State Highway 77 (New Zealand)

State Highway 77 is a state highway in New Zealand going through the inland parts of Central and Mid Canterbury between the towns of Ashburton and Darfield via the Rakaia Gorge. It is wholly single carriageway with two one-lane bridges at the Rakaia and Selwyn Rivers. One set of traffic lights is found in Ashburton marking the southern terminus of the highway.

State Highway 77
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length93.9 km (58.3 mi)
Tourist
routes		Inland Scenic Route between Homebush and Mount Hutt
Major junctions
Northwest end SH 73 (South Terrace/West Coast Road) at Darfield
Southeast end SH 1 (West Street) at Ashburton
Location
Primary
destinations		Coalgate, Glentunnel, Rakaia Gorge, Methven
Highway system
← SH 76SH 78 →

About 43 km of the highway lie on the Inland Scenic Route (formerly State Highway 72).

Route
State Highway 77 passing over the Rakaia Gorge Bridge, which was built in 1882
Much of State Highway 77 is dominated by the skyline of the Southern Alps and Canterbury foothills. Mount Hutt is especially noticeable from SH 77

The highway begins as Bangor Road just west of Darfield town centre, and proceeds in a westerly directions towards the mountains through flat pastoral farmland. Just before reaching the foothills, the road intersects with the Inland Scenic Route (Deans Road) coming from Waddington and begins its concurrency at Homebush. After a name change to Homebush Road, the road skirts to the north of Coalgate and then to the south of Glentunnel before veering left and narrowing to one lane to cross the Selwyn River.

Now known as Wairiri Road, the road widens back to two lanes and passes through undulating to hilly farmland. At Glenroy the road changes name to Windwhistle Road and climbs towards the settlement of Windwhistle.

Beyond Windwhistle, the name changes to Rakaia Gorge Road and begins a spectacular descent into the Rakaia Gorge. For most of its length the Rakaia River runs on shingle river beds as a braided river but here the river is mostly a single channel. The river here has carved out the surrounding land to form two level terraces. The road passes over both these terraces before narrowing to one lane again to cross the river.

After widening again, the road changes name to Arundel Rakaia Gorge Road and rises towards the plains again. The road emerges onto the plains but passes right underneath the towering Mount Hutt. The road is frequently covered by snow and ices over in sheltered areas during the calmer periods of the winter months in higher parts of the road.

The road turns left onto Waimarama Road 10 km north of Alford Forest and proceeds through arable farmland, changes name again to Mount Hutt Station Road and arrives in Methven, where it changes name again to Main Street.

After Methven, the road changes name to Methven Highway and proceeds in a south to southeasterly direction through more pastoral farmland. Before Ashburton, the road hugs the Ashburton River, the name of the road changes to Alford Forest Road for about 2 km, then to River Terrace for 600 m and lastly to Moore Street for the last 300 m of the route before terminating at SH 1 in the town centre.[1]

Route changes

When SH 72 had its state highway status revoked, SH 77 was extended to cover the section between (its former terminus) Mount Hutt and Waddington. In 1997, SH 77 was diverted at the intersection of Homebush Road, along Bangor Road, to terminate with SH 73 at Darfield.[2]

Major intersections
Territorial authorityLocationkmjctDestinationsNotes
Ashburton DistrictAshburton Central0.0 SH 1 north (West Street) – Rakaia, Christchurch
(Moore Street) – Town Centre
SH 1 south (West Street) – Temuka, Timaru		SH 77 begins
6.0(Ashburton Staveley Road) – Mount Somers, Alford Forest, Staveley
22.3(Thompsons Track) – Mount Somers, Mayfield, Rakaia, Christchurch ()
Methven33.9(Forest Drive) – Mount Somers, Geraldine
(Methven Chertsey Road) – Lauriston
36.6(Mount Hutt Station Road) – Rakaia Gorge (alternative route)
43.6 Inland Scenic Route (Arundel Rakaia Gorge Road) – Geraldine, Timaru
(McLennans Bush Road) – Mount Hutt Ski Area		SH 77/Inland Scenic Route (Regional Route 72) concurrency begins
Mount Hutt49.0(Mount Hutt Station Road) – Methven (alternative route)
Rakaia Gorge53.0Rakaia River Bridge #1
Selwyn District
Windwhistle59.4(Coleridge Road) – Lake Coleridge
(Leaches Road) – Hororata
70.0(Downs Road) – Hororata
Glentunnel79.0Selwyn River Bridge
79.2(Whitecliffs Road) – Whitecliffs
Coalgate82.8(Malvern Hills Road)
(Bridge Street) – Coalgate, Hororata
86.0 Inland Scenic Route (Deans Road) – Oxford, Springfield, West Coast via Arthur's Pass ()SH 77/Inland Scenic Route (Regional Route 72) concurrency ends
Darfield94.0 SH 73 west (South Terrace) – Springfield, West Coast via Arthur's Pass
SH 73 east (South Terrace) – Christchurch		SH 77 ends
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See also

References
  1. State Highway 77 on Google Maps
  2. "Revoking Sections of State Highways Declaring New Sections of State Highway". New Zealand Gazette. 26 June 1997. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
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