As part of the introduction of the new rule, roads within five categories of roads are required to reverse to their previous speed in a one-off ‘transition’ exercise in July 2025, if they were subject to speed reviews after 1 January 2020 and have had their original higher speed limit reduced.
Roads that meet this requirement are known as ‘specified roads’ within Section 11 Transitional arrangements of the rule. These reversals are required to be implemented by 1 July 2025.
For NZTA, this includes a range of sections of state highways within four of these classes – urban connectors, transit corridors, rural connectors, and interregional connectors (see below). All other types of classes of state highway remain unchanged.
View the full list of sections of state highways that will be automatically reversed by 1 July 2025 (note within this, a group of 16 urban connectors are still subject to final decisions pending upcoming consultation, and these are marked with a star (*).
The list also includes an update on the results of our January – March 2025 public consultation for the Section 11 Transitional changes. This consultation asked local road users and communities if they supported keeping some of these corridors in the rural connectors and inter-regional connectors categories at the lower speed, instead of seeing them reverse. These results are marked with 2 or 3 stars (** or ***).
Where speed limits have been lowered on sections of state highways that are classified as urban connectors, these sections will automatically reverse back to their original higher speed limit by 1 July 2025. Urban connector sections of state highways generally have fewer houses and businesses and are designed to move people and goods quickly and efficiently.
There is one exception to these reversals, where reversing the speed limit would be inappropriate due to changes in the surrounding environment, such as new residential development.
While urban connectors in this category are required to automatically reverse in July 2025, we have received strong feedback on several of them that local communities would like to keep some lower speeds. In response, NZTA has opened new speed reviews on these sections, running from 2 April – 14 May 2025. These new speed reviews look at a range of technical and safety analysis, including Cost Benefit Analysis, alongside consultation feedback, to investigate whether the speeds, once they are legally set at higher speeds in the speed register, should be changed back to their lower speed limits immediately afterwards in July 2025.
Read more about the new consultation on urban connectors
See the full list of state highway urban connectors managed by NZTA that are set to reverse by 1 July 2025 in the PDF list above.
CloseWhere speed limits have been lowered on sections of either local roads or state highways that are classified transit corridors, these sections will automatically reverse back to their original higher speed limit by 1 July 2025. Transit corridors are urban motorways and corridors that provide for movement of people and goods within an urban environment.
There is one exception to these reversals, where reversing the speed limit would be inappropriate due to changes in the surrounding environment, such as new residential development.
See the full list of transit corridors managed by NZTA that are set to reverse by 1 July 2025 in the PDF list above.
CloseWhere speed limits have been lowered since 2020 on sections of state highways that are classified as rural connectors, these sections will automatically reverse back to their original higher speed limit by 1 July 2025, unless recent consultation demonstrated public support from local road users, councils, communities and iwi to retain these lower speed limits on all or part of the route.
More information on the outcome of this process can be found in the Consultation section below.
Rural connector sections of state highways provide a link between rural roads and interregional connector state highways. Many have more residential activity or multiple driveway or access points than the adjoining inter-regional connector. Typically, these types of state highways would originally have been set with 100km/h speed limits, however some sections were lowered because of increasing death and serious injury rates, deteriorating road or environmental conditions, or the way the road was used.
See the full list of state highway rural connectors managed by NZTA that are set to reverse by 1 July 2025 in the PDF list above.
CloseSpeed limits on interregional connector sections of state highways that have been lowered since 1 January 2020 will also automatically reverse by 1 July 2025 unless recent consultation demonstrated public support from local road users, councils, communities and iwi to retain these lower speed limits on all or part of the route.
More information on the outcome of this process can be found in the Consultation section below.
Interregional connectors are state highways that move people and goods over long distances between regions efficiently. These highways run mostly through farmland and natural areas with low levels of roadside activity. Typically, these state highways would originally have been set with 100km/h speed limits, however sections of some high-risk interregional connectors were lowered either because of increasing death and serious injury rates, deteriorating road or environmental conditions, or the way the road was used.
See the full list of state highway interregional connectors managed by NZTA that are set to reverse by 1 July 2025 in the PDF list above.
CloseIn addition to the four specified road categories that include state highways managed by NZTA, one other type of specified roads is also subject to reversals in 2025. These are ‘local streets’ mostly managed by local councils, with permanent 30km/h speed limits, where one of the reasons for reducing the speed limit was because there is a school in the area (the road outside the school gate will become a variable speed limit).
The rule contains more information about the requirements for these local streets to reverse.
Setting of Speed Limits Rule - Requirements for council managed local streets
CloseUnder the new Rule, speed limits on rural and interregional connector sections of state highways that have been lowered since 1 January 2020 will automatically reverse by 1 July 2025 unless NZTA could demonstrate through a public consultation that there was road user and community support to retain any of those lower speed limits on all or part of a route.
In total, approximately 38 state highway locations managed by NZTA are required to automatically reverse, and an additional 49 were consulted on.
Consultation took place from 30 January – 13 March 2025 to understand if road users, councils, communities and iwi supported keeping any or part of these specific state highway locations at their current speed limits, rather than seeing them automatically reverse.
NZTA would like to thank people for providing feedback during this consultation process. View the full consultation summary report to understand the consultation outcome and which sections of state highway are being reversed to previous higher speed limits.
Full consultation summary report [PDF, 1.9 MB]
Speed limit changes have begun and will be implemented by 1 July 2025.
This consultation process on interregional and rural connectors was a different process to the current urban connector state highway category consultation.
Note: Feedback on other corridors in your region can be sent via email and will be considered as part of future speed reviews.
Email: speedmanagement@nzta.govt.nz
Learn more about the Speed Rule and Section 11 Transitional arrangements in the rule:
