New Zealand State Highway 60

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State Highway 60
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Route information
Maintained by New Zealand Transport Agency
Length: 116.0 km (72.1 mi)
Major junctions
South end: Main Road Hope/Gladstone Road State Highway 6 NZ.svg and Bateup Road at Richmond
North end: Collingwood
Location
Primary
destinations:		 Motueka, Riwaka, Takaka
Highway system
← x20px SH 58 SH 62 →

State Highway 60 is a state highway servicing the far northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. Running between the settlements of Richmond (south of Nelson) and Collingwood, it is 116 kilometres (72 mi) long and lies entirely within the Tasman District. It is the northernmost highway in the South Island and is a popular tourist route, servicing Motueka, Abel Tasman National Park, Golden Bay, and Farewell Spit.

Route

The highway starts at Richmond at a roundabout junction with SH 6 and proceeds in the northwesterly direction across the Waimea Plains. Near Mapua, the road deviates onto the Ruby Bay bypass (Mamaku Drive) and emerges on the shores of the Moutere Inlet adjacent to Tasman Village. The highway then passes along the edge of Motueka Estuary and through the major town of Motueka. Just past Riwaka, the road to Kaiteriteri and Abel Tasman National Park branches off to the right while SH 60 branches to the left. The highway then rises towards Takaka Hill and the notorious Eureka Bend (elevation 791 metres above sea level)[1]. The highway then descends into the Takaka Valley and passes through the town of Takaka. The highway then hugs the coastline of Golden Bay before terminating at Collingwood.[2]

History

At first there was no road connecting the coastal areas about Bronte, Mapua and Tasman. Early settlers had roads from landing sites on Waimea Inlet and along ridges, and they avoided crossing the peripheral swampy valleys. When the Coastal Highway was constructed it was gravel and the Inland (Moutere) Highway was the main highway. At some point in about the 1970s, the coastal route became the main route. Until 2010, before the construction of the Ruby Bay bypass, SH 60 followed the coastline around Mapua.[3][4]

Gallery

  • Takaka, Golden Bay Not So Sunny Today.jpg

    SH 60 as Commercial Street passing through Takaka

  • New Zealand, Top of the South Island (Nelson), Skydiving.jpg

    Aerial view of SH 60 passing through the southern section of Motueka

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ State Highway 60 on Google Maps
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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