Project purpose
To provide a continuous divided four-lane highway between Auckland and Cambridge that will improve safety and reduce travel times and congestion on State Highway 1.
Benefits
The Waikato Expressway will:
- reduce travel times between Auckland and Tirau by 35 minutes
- significantly reduce the number of fatal and serious injury crashes
- increase the highway's capacity and passing opportunities
- reduce traffic congestion within smaller communities like Huntly, Ngaruawahia and Cambridge
- reduce fuel costs route and contribute to economic growth.
Features
The route generally follows the existing State Highway alignment from Mercer south to Ohinewai. From Ohinewai south, it is largely a greenfields project with two exceptions; the Longswamp to Te Kauwhata and Tamahere to Cambridge sections.
The Waikato Expressway will provide for two lanes of traffic in each direction divided by a central barrier with local roads and interchanges generally serviced by bridges and underpasses. From the Bombay Hills to South of Cambridge it will be 102km, some 6km shorter than the current State Highway 1.
