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The Waikato Expressway is a dual carriageway section of State Highway 1 in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and forms part of the link between Auckland and Hamilton. Currently, the expressway is made up of three sections: the first beginning at the end of the Auckland Southern Motorway at the Bombay Hills and ending at Longswamp, the second beginning at Rangiriri and ending at Ohinewai and the third beginning at Taupiri and ending at Te Rapa. The first two sections are linked by a three lane section of State Highway 1 that will eventually be upgraded to four lanes and thus become a part of the expressway. Further extensions to the expressway are planned, and when completed, the expressway will form a 101.4 km long continuous four lane dual carriageway from the Bombay Hills to beyond the town of Cambridge, 24 kilometres south-east of Hamilton. When completed, Hamilton, as well as several other towns along the current route of State Highway 1 (such as Huntly, Ngaruawahia and Cambridge), will be completely bypassed by the expressway, allowing through traffic to move much more efficiently. ==History== While not officially designated as the Waikato Expressway until the early 2000s, the upgrading of State Highway 1 from the Bombay Hills to Mercer from 1992 to 1993 can be considered to be the first step in the construction of the expressway. During this upgrade, State Highway 1 from the end of the Southern Motorway to just north of Mercer was upgraded from two lanes to four, with fully grade separated interchanges constructed at Bombay and the junction with State Highway 2 just north of the township of Pokeno. A bypass of Pokeno was also constructed at this time, as well as several partially separated interchanges to allow access for local property owners along the route.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/auckland-motorways/docs/2008.pdf )〕 The next stage of the Waikato Expressway to be completed was the Rangiriri to Ohinewai section in 2003. The northern half of this section follows the pre-existing highway while the southern half of this section deviates from the original highway in order to bypass Ohinewai and features a diamond interchange on Tahuna Rd. The Mercer to Longswamp section continues on from the existing expressway between the Bombay Hills and Mercer and was opened in July 2006. This section uses the existing two lane section of State Highway one as a carriageway for northbound traffic, while a separate carriageway for southbound traffic was constructed in parallel. A grade separated interchange at Mercer was also constructed, incorporating an overpass for the southbound lanes to cross over the North Island Main Trunk railway at this point. As the two dual carriageway sections of the expressway (Bombay Hills to Longswamp and Rangiriri to Ohinewai) are not continuous, the section of highway between Longswamp and Rangiriri was upgraded to a 2+1 road in 2005 with the intention of upgrading this section to four lanes in the future. In 2009 the Waikato Expressway was announced by New Zealand's minister of Transport, Steven Joyce, as being one of seven "roads of national significance".〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.nzta.govt.nz/network/rons/index.html )〕 The Mangaharakeke Drive section, originally known as the Te Rapa Bypass, was opened on 3 December 2012 between Horotiu and Rotokauri. Construction of the section of the expressway and Mangaharakeke Drive between Taupiri and Horotiu, bypassing Ngaruawahia, began in late 2011 and was officially opened on 14 December 2013.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.nzta.govt.nz/about/media/releases/1148/news.html )〕 Following funding approval in December 2012 construction of the Rangiriri and Cambridge sections commenced in 2013, in March and August respectively. Construction of the Cambridge section ran ahead of schedule and may possibly open in late 2015. Construction of the Huntly section began in late August 2015, while construction of the Longswamp and Hamilton sections are due to start in late 2015. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Waikato Expressway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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