State Highway 59 (New Zealand)

State Highway 59
State Highway 59
Route information
	Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length	26.2 km (16.3 mi)
Existed	2021–present
Major junctions
North end	SH 1 (Kapiti Expressway/Transmission Gully Motorway) at Mackays Crossing
	SH 58 east (Paremata Road) at Paremata
South end	SH 1 south (Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway) at Linden
Location
Primary; destinations	Paekākāriki, Pukerua Bay, Paremata, Porirua
Highway system

State Highway 59 (SH 59) is a New Zealand state highway in the Wellington Region linking Mackays Crossing (near Paekākāriki) to Linden. It came into existence on 7 December 2021,^[1] prior to the opening of the Transmission Gully Motorway and consists of the former route of State Highway 1 between Mackays Crossing and Linden.^[2]

Route[]

Centennial Highway between Paekākāriki and Pukerua Bay.

State Highway 59 leaves State Highway 1 at the Mackays Crossing Interchange, the point where the northern end of the Transmission Gully Motorway meets the southern end of the Kapiti Expressway. The route heads to the south-west and passes through Paekākāriki, before travelling along the Centennial Highway through to Pukerua Bay along a narrow strip of land between the Paekākāriki Escarpment and the Tasman Sea, shared with the North Island Main Trunk railway line. After Pukerua Bay, the route becomes a dual carriageway through to Plimmerton, before narrowing to a single carriageway through Mana. South of Mana, the route crosses over the Porirua Harbour at Paremata; here, the route intersects with the western terminus of State Highway 58 at a roundabout.

From the SH 58 junction, the route once more becomes a dual carriageway and travels between the Porirua Harbour and the suburb of Papakōwhai to reach the Porirua city center, becoming the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway at a point 500 metres (550 yd) south of the Mungavin Avenue interchange. A short distance south, as the route enters Wellington City in the northern suburb of Linden, the southern end of the Transmission Gully Motorway carrying SH 1 merges on to the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway. The SH 59 designation ends at this point, with the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway carrying the SH 1 designation as it continues south to Johnsonville and Wellington.

History[]

The original route north of Wellington known as the Centennial Highway from Ngauranga to Paekākāriki was started in 1936 and opened on 4 November 1939.^[3] The Centennial Highway project involved an upgrade of the Ngauranga Gorge road and provided a new route from Paremata to Paekākāriki, bypassing the winding road along the southern harbour edge from Paremata to Pāuatahanui (now part of State Highway 58) and the tortuous narrow winding Paekākāriki Hill Road between Pāuatahanui and Paekākāriki. It followed a new route, bridging the narrow channel between Paremata and the Mana isthmus and following the eastern edge of the Taupō swamp north of Plimmerton before climbing to the Pukerua Bay saddle and descending to follow the coastline to Paekākāriki.^[4]

During the 1950s and 1960s, the route south of Porirua was replaced in stages by the Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway.

In Porirua city, in the 1990s, the road was four-laned and realigned to ease curves from just south of Pukerua Bay to Mana. In 2005–2006, the route through Mana was upgraded with extra lanes to provide dual carriageways through Mana during peak periods and the installation of traffic lights to regulate cross traffic. A second bridge was added to four-lane the connection of the Mana isthmus to Paremata.

Originally part of State Highway 1, the route was renumbered State Highway 59 on 7 December 2021, shortly before the opening of the Transmission Gully Motorway.^[1] SH 1 was shifted to the Transmission Gully Motorway to reflect its purpose as the new main route north of Wellington, with the existing route remaining a state highway due to its strategic importance to the regional transport network.^[2]

Major junctions[]

All exits are unnumbered.

Territorial authority	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Kapiti Coast District	Mackays Crossing	0.0	0.0	SH 1 south (Transmission Gully Motorway) - Wellington (Emerald Glen Road) (Whareroa Road) - Whareroa Farm	SH 59 begins 40°58′15″S 174°58′59″E / 40.970968°S 174.983033°E / -40.970968; 174.983033 (Mackays Crossing Interchange)
	Mackays Crossing	0.1	0.062	(Whareroa Road) – Queen Elizabeth Park To SH 1 north (Kapiti Expressway) - Paraparaumu, Palmerston North
	Paekākāriki	1.9	1.2	SH 1 north (Transmission Gully Motorway to Kapiti Expressway) - Paraparaumu, Palmerston North	Access to northbound SH 1 and access from southbound SH 1 (via Paekākāriki Link Road) only
	Paekākāriki	3.5	2.2	(Paekākāriki Hill Road) – Pāuatahanui (Beach Road) – Paekākāriki
Porirua City	Plimmerton	17.1	10.6	(James Street/Ulric Street) - Plimmerton Estate
	Paremata	19.8	12.3	SH 58 (Paremata Road) – Whitby, Hutt Valley	41°06′21″S 174°52′05″E / 41.105864°S 174.867956°E / -41.105864; 174.867956 (SH 58/SH 59 intersection)
	Papakōwhai	21.9	13.6	(Whitford Brown Avenue) – Papakōwhai
	Porirua CBD	23.3	14.5	(Parumoana Street) – Porirua City Centre, Titahi Bay	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Porirua CBD	24.1	15.0	(Mungavin Avenue) – Porirua City Centre, Titahi Bay, Tawa	Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway begins 500 m (550 yd) south of this junction
Wellington City	Linden	26.2	16.3	SH 1 north (Transmission Gully Motorway) - Palmerston North	SH 59 ends 41°09′19″S 174°50′22″E / 41.155188°S 174.839422°E / -41.155188; 174.839422 (Linden Interchange) Northbound exit and southbound entrance Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway continues south as SH 1
Incomplete access Unopened

References[]

^ ^a ^b "State Highway 59 switch confirmed for December" (Press release). New Zealand Transport Agency. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Change coming for state highway numbers in the Wellington region" (Press release). New Zealand Transport Agency. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
^ Reilly, Helen (2013). Pauatahanui: A local history. Wellington: Pauatahanui Residents Association. pp. 128–129. ISBN 978-0-473-25439-1.
^ "Centennial Highway, State Highway 1". Engineering New Zealand. Retrieved 6 October 2016.

External links[]

New Zealand Transport Agency

[State_Highway_59_switch_confirmed_for_December-1] "State Highway 59 switch confirmed for December" (Press release). New Zealand Transport Agency. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.

[SH_59_renumbering-2] "Change coming for state highway numbers in the Wellington region" (Press release). New Zealand Transport Agency. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.

[3] Reilly, Helen (2013). Pauatahanui: A local history. Wellington: Pauatahanui Residents Association. pp. 128–129. ISBN 978-0-473-25439-1.

[4] "Centennial Highway, State Highway 1". Engineering New Zealand. Retrieved 6 October 2016.

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v t New Zealand state highways
List of New Zealand state highways List of motorways and expressways in New Zealand
National	SH 1 (incl. SH 1B) SH 2 SH 3 (incl. SH 3A) SH 4 SH 5 SH 6 (incl. SH 6A) SH 7 (incl. SH 7A) SH 8 (incl. SH 8A, SH 8B)
North Island	SH 10 SH 11 SH 12 SH 14 SH 15 SH 16 SH 18 SH 20 (incl. SH 20A, SH 20B) SH 21 SH 22 SH 23 SH 24 SH 25 (incl. SH 25A) SH 26 SH 27 SH 28 SH 29 (incl. SH 29A) SH 30 (incl. SH 30A) SH 31 SH 32 SH 33 SH 34 SH 35 SH 36 SH 37 SH 38 SH 39 SH 41 SH 43 SH 44 SH 45 SH 46 SH 47 SH 48 SH 49 SH 50 SH 51 SH 53 SH 54 SH 56 SH 57 SH 58 SH 59
South Island	SH 60 SH 62 SH 63 SH 65 SH 67 (incl. SH 67A) SH 69 SH 71 SH 73 SH 74 (incl. SH 74A) SH 75 SH 76 SH 77 SH 78 SH 79 SH 80 SH 82 SH 83 SH 84 SH 85 SH 86 SH 87 SH 88 SH 90 SH 93 SH 94 SH 95 SH 96 SH 97 SH 98 SH 99
Former state highways	SH 1A SH 1F SH 2A SH 2B SH 15 SH 15A SH 17 SH 36 SH 40 SH 47A SH 49A SH 50A SH 52 SH 57A SH 61 SH 70 SH 72 SH 73A SH 89 SH 91 SH 92
Touring routes	Inland Scenic Route Southern Scenic Route