SH17 (New Zealand)

SH17 followed the former line of SH1 north of Auckland. The road was steadily upgraded to Motorway from the late 1990s, with SH17 being assigned to the old main road north. However, 3 years after the toll road bypass of Orewa was fully opened in 2009, SH17 was downgraded to be a local road.

The route starts at exit 412 on SH1 in Albany, one of the northern suburbs of Auckland, heading north west out of the city before a long steady climb through trees. Thanks to its former status as the main road north, much of this section of the route is a well aligned S2+1. This hills are not high, and the road soon drops back down to a wide flat landscape which looks like small fields, most with a house in a corner. The houses are well screened by trees and bushes, many looking expensive, so perhaps this is just a very affluent neighbourhood of large gardens. Something resembling a town centre is found, and known as Dairy Flat, but the scattered houses still cover the surrounding fields all the way to the junction with the motorway.

Originally SH17 stopped here, at exit 398, where the first section of motorway opened in 1999. The next section was built northwards before opening in 2009, and so SH17 was extended, albeit only for 3 years and never signed. As the Orewa bypass section of SH1 is tolled, the old road through the town is still a busy route, favoured by many tourists who are somewhat confused by payment methods for the toll - there are no booths.

The former SH17 dropping to the beach at Orewa

The junction with SH1 is a dumbbell, and the short lived section of SH17 continues ahead, heading east into Silverdale. A busy signalised crossroads sees a lot of traffic turning right for Whangaparaoa, while the main route continues ahead, cutting through residential areas and then crossing the bridge over the Orewa River. to the left, a large tidal lagoon is backed by parkland with a car park and picnic site, and after passing a holiday park on the shore side, the road reaches the pacific coast, tree lined lawns and car parks sitting between the road and the beach.

This is the resort town of Orewa, with the road running along the coast for a while before kinking inland between buildings. Another river is crossed, and then the road climbs up round a headland, trees obscuring the view, although a car park offers a viewpoint. The residential area of Hatfields Beach is passed through, and then the road drops back to the shore, running alongside another beach. The next section is much twistier as the road fights over a series of low, rocky ridges, mostly shrouded in trees. There are some sections with wide shoulders to allow overtaking, but it is easy to see why the motorway was needed.

The estuary of the Waiwera River is crossed at Waiwera, and then the road turns and follows the river upstream - a thick bank of trees blocking the view - to rejoin SH1. Only north facing slips are provided here, and these are spectacular as the two roads meet at the northern portals of the Johnstone Tunnel. The northbound onslip in particular crosses the hillside above the tunnel mouth, before dropping down to join the main road below. This junction is due to change again before 2021, as the motorway is extended north. However, it seems highly unlikely that SH17 will make a comeback.