New Zealand State Highway 7

State Highway 7
Route information
Maintained by New Zealand Transport Agency
Length:	272 km (169 mi)
Tourist routes:	Alpine Pacific Triangle between Hanmer Junction and Waipara
Major junctions
East end:	Waipara
West end:	Greymouth
Location
Primary destinations:	Culverden, Maruia Springs, Springs Junction, Reefton
Highway system
New Zealand State Highways Motorways and Expressways • List • Unused ← SH 6 SH 8 →

State Highway 7 is a major New Zealand State Highway. One of the eight national highways, it crosses the Southern Alps to link the West Coast Region with Canterbury and to form a link between the South Island's two longest highways, State Highway 1 and State Highway 6. Distances are measured from east to west with the major junction list going from east to west.

For most of its length SH7 is a two-lane single carriageway, with at-grade intersections and property accesses, both in rural and urban areas. There are a number of passing lanes at irregular intervals through the rural sections.

Route

This is the route that SH7 takes in 2007.

The highway leaves SH 1 at Waipara, some 60 kilometres north of Christchurch, and initially heads north, crossing several rivers and skirting the Balmoral State Forest. After the junction with the Inland Kaikoura road (formerly SH70) there is a 13.7 km straight, the longest straight section of highway in New Zealand.^[1] Just north of Culverden, it reaches the valley of the Waiau River and turns west to the course of this river and its tributary the Lewis River up the valley to the 907-metre Lewis Pass, the northernmost of the three main road passes across the Southern Alps.

On the western side of the pass, the highway enters the small spa town of Maruia Springs, before continuing northwest along the valley of the Maruia River. to Springs Junction, where it meets State highway 65. From here, the highway crosses a smaller pass, the Rahu Saddle, before following the valley of the Inangahua River to the town of Reefton.

From Reefton, the highway turns southwest, following the course of the Grey River to within two kilometres of its mouth at Greymouth, where SH 7 terminates at its junction with SH 6.

State Highway 7 spurs

SH7 has one spur, designated state Highway 7A. This 9.4 kilometre stretch links State Highway 7 at the Waiau bridge with the alpine thermal resort town of Hanmer Springs.

Major junctions

State Highway 7
Westbound intersections	Distance to Greymouth (km)	Distance to Lewis Pass (km)	Eastbound intersections
Greymouth End as Omoto Road	0	141.8	Greymouth Start as Omoto Road
Hokitika, Greymouth, Cobden, Westport Smith Street SH 6			Westport, Cobden, Greymouth, Hokitika SH 6 Smith Street
Greymouth Mawhera Quay	0.1	141.7	Greymouth Mawhera Quay
Name change to Omoto Road	3.3	138.5	Name change to SH 7
Dobson	8.4	133.4	Dobson
MIDLAND LINE	12.8	129	MIDLAND LINE
Moana, Lake Brunner Arnold Valley Road ()	13.4	128.4	Moana, Lake Brunner Arnold Valley Road ()
Stillwater	14.0	127.8	Stillwater
Taylorville, Blackball Taylorville Road			Taylorville, Blackball Taylorville Road
MIDLAND LINE	14.2	127.6	MIDLAND LINE
AHAURA RIVER	33.1	108.7	AHAURA RIVER
Name change to SH 7			Name change to Camp Street
Name change to Camp Street	33.	108.4	Name change to Clifton Street
Ahaura	33.6	108.2	Ahaura
Name change to Clifton Street	33.8	108.0	Name change to SH 7
STILLWATER-WESTPORT LINE	40.1	101.7	STILLWATER-WESTPORT LINE
	45.0	96.8
GREY RIVER Enter Grey District	48.1	93.1	GREY RIVER Enter Buller District
Ikamatua	50.2	91.6	Ikamatua
Atarau, Blackball Atarau Road			Atarau, Blackball Atarau Road
UPPER GREY RIVER	59.4	82.4	UPPER GREY RIVER
STILLWATER-WESTPORT LINE	60.7	81.1	STILLWATER-WESTPORT LINE
	63.5	78.3
UPPER GREY RIVER	65.8	76.0	UPPER GREY RIVER
REEFTON SADDLE	71.1	70.7	REEFTON SADDLE
Name change to SH 7	74.8	67.0	Name change to Grey Road
INANGAHUA RIVER	76.3	65.5	INANGAHUA RIVER
Name change to Grey Road	76.4	65.4	Name change to Broadway
Cronadun, Inangahua Junction, Westport Sinnamon Street Broadway			Cronadun, Inangahua Junction, Westport Sinnamon Street Broadway
Reefton	76.7	65.1	Reefton
() Bridge Street	76.9	64.9	() Bridge Street
Blacks Point	79.1	62.7	Blacks Point
RAHU SADDLE	112.7	29.1	RAHU SADDLE
Springs Junction	121.0	20.8	Springs Junction
Maruia, Murchison, Nelson Shenandoah Highway			Maruia, Murchison, Nelson Shenandoah Highway
Maruia Springs	136.1	5.7	Maruia Springs
LEWIS PASS	141.8	0	LEWIS PASS
Westbound intersections	Distance to Lewis Pass (km)	Distance to Waipara (km)	Eastbound intersections
LEWIS PASS	0	130.6	LEWIS PASS
Enter Buller District Name change to SH 7	0.7	129.9	Enter Hurunui District Name change to Lewis Pass Road
BOYLE RIVER	16.5	114.1	BOYLE RIVER
Engineers Camp	23.6	107	Engineers Camp
HOPE RIVER	33.3	97.3	HOPE RIVER
Hanmer Springs Hanmer Springs Road Alpine Pacific Triangle	63.1	67.5	Hanmer Springs Hanmer Springs Road Alpine Pacific Triangle
Name change to Lewis Pass Road End concurrency with Alpine Pacific Triangle			Name change to Mouse Point Road Start concurrency with Alpine Pacific Triangle
Mouse Point	83.6	47.1	Mouse Point
Rotherham Flintoft Mouse Point Road			Rotherham Flintoft Mouse Point Road
Rotherham, Waiau Rotherham Road South Alpine Pacific Triangle	87.1	43.5	Rotherham, Waiau Rotherham Road South Alpine Pacific Triangle
Name change to Mouse Point Road	89.5	41.1	Name change to Mountainview Road
Culverden	90.1	40.5	Culverden
Name change to Mountainview Road	90.5	40.1	Name change to Culverden Road
HURUNUI RIVER Name change to Culverden Road	103.0	27.6	HURUNUI RIVER Name change to Karaka Road
Hurunui	104.2	26.4	Hurunui
Hawarden Hawarden Hurunui Road	107.9	22.7	Hawarden Hawarden Hurunui Road
Waikari Name change to Karaka Road	116.7	13.9	Waikari Name change to Weka Pass Road
Hawarden Princes Street			Hawarden Princes Street
Scargill, Greta Valley Waikari Valley Road	116.8	13.8	Scargill, Greta Valley Waikari Valley Road
WEKA PASS	117.4	13.2	WEKA PASS
Name change to Weka Pass Road	124	6.6	Name change to Waipara Flat Road
Waipara Glenmark Drive	130.2	0.4	Waipara Glenmark Drive
MAIN SOUTH LINE	130.4	0.2	MAIN SOUTH LINE
Christchurch, Amberley, Greta Valley, Kaikoura Glasnevin Road Omihi Road Alpine Pacific Triangle	130.6	0.0	Kaikoura, Greta Valley, Amberley, Christchurch Omihi Road Glasnevin Road Alpine Pacific Triangle
Start/End Waipara Flat Road from/continues as Mount Cass Road End concurrency with Alpine Pacific Triangle

See also

• List of New Zealand State Highways
• List of roads and highways, for notable or famous roads worldwide

References

1. ^ NZ Transport Agency FAQs