Waikato Expressway
The Waikato Expressway is a dual carriageway section of State Highway 1 (SH 1) in New Zealand's Waikato region. Constructed in stages, it forms part of the link between Auckland and Hamilton. Currently stretching from Auckland to south of Cambridge, the first section of the highway was built in 1993. Throughout its lifetime, it has undergone many upgrades to optimise traffic flow throughout the Waikato region, including various bypasses of many towns in the region, culminating with Hamilton in 2022.
Waikato Expressway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Maintained by NZ Transport Agency | |
| Length | 101.4 km (63.0 mi) |
| Existed | 8 May 1993–present |
| Component highways | State Highway 1 |
| Tourist routes | Thermal Explorer Highway |
| Major junctions | |
| North end | Bombay Hills Auckland Southern Motorway |
| South end | Just south of Cambridge |
| Location | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Primary destinations | Pōkeno, Mercer, Meremere, Te Kauwhata, Rangiriri |
| Highway system | |
The final part of the Expressway was completed on 12 July 2022. The expressway forms a 101.4 km (63.0 mi)-long continuous four-lane dual carriageway from the Bombay Hills to beyond the town of Cambridge, 24 km (15 mi) south-east of Hamilton. Hamilton, as well as several other towns along the current route of SH 1 (such as Huntly, Ngāruawāhia, and Cambridge), have been completely bypassed by the expressway, allowing through traffic to move much more efficiently.