Controlled-access highway
New Zealand

The term motorway in New Zealand encompasses multilane divided freeways as well as narrower two- to four-lane undivided expressways with varying degrees of grade separation; the term motorway describes the legal traffic restrictions rather than the type of road.

New Zealand's motorway network is small due to the nation's low population density and low traffic volumes making it uneconomical to build controlled-access highways outside the major urban centres.

New Zealand's first motorway opened in December 1950 near Wellington, running from Johnsonville to Tawa. This five-kilometre (3.1 mi) motorway now forms the southern part of the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway and part of State Highway 1. Auckland's first stretch of motorway was opened in 1953 between Ellerslie and Mount Wellington (between present-day exit 435 and exit 438), and now forms part of the Southern Motorway.

Most major urban areas in New Zealand feature limited-access highways. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Dunedin contain motorways, with only Auckland having a substantial motorway network.
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