State Highway 30 (New Zealand)

State Highway 30 (SH 30) is a New Zealand state highway, linking the Waikato and Bay of Plenty towns of Te Kuiti, Mangakino, Rotorua, and Whakatane.

State Highway 30
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length	219 km (136 mi)
Tourist routes	Thermal Explorer Highway in concurrency with SH 5 Pacific Coast Highway Paroa to Whakatane
Major junctions
Southwest end	SH 3 at Te Kuiti
	SH 32, SH 1, SH 5, SH 33, SH 34, SH 2
Northeast end	Whakatane
Location
Primary destinations	Mangakino, Atiamuri, Rotorua, Awakeri
Highway system
New Zealand state highways Motorways and expressways List ← SH 29 → SH 31

At 219 kilometres, SH 30 is New Zealand's fifth longest provincial (two-digit) state highway, after SH 25, SH 35, SH 73, and SH 94.[1] With the exception of SH 4, it has junctions with every national (one-digit) state highway in the North Island.

SH 30 has the most concurrencies of all the state highways. It shares sections with, from west to east, SH 32, SH 1, SH 5, SH 34 (albeit briefly), and SH 2.

Route

SH 30 starts in the southern end of the Waikato town of Te Kuiti at an intersection with SH 3. At first, SH 30 follows the North Island Main Trunk railway south-east as far as Benneydale. The highway then leaves the railway and turns east, crossing into Manawatū-Whanganui briefly as it passes through the Pureora Forest Park. The road now turns north-east and heads for the Waikato River.

Near Mangakino, SH 30 turns sharply south-east, and bypasses the town of Mangakino. Here, the highway meets the Waikato River at the top of Lake Maraetai, and follows the river upstream to Whakamaru, where the concurrency with SH 32 begins. It crosses the Waikato on top of the Whakamaru hydroelectric dam and leaves SH 32 where it continues eastwards on the opposite bank of the Waikato River to SH 1 at the Atiamuri Dam. SH 30 runs concurrently with SH 1 northwards for six kilometres. The highway leaves SH 1 at Upper Atiamuri, and heads north-east, over the border into Bay of Plenty, towards the tourist town of Rotorua.

The highway passes through the south-east of Rotorua, then heads north through the suburb of Te Ngae, and up the eastern side of Lake Rotorua. Turning east, the road skims the southern edge of Lakes Rotoiti, Rotoehu, and Rotoma. The road turns north-east passing north of the mill town of Kawerau, and through Te Teko, across the Rangitaiki River, to Awakeri.

After crossing SH 2 at Awakeri, the highway turns north and heads towards the coast. The road then turns east, and crosses the Whakatane River. The highway ends just across the river at the roundabout with Landing Road.

Route changes

SH 30's only major route change has occurred at the Whakatane end of the highway. The highway originally ended at Paroa, where the highway met SH 2. Recently, SH 2 has been moved inland, and SH 30 was extended along SH 2's former route to Whakatane.

Spur sections

State Highway 30A
Location	SH 5 west of central Rotorua – SH 30 at Ngapuna
Length	3.6 km (2.2 mi)

SH 30 has one spur route – State Highway 30A (SH 30A) in Rotorua.

SH 30A starts west of central Rotorua, at the intersection of Old Taupo Road (SH 5) and Pukuatua Street. SH 30A follows Pukuatua Street eastwards, before going into an S-bend onto Amohau Street, to avoid central Rotorua. The road continues east to Fenton Street, from where SH 30A turns southwest onto a dual carriageway to connect with Te Ngae Road. The highway turns eastwards again, meeting SH 30 at the intersection of Te Ngae Road and Sala Street.

SH 30A was created after SH 5 was moved from its original route through central Rotorua to Old Taupo Road. SH 30A follows part of the old SH 5 route on Amohau Street, between Ranolf Street and Fenton Street.

Major junctions

Territorial authority	Location	km	jct	Destinations	Notes
Waitomo District	Te Kuiti	0		SH 3 south (Awakino Road) – New Plymouth SH 3 north (Carroll Street) – Waitomo Caves, Hamilton	SH 30 begins
	Kopaki	23		Kopaki Road
	Benneydale	30		Waimiha Road – Waimiha
Taupo District	Mangakino	76		Scott Road
				Waipapa Road – Mangakino, Te Awamutu
	Whakamaru	84		SH 32 south (Tihoi Road) – Taupo, Turangi, National Park	SH 30/SH 32 concurrency begins
		86		Whakamaru Dam (Waikato River)
South Waikato District
				SH 32 north – Tokoroa, Hamilton	SH 30/SH 32 concurrency ends
	Atiamuri			SH 1 south – Taupo	SH 30/SH 1 concurrency begins
	Upper Atiamuri	110		SH 1 north – Tokoroa, Hamilton	SH 30/SH 1 concurrency ends
Rotorua Lakes	Waipa Village	143		SH 5 south – Taupo	SH 30/SH 5 concurrency begins
	Whakarewarewa	144		SH 5 north – Hamilton	SH 30/SH 5 concurrency ends
		145		Fenton Street – City Centre	Former SH 5 route
	Fenton Park	147		SH 30A (Te Ngae Road) – City Centre, Hamilton
	Te Ngae	157		SH 33 – Tauranga
Whakatāne District	Rotoma	194		SH 34 – Kawerau
	Onepu	205		SH 34 north – Tauranga	SH 30/SH 34 concurrency begins
		206		SH 34 south – Kawerau	SH 30/SH 34 concurrency ends
	Te Teko	208		Rangitaiki River Bridge
		209		Galatea Road – Galatea, Murupara
	Awakeri	218		SH 2 north – Tauranga	SH 30/SH 2 concurrency begins
		219		SH 2 south – Opotiki, Gisborne	SH 30/SH 2 concurrency ends
	Paroa			Pacific Coast Highway – Whakatane Airport, Tauranga
	Whakatane	229		Pacific Coast Highway (Landing Road) – Town Centre, Opotiki Hinemoa Street Landing Road	SH 30 ends

SH 30A

Territorial authority	Location	km	jct	Destinations	Notes
Rotorua Lakes	Rotorua	0		SH 5 north – Hamilton SH 5 south – Taupo	SH 30A begins
				Pukuatua Street – City Centre
				Ranolf Street	Former SH 5 route north
				Fenton Street north – City Centre Fenton Street south – Taupo	Former SH 5 route south.
	Fenton Park	4		SH 30 east (Te Ngae Road) – Tauranga, Whakatane SH 30 west (Sala Street) – Taupo, Te Kuiti	SH 30A ends

See also

• List of New Zealand state highways

References

1. "State Highways: Numbers Used, Location Descriptors, and Lengths (As at January 2004)" (PDF). Retrieved 21 May 2008.

External links

• New Zealand Transport Agency