State Highway 27 (New Zealand)

State Highway 27
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length	92.4 km (57.4 mi)
Major junctions
North end	SH 2 at Mangatarata
Major intersections	SH 26 at Tatuanui SH 24 (Broadway) at Matamata SH 29 near Hinuera
South end	SH 1 (Main Road) at Tīrau
Location
Country	New Zealand
Towns	Waharoa, Matamata
Highway system
New Zealand state highways Motorways and expressways List
← SH 26 → SH 28

State Highway 27 (SH 27) is a state highway in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an important north–south link along the Waihou/Piako valley and forms an important transport route across the mostly dairy farming Matamata-Piako District. SH 27, in conjunction with SH 2, is often used as an alternative route to SH 1 between Auckland and Tauranga, Rotorua and Taupō.

For its entire length, SH 27 is a single carriageway road with one lane in each direction and at-grade intersections and property access. The New Zealand Transport Agency classifies the highway as an arterial route.[1]

Traffic at Kaihere increased by 31%, from an average of 3,965 vehicles a day in 2008, to 5,182 in 2017[2] and 5,467 in 2019.[3] In 2017 982 (19%) of those were heavy vehicles, mainly trucks.[2]

History

The land the road cuts through was once mostly swampland. Originally tracks ran through this swampland but the paths were small and cattle often drowned. As the swamp was drained the roading gradually improved.[4]

Major junctions

Territorial authority	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Hauraki District	Mangatarata	0	0.0	SH 2 north – Pōkeno, Auckland SH 2 south – Paeroa, Tauranga	SH 27 begins
Matamata-Piako District	Tatuanui	45	28	SH 26 west – Morrinsville, Hamilton SH 26 east – Te Aroha, Coromandel Peninsula
	Matamata	73	45	SH 24 (Broadway) – Te Poi, Tauranga
	Hinuera	82	51	SH 29 west – Cambridge, Hamilton	Staggered intersection
		82	51	SH 29 east – Te Poi, Tauranga	Staggered intersection
South Waikato District	Tīrau	92	57	SH 1 south (Main Road) – Rotorua, Taupō SH 1 north – Cambridge, Hamilton	SH 27 ends
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also

• List of New Zealand state highways
• List of roads and highways, for notable or famous roads worldwide

References

1. "One Network Road Classification: North Island State Highways" (PDF). New Zealand Transport Agency. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
2. "NZTA 2017 National Telemetry Site Traffic Profile" (PDF).
3. "State highway traffic monitoring – annual average daily traffic". maphub.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
4. Vennell, C. W.; More, David (1976). Land of the Three Rivers: A Centennial History of Piako County. Wilson & Horton. p. 162.