Auckland to Hamilton ... gets a lttle faster today!

[KiwiTT]

NZ Herald (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10393373) reports
They will be able to drive from Auckland to Rangiriri at 100km/h, after years of frustrating speed restrictions along the previously winding and uneven 12km section of State Highway 1 which follows the Waikato River from Mercer to Long Swamp.

Heavily enforced limits of 50km/h in construction zones and 80km/h elsewhere have helped reduce the carnage on a road previously dogged by multiple-fatality crashes - from 18 deaths between 1996 and 2000, to seven in the past 5 1/2 years. Good News indeed !!!

[ShadyNZer]

yay!!!

[Xeroid]

CRUISE time !!

Raglan anyone ...?
Via SH1 down, turn off at Ngarawahia, back via Pukekohe and the 'good' road.

We got a couple of Walkie Talkies from Dick Smith, 3 km range, 40 channel, cool for co-ordinating as you drive. You can get 4 for $124, baby Unidens, quite impressive little beasties.

Maybe when the weather gets better, nice pub lunch at Raglan.

[bradc]

That was the way Pescha took us down to Hamilton, we got back onto SH1 close to the Te Kauwhata Transport main depot, it was a good drive with some nice corners to start with, then some nice straights just before we got onto SH1.

[OSiRiS]

Auckland to Meremere is alot quicker, you will all like the new roads ;)

[Lucas]

Just drove down to go snow boarding on wednesday and came back today along this road.

I've got 2 gripes about this road... yeah it is alot faster BUT...

1/ They spent so much time working on this road but there's still bloody potholes in some areas - mainly southbound. Not to mention some horrible patchwork.

2/ Coming back northbound towards the little place with the tunnel for the train to go through there is an 80kph area which starts about 1km before the township yet the moment a turnoff leading to the township is reached it changes back to 100kph as you pass through the township. I think someone was on the turps :5shots:

BTW drive back was awesome! I'd say there was easily less than 100 oncoming vehicles the entire way back untill Te Awamutu.... HEAPS of long, straight and empty roads - not to mention fast corners :2thumbsup

[bradc]

I'll be making the trip in a few weeks myself, it will be interesting to see what the changes are like, how far down does the 2 lane section go now?

[Lucas]

Hmm, bit hard to remember exactly but from what I remember there was only one stretch of road that goes down to one lane but that only takes a few minutes to get through. There's a whole heap of 2 lane there, it's great!