Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has set new permanent speed limits on State Highway 1 Waikato Expressway between Hampton Downs and Tamahere.
The State Highway 1 (SH1) Waikato Expressway has been designed and built to be one of the safest roads in New Zealand. It is a key transport route for the Waikato region, connecting Auckland to the agricultural and business hubs of the central North Island. It will support economic growth and productivity through safer, more efficient movement of people and freight.
When completed, the Waikato Expressway will improve safety, reliability and congestion on State Highway 1 (SH1) by delivering a four-lane highway from the Bombay Hills to south of Cambridge.
On 26 October 2021, Waka Kotahi started formal consultation on a proposed new speed limit for the 64km Hampton Downs to Tamahere section of SH1, Waikato Expressway, including the on and off ramps at 14 interchanges along this section to support this change. The consultation was open for four weeks and closed 5pm, 23 November 2021.
The following speed limits were proposed during consultation and have been set as the new permanent speed limits.
SH1 Waikato Expressway new permanent speed limits, effective from Wednesday 13 July 2022. For Hamilton sections, the new speed limits will apply once opened:
|
Location |
New permanent speed limit |
||
|
SH1 southbound. From approximately 650 m north of Hampton Downs Road overbridge to approximately 1.3 km south of Tamahere interchange (Airport Road). |
110 km/h |
||
|
SH1 northbound. From approximately 1.3 km south of Tamahere Interchange (Airport Road) to approximately 650 m north of Hampton Downs Road overbridge. |
110 km/h |
||
|
Interchanges |
New permanent speed limit |
||
|
1. Hampton Downs Interchange |
Southbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 130 m before the limit line. Northbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 100 m before the limit line and 80 km/h beyond this point, for the remainder of the ramp. On-ramps: 110 km/h from approximately 100 m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
2. Te Kauwhata Interchange |
Southbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 130 m before the limit line and 80 km/h beyond this point, for the remainder of the ramp. Northbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 200 m before the limit line and 80 km/h beyond this point, for the remainder of the ramp. On-ramps: 110 km/h from approximately 100 m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
3. Rangiriri Interchange |
Off-ramps: 110 km/h until approximately 70 m before the limit line and 50 km/h beyond this point, for the remainder of the ramp. On-ramps: 110 km/h from approximately 100m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
4. Armitage Road |
Off-road slip lane: 110 km/h until approximately 20 m past concrete nose. On-road slip lane: 110km/h from approximately 20m past Paetai Road. |
||
|
5. Ōhinewai Interchange |
Off-ramps: 110 km/h until approximately 160 m before the limit line. On-ramps: 110 km/h from approximately 100 m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
6. Huntly Northern Interchange |
Off-ramps: 110 km/h until approximately 100 m past the concrete nose. On-ramps: 110 km/h from approximately 100 m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
7. Taupiri Scientific Reserve |
30 km/h within the Scientific Reserve carpark. Off-road slip lane: 110 km/h until approximately 100 m past the concrete nose. On-road slip lane: 110 km/h from approximately 10 m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
8. Gordonton Road (Taupiri) Interchange |
Southbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 110 m before the limit line. Northbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 130 m before the limit line. On-ramps: 110 km/h from approximately 100 m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
9. Hamilton Northern Interchange |
Off-ramps: 110 km/h until approximately 100 m past the concrete nose On-ramps: 110 km/h from approximately 100 m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
10. Resolution Drive Interchange |
Off-ramps: 110 km/h until approximately 110 m before the limit line and 80 km/h beyond this point, for the remainder of the ramp. On-ramps: 110 km/h from approximately 100 m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
11. Greenhill Interchange |
Southbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 150 m before the limit line and 80 km/h beyond this point, for the remainder of the ramp. Northbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 130 m before the limit line and 80 km/h beyond this point, for the remainder of the ramp. On-ramps: 110 km/h from approximately 100 m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
12. Ruakura Interchange |
Off-ramps: 110 km/h until approximately 80 m before the limit line and 60 km/h beyond this point, for the remainder of the ramp. On-ramps: 110 km/h from approximately 100 m before the concrete nose. |
||
|
13. Hamilton Southern Interchange |
Northbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 200 m past the concrete nose. East-West southbound link off-ramp: 60 km/h to Bollard Road Extension. Southbound on-ramp: 110 km/h from intersection with East-West southbound link. |
||
|
14. Tamahere Interchange |
Southbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 110 m before the limit line and 80 km/h beyond this point, for the remainder of the ramp. Northbound off-ramp: 110 km/h until approximately 70m before the limit line and 80 km/h beyond this point, for the remainder of the ramp. Northbound on-ramp: 110 km/h from north of Devine Road intersection. Southbound on-ramp: 110 km/h from approximately 100 m before the concrete nose. |
||
Concrete nose: A concrete nose is found at the exit and entry point of on and off ramps. It forms part of the area that separates the on/off ramp with expressway through traffic.
Limit line: A line marked on the surface of the road, indicating the place where traffic must stop to comply with a stop sign, give-way sign, pedestrian crossing, school crossing or traffic signal.
A 110km/h speed limit will only apply to stretches of road built to a standard where the higher speed limit is considered both safe and appropriate. Waka Kotahi is upgrading the Hampton Downs, Ngāruawāhia and Tamahere sections to meet the necessary design and safety standards for a 110 km/h speed limit. While these sections of state highway are being upgraded a temporary speed limit will be in place. These sections will be increased to 110 km/h upon completion of this work.
Find out more about the SH1 Waikato Expressway Hampton Downs to Tamahere permanent speed limits by reading the frequently asked questions.
Public consultation closed 5pm, 23 November 2021.
A total of 744 submissions were received for this consultation – 680 submissions were made via online survey, and 64 written submissions were emailed to the project email address.
For this consultation Waka Kotahi provided a map and table overview of the proposed speed limit changes on this section of the Waikato Expressway and at the 14 interchanges within this speed review project area.
You can view our consultation summary and the submissions:
More information about speed management and the speed review process
