New Zealand State Highway 73

State Highway 73
Great Alpine Highway, Christchurch Ring Road
Route information
Maintained by New Zealand Transport Agency
Length:	231 km (144 mi)
Major junctions
Northwest end:	State Highway 6 at Kumara Junction, New Zealand|
Southeast end:	Tunnel Road at Heathcote, New Zealand
Location
Primary destinations:	Kumara, Dillmanstown, Jacksons, Otira, Arthur's Pass, Bealey, Cass, Castle Hill Village, Springfield, Sheffield, Waddington, Darfield, Kirwee, Aylesbury, West Melton, Yaldhurst, Christchurch
Highway system
New Zealand State Highways Motorways and Expressways • List • Unused ← SH 71 SH 74 →

State Highway 73 is a major east-west South Island State Highway in New Zealand connecting Christchurch on the east coast with Greymouth/Hokitika on the west coast via the Southern Alps. It is mostly two lane, with some single-lane bridges north of Springfield but is mostly dual carriageway in Christchurch with some sections of the road currently being upgraded to motorway status.

History

The route connecting the West and East coasts of the South Island via the Southern Alps were known for hundreds of years by the Māori people, due to a flourishing pounamu trade. The Europeans were informed of the route by a local chief in the mid-19th century but was not used during his lifetime. In 1864, Arthur Dudley Dobson traversed from the east to the west coast from the Waimakariri River, thereby discovering Arthur's Pass. A route connecting Christchurch to Hokitika was fully completed in 1866, with the first Cobb & Co coach began operating that same year due to the burgeoning gold rush.

SH 73 through Arthur's Pass

As the railway was progressively built from both sides, the road was the only route that connected both coastlines of the South Island until 1923, when the Otira Tunnel was open, this signalled the end of the Cobb & Co coach in New Zealand.^[1][2]

Due to the geography and topography between Springfield and Kumara, the road has bee subjected to several closures and road realignments, with both Porters and Arthur's Pass subjected to frequent closures during the winter months. The road between Arthur's Pass and Otira in particular was amongst the most dangerous in the country, due to the road located on scree slopes which frequently gave way. As a result, numerous studies were conducted into alternative options for fixing the road around Candy's Bend, Starvation Point and the Zig Zag. Construction of the Otira Viaduct and the protective roofs from slips began in 1997 and opened in 1999.^[3]

Route

Kumara Junction to Christchurch

As of May 2010, this is the current route of the highway.

State Highway 73 begins 11 km south of Greymouth at Kumara Junction. The highway passes through undulating farmland, scrubland and forest as it passes through the settlements of Kumara and Dillmanstown. The road veers sharply to the left as it approaches the mountains to the front of the road. The road then hugs the Taramakau River as it proceeds down the valley. At Jacksons, the Midland Line crosses the river and begins to run parallel to the road. Just before Aickens at the confuence of the Taramakau and Otira Rivers, the road and rail line veers to the right and runs to the south before reaching Otira.

The Otira Viaduct

Beyond Otira, the road breaks with the railway line and crosses the river before climbing up towards the Otira Viaduct and Arthur's Pass. At 920 metres, Arthur's Pass is the second highest pass on the road and is one of the three alpine passes connecting the east and west coasts. After peaking, the road descends into Arthur's Pass village with the railway line emerging from the Otira Tunnel nearby.

After the village, the road and rail line runs along the Bealey River valley and crosses the Waimakariri River before veering left and running parallel to both the river and the rail line on the opposite side. Before Cass, the road runs along a bluff and turns right to proceed past some more farmland as well as Lakes Grasmere and Pearson.

Castle Hill Village

The road then climbs up towards Castle Hill Village and runs through a valley before passing beside Lake Lyndon where it curves left before climbing up towards Porters Pass which, at 939 metres, is the highest point on the road. After cresting, the road descends into the Kowai River valley and runs roughly parallel with the river until it reaches Springfield.

The former Springfield doughnut with Mount Torlesse in the background

After Springfield, the road emerges onto the Canterbury Plains and runs straight through the settlements of Annat, Sheffield and Waddington before arriving at Darfield. The road then passes through the settlements of Kirwee, Aylesbury and West Melton as well as dairy and lifestyle farms characteristic of the plains. The road passes by Paparua Prison and arrives in Christchurch via Yaldhurst.^[4]

Christchurch

As Yaldhurst Road, the proceeds in an easterly direction towards Riccarton. The road widens to four lanes at Avonhead, but by Curletts Road/Peer Street, the highway turns right (while Yaldhurst Road becomes Riccarton Road and heads towards the city centre).

As Curletts Road, the road temporarily reverts back to two lanes divided by a flush median. After Blenheim Road, however the road widens again, crosses over the Main South Line and proceeds towards the future Christchurch Southern Motorway.

As the motorway, the speed limit increases to 100 km/h but the road narrows back to two lanes for about 1.5 km. The road then splits up to form Jerrold Street North and Jerrold Street South where both roads intersects with Barrington Street. The roads then merge to form Brougham Street, a major southern arterial road of the city, where it intersects with all the north-south roads of the CBD except for Manchester Street.

After intersecting with Ensors Road, Brougham Street narrows back to two lanes but turns into a small expressway, which it retains as it merges with Opawa Road just before the Garlands Road intersection. At Port Hills Road/Curries Road intersection the road changes name to Port Hills Road which it retains before the highway designation ends at a parclo interchange with Tunnel Road, though Ports Hills Road still continues beyond this point.

Route changes

Over the past 40 years SH 73 has been subjected to several route changes both in the Christchurch and the Arthur's Pass-Otira areas. In 1999, one of the worst sections of highway in the country (around Candy's Bend) were replaced with the Otira Viaduct. Meanwhile, in Christchurch, since SH 1 was rerouted to bypass the CBD, SH 73 was extended to Brougham Street/Waltham Road intersection, with the rest of the route covered by SH 74. In 2004, with SH 74 being rerouted to run along the Ring Road and the entire length of Tunnel Road instead of through the CBD, SH 73 was extended further to its current terminus.

Major intersections and towns

Kumara Junction to Christchurch

State Highway 73
Northbound exits	Distance to Greymouth (km)	Distance to Lyttelton (km)	Southbound exits
End Otira Highway	16.6	240.4	Start Otira Highway
Hokitika, Greymouth Kumara Junction Highway Taramakau Highway			Greymouth, Hokitika Taramakau Highway Kumara Junction Highway
Kumara Name change to Seddon Street through Kumara	23.5	233.5	Kumara Name change to Seddon Street through Kumara
Dillmanstown	26.2	230.8	Dillmanstown
Lake Brunner, Moana Lake Brunner Road ()	61.5	195.5	Lake Brunner, Moana Lake Brunner Road ()
Jacksons	62.1	194.9	Jacksons
MIDLAND LINE	69.4	187.6	MIDLAND LINE
MIDLAND LINE	72.2	184.8	MIDLAND LINE
Otira	81.5	175.5	Otira
MIDLAND LINE	83.2	173.8	MIDLAND LINE
OTIRA RIVER	83.3	173.7	OTIRA RIVER
OTIRA VIADUCT	87.7	169.3	OTIRA VIADUCT
ENTER GREY DISTRICT Name change to Otira Highway	90	167	ARTHUR'S PASS 920 m (3,020 ft)
ARTHUR'S PASS 920 m (3,020 ft)			ENTER SELWYN DISTRICT Name change to West Coast Road
Arthur's Pass	95	162	Arthur's Pass
WAIMAKARIRI RIVER	104	153	WAIMAKARIRI RIVER
Bealey	106	151	Bealey
Mount White Road	118	139	Mount White Road
Cass	121	136	Cass
Castle Hill Village	145	112	Castle Hill Village
Lake Lyndon, Lake Coleridge Lyndon Road	156	101	Lake Lyndon, Lake Coleridge Lyndon Road
PORTERS PASS 939 m (3,081 ft)	159	98	PORTERS PASS 939 m (3,081 ft)
KOWAI RIVER	164.7	92.3	KOWAI RIVER
KOWAI RIVER	171.2	84.8	KOWAI RIVER
Kowai Bush, Waimakariri Gorge Pocock Road	175.8	80.2	Kowai Bush, Waimakariri Gorge Pocock Road
Springfield	177.5	79.5	Springfield
Russells Flat Keens Road Coxs Road Junction Road	180.1	76.9	Russells Flat Coxs Road Junction Road Keens Road
Annat	184	73	Annat
Sheffield	187	70	Sheffield
Waddington	189.5	68.5	Oxford, Rangiora Waimakariri Gorge Road Inland Scenic Route
Oxford, Rangiora Waimakariri Gorge Road Inland Scenic Route	189.5	68.5	Waddington
Coalgate, Glentunnel Deans Road Inland Scenic Route	190.5	67.5	Coalgate, Glentunnel Deans Road Inland Scenic Route
Coalgate, Glentunnel Bangor Road	200	57	Coalgate, Glentunnel Bangor Road
Charing Cross, Dunsandel, Kimberley Ross Street McMillan Street	200.3	56.7	Kimberley, Charing Cross, Dunsandel McMillan Street Ross Street
Darfield Name change to South Terrace through Darfield	200.5	56.5	Darfield Name change to South Terrace through Darfield
Darfield Horndon Street	202.3	54.7	Darfield Horndon Street
Charing Cross Ansons Road	206.9	50.1	Charing Cross Ansons Road
MIDLAND LINE	207	50	MIDLAND LINE
Courtenay Ansons Road	207.1	49.9	Courtenay Ansons Road
Charing Cross, Courtenay Courtenay Road	209	48	Kirwee
Kirwee			Courtenay, Charing Cross Courtenay Road
Hororata, Burnham, Rolleston Railway Road Aylesbury Road Bealey Road Station Road	214.5	42.5	Aylesbury
Aylesbury			Rolleston, Burnham, Hororata Station Road Railway Road Aylesbury Road Bealey Road
Rolleston, Kirwee Hoskyns Road	216.6	40.4	Kirwee, Rolleston Hoskyns Road
Burnham, Weedons Weedons Ross Road West Melton Road	222.7	34.3	West Melton
West Melton			Weedons, Burnham West Melton Road Weedons Ross Road
Springston, McLeans Island Dawsons Road Chattertons Road	227.6	29.4	McLeans Island, Springston Chattertons Road Dawsons Road
Broomfield, Sockburn Buchanans Road	231.8	25.2	Broomfield, Sockburn Buchanans Road
Courtenay, Waddington Old West Coast Road	232.5	24.5	Courtenay, Waddington Old West Coast Road
Yaldhurst	234.2	22.8	Yaldhurst
Templeton, McLeans Island Pound Road			McLeans Island, Templeton Pound Road
End Yaldhurst Road continues as West Coast Road			Start Yaldhurst Road from West Coast Road

Christchurch to Heathcote

State Highway 73
Northbound exits	Distance to Greymouth (km)	Distance to Lyttelton (km)	Southbound exits
End Yaldhurst Road continues as West Coast Road	236.4	20.6	Start Yaldhurst Road from West Coast Road
Timaru, Masham, Russley, Picton Masham Road Russley Road _			Picton, Russley, Masham, Timaru Russley Road Masham Road
Sockburn, Avonhead Middlepark Road Avonhead Road	238.5	18.5	Avonhead, Sockburn Avonhead Road Middlepark Road
Bishopdale, Riccarton Peer Street Yaldhurst Road	239.4	17.6	Bishopdale, Riccarton Peer Street Yaldhurst Road
Name change to Yaldhurst Road End concurrency with Christchurch Ring Road			Name change to Curletts Road Start concurrency with Christchurch Ring Road
Hornby, Riccarton Main South Road	239.5	17.5	Riccarton, Hornby Main South Road
Hornby, Christchurch CBD Blenheim Road	240.3	16.7	Christchurch CBD, Hornby Blenheim Road
MAIN SOUTH LINE	240.5	16.5	MAIN SOUTH LINE
Wigram Parkhouse Road	240.8	16.2	Wigram Parkhouse Road
Middleton Lunns Road	241.1	15.9	Middleton Lunns Road
Hoon Hay, Halswell, Akaroa Curletts Road	241.6	15.4	Hoon Hay, Halswell, Akaroa Curletts Road
Name change to Curletts Road			Name change to Christchurch Southern Motorway
Name change to Christchurch Southern Motorway	244.2	12.8	Name change to Jerrold Street
Spreydon, Addington Barrington Street			Addington, Spreydon Barrington Street
Name change to Jerrold Street	245	12	Name change to Brougham Street
Barrington, Addington Simeon Street Collins Street			Addington, Barrington Collins Street Simeon Street
Sydenham, Addington Selwyn Street	245.4	11.6	Addington, Sydenham Selwyn Street
Sydenham, Addington Strickland Street Antigua Street	245.9	11.1	Addington, Sydenham Antigua Street Strickland Street
Christchurch CBD Montreal Street	246.1	10.9	Christchurch CBD Montreal Street
Christchurch CBD Durham Street South	246.3	10.7	Christchurch CBD Durham Street South
Beckenham, Christchurch CBD Colombo Street	246.6	10.4	Christchurch CBD, Beckenham Colombo Street
Sydenham, Christchurch CBD Burlington Street Gasson Street	247.1	9.9	Christchurch CBD, Sydenham Gasson Street Burlington Street
Waltham, Christchurch CBD Waltham Road	247.4	9.6	Christchurch CBD, Waltham Waltham Road
Opawa, Addington Opawa Road	248.2	8.8	Addington, Opawa Opawa Road
St Martins, Linwood Ensors Road	248.5	8.5	Linwood, St Martins Ensors Road
HEATHCOTE RIVER	249.3	7.7	HEATHCOTE RIVER
Name change to Brougham Street	249.5	7.5	Name change to Opawa Road
St Martins, Woolston Garlands Road	249.6	7.4	Woolston, St Martins Garlands Road
Start concurrency with Christchurch Ring Road			End concurrency with Christchurch Ring Road
Murray Aynsley, Woolston Port Hills Road Curries Road	250.5	6.5	Woolston, Murray Aynsley Curries Road Port Hills Road
Name change to Opawa Road			Name change to Port Hills Road
Lyttelton, Woolston Tunnel Road	252.1	4.9	Woolston, Lyttelton Tunnel Road
Start State Highway 73 as Port Hills Road			End State Highway 73 Continues as Port Hills Road

Spur sections

State Highway 73A
Location:	Hornby–Sockburn
Length:	3.6 km (2.2 mi)

State Highway 73A is a spur section of SH 73 connecting the suburbs of Hornby, New Zealand and Sockburn, New Zealand via Main South Road and Blenheim Road. Before 2004 it formed part of the old route of SH 73 and further before that SH 1. It is one of the few state highways in New Zealand to be wholly dual carriageway.

Major intersections

State Highway 73A
Westbound intersections	Distance to Hornby (km)	Distance to Christchurch CBD (km)	Eastbound intersections
End continues as Main South Road	0	10	Start as Main South Road from
Springston, Timaru, Hornby, Picton Shands Road Carmen Road _			Picton, Hornby, Timaru, Springston Carmen Road _ Shands Road
Prebbleton, Lincoln Springs Road	1.7	8.3	Prebbleton, Lincoln Springs Road
Wigram, Middleton, Sockburn Symes Road Green Lane	2.1	7.9	Sockburn, Wigram, Middleton Green Lane Symes Road
MAIN SOUTH LINE	2.2	7.8	MAIN SOUTH LINE
Broomfield, Yaldhurst Lowther Street Racecourse Road	2.4	7.6	Broomfield, Yaldhurst Racecourse Road Lowther Street
Upper Riccarton, Sockburn Alloy Street Epsom Road Main South Road SOCKBURN ROUNDABOUT	2.6	7.4	Upper Riccarton, Sockburn Epsom Road Main South Road Alloy Street SOCKBURN ROUNDABOUT
Name change to Main South Road			Name change to Blenheim Road
Upper Riccarton, Halswell Curletts Road _	3.8	6.2	Upper Riccarton, Halswell Curletts Road _
End continues as Blenheim Road to Christchurch CBD

See also

• State Highway 73 at Google Maps
• Great Alpine Highway - a tourist site promoting the road

References

1. ^ [1] Arthur's Pass history
2. ^ http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/canterbury-places/14 Accessed 29th May 2010
3. ^ http://www.nzine.co.nz/views/arthurspass_otira.html The Road from Arthur's Pass to Otira
4. ^ http://www.nzine.co.nz/features/arthurs_pass.html From Christchurch to Arthur's Pass By Road

External links

• A Selection of photos of SH 73