport Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  4. "State Highway AADT booklet 2011–2015" (PDF). NZ Transport Agency. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  5. "Notice No. 1999-au9428 – New Zealand Gazette". gazette.govt.nz. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  6. "Declaring a Section of State Highway-State Highway 39A, Koura Drive/Te Kowhai Road/Limmer Road, Hamilton City and Waikato District". NZ Gazette. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  7. "Revoking Sections of State Highway and Declaring a Section of State Highway-State Highway 1N and State Highway 39, Waikato". NZ Gazette. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  8. "Upgrade work to begin on SH39A , Te Kowhai and Limmer Roads". NZ Transport Agency. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  9. "Parliamentary Papers | Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives | 1937 Session I PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT (BY THE HON. R. SEMPLE, MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  10. "Parliamentary Papers | Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives – Public Works Statement (By The Hon. R. Semple, Minister of Public Works) 1938". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  11. "WAIPA COUNTY COUNCIL. (Waikato Times, 1904-06-15)". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  12. "THE FLOOD. (Waikato Argus, 1907-01-16)". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  13. "The main road between Whatawhata and Pirongia (Auckland Star, 1926-05-31)". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  14. "Raglan 23". busit.co.nz. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  15. "TRANSPORT SERVICES (New Zealand Herald, 1932-08-11)". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  16. "Page 10 Advertisements Column 4". New Zealand Herald. 10 December 1938. p. 10. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
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