Hawke's Bay Expressway
The Hawke's Bay Expressway, known also as the Napier-Hastings Expressway, runs from Hawke's Bay Airport, through Napier and Hastings, and ends at Pakipaki, just south of Hastings, a total length of 24 km. It is part of State Highway 2 (SH 2).
| Hawke's Bay Expressway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length | 24 km (15 mi) |
| Component highways | |
| Major junctions | |
| North end |  SH 2 – near Napier Airport |
 SH 50 north – Pirimai  SH 51 SH 50 south – near Pakowhai | |
| South end | SH 2 – Pakipaki, south of Hastings |
| Location | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Major cities | Napier, Hastings |
| Highway system | |
History
When the airport at Westshore, Napier, was confirmed as Hawke's Bay's main airport in 1957, Hastings leaders objected, preferring to have an airport closer to their city. The Government set up an Airport Inquiry Committee in 1961 to settle the matter. They confirmed the Napier airport as the best option, and recommended the building of a Napier–Hastings motorway to provide quick access between the airport and Hastings.[1]
The first section of the expressway, from Kennedy Road at Pirimai to Pakowhai Road, opened in the late 1960s, with raised approaches for a bridge over Kennedy Road being partially formed at the same time. Further construction (south of Pakowhai Road) did not start until the late 1990s. After the approaches for the Kennedy Road overbridge had stood each side of the dual carriageway from Napier to Taradale for several decades, work began to strengthen them and build the bridge in 2002. The section of expressway to Hawke's Bay Airport opened in late 2003. In 2007 the Meeanee Road interchange was built to grade separate that intersection. A new extension south of Flaxmere opened in 2011. The expressway remains single carriageway along its length at present, although has been designed to allow dual-carriageway upgrading. This became an electoral commitment by the National Party in the 2017 election as part of a series of national upgrades to roads, but they were not successful at forming a Government in the post-election coalition negotiations.[2]
In 2019, the New Zealand Transport Agency approved renumbering of the entire expressway to SH 2. The formerly designated section of SH 2 via Napier and Hastings took a new designation of SH 51, with effect from 1 August.[3]
Design
The Expressway is one lane in each direction, with, heading south, roundabouts at Prebensen Drive and Taradale Road and interchanges at Kennedy Road (north off, south on) and Meeanee Road (traffic lights for many years and a notorious black spot – replaced with a grade separated interchange in 2007), and roundabouts at Pakowhai Road/Links Road (previously traffic lights), Evenden Road, Omahu Road, Flaxmere Avenue/York Road, a 5-way roundabout with Maraekakaho Road/Longlands Road/Pakipaki Road and a roundabout at its terminus with SH 2 at Pakipaki. The expressway is entirely zoned at a 100 km/h limit.
Major intersections
| Territorial authority | Location | Km | Jct | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napier City | Westshore | 0 |  | Watchman Road SH 2 north (Main North Road) – Napier Airport, Gisborne Meeanee Quay (former SH 2 south) – City Centre | Hawke's Bay Expressway begins Hawke's Bay Expressway/SH 2 concurrency begins |
| Onekawa | 2.4 | | SH 50 north (Prebensen Road) | Hawke's Bay Expressway/SH 50 concurrency begins | |
| 4.1 | | SH 51 (Taradale Road) – Clive, Hastings | Coastal route | ||
| Pirimai |  | Kennedy Road | Northbound exit and southbound entry | ||
| Jervoistown | | Meeanee Road | Full diamond interchange | ||
| Pakowhai | | Pakowhai Road SH 50 south (Links Road) | Hawke's Bay Expressway/SH 50 concurrency ends Staggered intersection converted to roundabout in 2018[4] | ||
| Hastings District | Hastings | | Evenden Road | ||
| Omahu Road | ||||
| Flaxmere | | York Road Flaxmere Avenue | |||
| Longlands | | Longlands Road Maraekakaho Road | |||
| Pakipaki | | Railway Road (former SH 2 north) – Hastings Te Aute Road – Havelock North SH 2 south – Waipukurau, Wellington | Hawke's Bay Expressway ends Hawke's Bay Expressway/SH 2 concurrency ends |
References
- Campbell, M. D. N. (1975). Story of Napier, 1874-1974. Napier City Council. pp. 204–206.
- "Next generation Roads of National Significance" (Press release). New New Zealand National Party. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- "Hawke's Bay's state highways to be renumbered in August". NZ Transport Agency. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
- "Higgins to construct SH50 roundabout". NZ Transport Agency. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.