Length:

483 km

Termini:

Northern: Lorne St (SH1C) and Ōhaupō Rd (unnumbered), Melville

Southern: Vogel St (SH2) and McLean St (unnumbered), Woodville

Miscellaneous:

Route includes: Ōhaupō Road, Great South Road, Albert Park Drive, Sloane Street, Kihikihi Road, Lyon Street, Ōtorohanga Road, Main North Road, Maniapoto Street, Te Kūiti Road, Carroll Street, Awakino Road, Moa Street, North Street, Mōkau Road, Nikorima Street, Devon Road, Northgate, Leach Street, Eliot Street, Coronation Avenue, Junction Road, New Plymouth Southern Motorway, Rātā Street, Mātai Street, Mountain Road, Broadway, High Street, Boylan Road, Ketemarae Road, Waihī Road, South Road, Kākaramea Road, Taranaki Road, Egmont Street, Bedford Street, Pātea Road, Weraroa Road, Main Road, London Street, Carlton Avenue, Bridge Street, Dundas Road, Rangitīkei Line, Rangitīkei Street, Grey Street, Princess Street, Main Street, Napier Road, and Vogel Street

Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:

Melville, Hamilton Airport, Ōtorohanga, Hangatiki, Te Kūiti, Eight Mile Junction, Brixton, New Plymouth, Inglewood, Stratford, Hāwera, Whanganui, Pūtiki, Bulls, Sanson, Newbury, Ashhurst and Woodville

Current:

3

Multiplexed with:

1

General Information:

State Highway 3 is a rural highway that mostly traverses the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.

The route is a mix of divided and undivided multi-lane road and also undivided single carriageway, and features the Awakino Tunnel near the small town of Awakino and also the Mt Messenger Tunnel.

SH1, for 6 km, between Bulls and Sanson.

1897: A Mōkau–Awakino horse track was widened to a dray track. ¹

1910: Te Kūiti meeting called for metalling of the road to Awakino. ²

1916: Mt Messenger tunnel opened in 1916 and its single lane was enlarged. ³

1919: £3000 was provided for the Awakino Gorge section, including the tunnel. ⁴

March 1923: Awakino Gorge section was opened at a total cost of about £60 000. ⁵

1924: Most of the route was gazetted as a government main highway. ⁶

1925: Some sections of the route were tar-sealed. ⁷

October 1927: Mōkau Bridge opened to traffic. ⁸ The 12 ft (3.7 m) wide, single-lane 7, 11-span, 670 ft (200 m), steel 9, Mōkau Bridge was officially opened on 17 December, replacing a punt. 10 The cost was £35 000. ¹¹ It had a lifting span allowing passage of vessels up to 50 ft (15 m) wide and with a 60 ft (18 m) clearance at high tide. ¹⁰

1936: Most of the route sealed. ¹²

1949: By this time, the road was sealed as far south as Te Kūiti and the reinforced concrete bridge over the Waipā at Ōtorohanga had been started. ¹³

2001: the 1927 Mōkau bridge was replaced by the current 9-span, 230 m (250 yd), double lane, pre-stressed concrete bridge for $6.2m ¹⁴. The new bridge doesn't allow for shipping, as the first ship to pass under the old lifting span was withdrawn three months after the bridge opened. ¹⁵

1983: Mt Messenger tunnel's single lane was enlarged. ³

March 2010: Work to upgrade the State Highway 3 / Cambridge Road / Arawata Street Roundabout in Te Awamutu started. The work involved upgrading the existing one-lane roundabout to a two-lane roundabout and the provision of a shared footpath for cyclists and pedestrians. ¹⁶

2006: Construction began on Bell Block Bypass at New Plymouth. ¹⁷

August 2008: Safety improves on SH3 between Urenui and the SH3 / SH3A intersection near Waitara. The construction of the new pullover bay at the junction with Ōnaero River Road, just south of Urenui, was a major component of the works. The works also included the widening of the sealed shoulder at two other locations in Ōnaero, the installation of a total 650 metres of guard railing (including almost 400 metres at Ōnaero) and the clearance of numerous roadside hazards to improve safety and sight visibility. ¹⁸

7 August 2009: Henwood Street Overbridge at New Plymouth opened to traffic. ¹⁷

2010: Construction of a bypass of Bell Block, a satellite town of New Plymouth, was completed. The bypass is a four-lane, divided expressway with an interchange at Henwood Road providing access to Bell Block. ¹⁹

March 2011: A right turn bay installed at Jary Road and McFalls Road between Ōhaupō and Te Awamutu. ²⁰

April 2011: Awakino tunnel enlarged. ²¹

January 2015: Work began on Normanby Overbridge bypass. ²²

March 2015: Construction of a turning bay and straightening of a curve at the junction of Raynes Rd and SH3 between Hamilton and Rukuhia. ²³ A series of passing lanes on State Highway 3 between Hamilton Airport and Te Awamutu were removed to improve safety on the route. The stretch of highway was the only one in the country with passing lanes for north and southbound traffic side by side, without a median barrier and with access to properties. The two four-lane sections were remarked as three lanes creating room for central medians or wide centre lines to separate oncoming traffic. ²⁴

January 2016: Construction of Hamilton Airport roundabout commenced, and replacement of undivided 4-lane road with a divided 3-lane alignment. ²⁵ Work on a $4.5 million roundabout at the Hamilton Airport started. The four-leg, two-lane roundabout replaced the intersection of State Highway 3 (Ōhaupō Road) and State Highway 21 (Airport Road), south of Hamilton. ²⁶

2016: A section of SH3 in Taranaki was realigned replacing the Normanby overbridge. ²⁷

Palmerston North to Hamilton

Advance Direction Sign:

AD sign at Te Kūiti approaching Awakino Rd (SH30), March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Confirmation Direction Sign:

Distance sign at Te Kūiti, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Advance Direction Sign:

AD sign at Kihikihi approaching Ballance St and Church St, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Intersection Direction Sign:

ID sign assembly at Kihikihi at the junction with Ballance St and Church St, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Trailblazer:

SH3 trailblazer and pedestrian crossing warning sign at Kihikihi, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Advance Direction Sign:

AD sign approaching the roundabout with Vaile St and Sloane St, Te Awamutu, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Advance Direction Sign:

AD sign near Mangaohoi Stream, approaching the roundabout with Arawata St and Cambridge Rd, Te Awamutu, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Advance Direction Sign:

AD sign approaching Kaipaki Rd, Ōhaupō, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Advance Direction Sign:

AD sign approaching the roundabout with Airport Rd (SH21), Ōhaupō, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Confirmation Direction Sign:

Distance sign at Rukuhia, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Intersection Direction Sign:

ID sign assembly at the junction with Rukuhia Rd, Rukuhia, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Threshold Sign:

Threshold sign at State Highway 3 enters the greater Hamilton area at Glenview with the AD sign in the distance for the roundabout with Whatookururu Dr, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Intersection Direction Sign:

ID sign at Glenview at the roundabout with Whatookururu Dr, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Confirmation Direction Sign:

Distance sign at Glenview, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Advance Direction Sign:

AD sign approaching the roundabout with Saxbys Rd and Tomin Rd at Glenview, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Advance Direction Sign:

AD sign approaching the roundabout with Normandy Av at Melville, March 2025. The top leg of the diagram should show the SH3 shield instead of SH1C.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Intersection Direction Sign:

ID sign on the roundabout with Normandy Av at Melville, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Advance Direction Sign:

AD sign approaching Lorne St (SH1C) and Ōhaupō Rd at Melville, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt

Hamilton to Palmerston North

Advance Direction Sign:

AD sign on Cambridge Rd at Te Awamutu approaching SH3 and Arawata St, February 2006. This sign has since been replaced.

Image © Paul Mech

Intersection Direction Sign:

ID sign at the corner of Gold Rd and St Leger Rd, Te Awamutu, March 2025.

Image © Krysten Pratt