Western Ring Route

Western Ring Route
Upper Harbour Motorway (SH 18) Northwestern Motorway Southwestern Motorway (SH 20)
Route information
Maintained by New Zealand Transport Agency
Length:	48 km (30 mi)
History:	First section completed – 1955
Major junctions
North end:	SH 1 near Rosedale
	SH 16 at Westgate SH 16 at Waterview SH 20A at Mangere SH 20B at Puhinui
South end:	SH 20 at Manukau
Location
Major cities:	Greenhithe, Hobsonville, Massey, Te Atatu, Waterview, Mount Roskill, Onehunga, Mangere, Auckland Airport, Wiri
Highway system
New Zealand state highways Motorways and expressways List Unused

The Western Ring Route is a motorway system being constructed in Auckland, New Zealand. It runs along three existing state highways: the Southwestern Motorway (SH20), the Northwestern Motorway (part of SH16) and the Upper Harbour Highway (SH18).^[1] When finished it will surpass the Southern Motorway to become the longest motorway in New Zealand at 48 kilometers in length. It will run through Manukau, Waitakere, and the North Shore, bypassing the Auckland city centre and thus providing a second motorway route through the Auckland isthmus.^[1][2]

The section of SH20 from Queenstown Road to Richardson Road (the Mount Roskill Extension) opened on 15 May 2009.^[3] The section of SH18 connecting the Greenhithe Bridge and SH16 (the Upper Harbour Motorway) and the extension of SH16 to Brigham Creek Road opened in August 2011.^[4]

Construction of the Waterview Connection began in late 2011.

History

The ring route had been planned as early as the first half of the 20th century. Some critics have alleged that the rerouting of State Highway 1 over the Auckland Harbour Bridge (to ensure toll revenues) has been a primary contributor to the decades-long (and ongoing) delays. The rerouting is thus alleged to have significantly contributed to the need for a massive motorway through the centre of Auckland, severely damaging inner city suburbs such as Freemans Bay and Grafton.^[5]

Major junctions

Location	km	#	Destinations	Notes
	0.0		SH 1 Northern Motorway (south) – Auckland	Western Ring Route begins
			SH 1 Northern Motorway (north) – Whangarei
			Caribbean Drive
			Paul Matthews Drive
			Unsworth Drive	Southbound exit only
	2.4	2	Route 26 Albany Highway	Motorway begins
Greenhithe	4.3	4	Greenhithe Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	6.2	6	Tauhinu Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	7.4		Upper Harbour Bridge over Waitemata Harbour
Hobsonville		8	Squadron Drive	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		9	Brigham Creek Road – Whenuapai, Helensville	to north
		10	Trig Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Westgate		11	Route 32 Hobsonville Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			SH 16 Northwest Motorway (north) – Kumeu, Helensville
	19.4		Route 32 Hobsonville Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Massey East	17.8	18	Royal Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Lincoln North	15.6	16	Route 19 Lincoln Road – Henderson
Te Atatu South	13.5	14	Route 13 Te Atatu Road – Henderson
Avondale North	12.3	12	Patiki Road – Avondale, New Lynn	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	10.8	11	Rosebank Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Point Chevalier	8.1	8	Route 11 Great North Road – Avondale, New Lynn	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			SH 16 Northwest Motorway (east) – Auckland City Centre, Port	Current terminus
			Waterview Tunnel
Mount Roskill			Maioro Street	Current terminus
Mount Roskill		18	Route 4 Dominion Road
Hillsborough		16	Route 15 Hillsborough Road
		15	Route 12 Queenstown Road — Auckland City Centre	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Onehunga		13	Neilson Street — Onehunga Wharf, Onehunga, Penrose, Mt Wellington
			Mangere Bridge over Manukau Harbour
Mangere Bridge
		12	Mahunga Drive — Mangere Bridge Township, Favona	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Mangere		10	Walmsley Road	Southbound
			Coronation Road	Northbound
		9	SH 20A — Airport	No southbound entrance (use SH20B or Massey Road) Carriageway mainline connects north to west, traffic proceeding from/to south on motorway must 'exit'.
		7	Route 14 Massey Road
Puhinui		3	SH 20B Puhinui Road — Airport	No northbound exit (use Cavendish Drive) Southbound entrance and connection to SH 20B and
Puhinui		3	Route 30 Cavendish Drive	No southbound exit (use Puhinui Road) Northbound entrance and connection to SH 20B and
Manukau CBD		2	Lambie Drive — Manukau City Centre
		1	SH 1 Southern Motorway north — Auckland
			SH 1 Southern Motorway south — Hamilton, Tauranga	Western Ring Route ends
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References