State Highway 54 (SH 54) is a New Zealand state highway that runs across nearly all of the

Manawatū District Manawatū District (officially Manawatu District) is a Districts of New Zealand, territorial authority district in the Manawatū-Whanganui Regions of New Zealand, local government region in the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Manaw ...

in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. It runs from at Vinegar Hill (near

Hunterville Hunterville is a small town in the Rangitikei District, Rangitikei district of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located halfway between Taupo and Wellington on State Highway 1, and as of the 2018 census has a population of 408. The town ...

) to near

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

. The highway connects the Manawatū District's chief town,

Feilding Feilding is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on New Zealand State Highway 54, State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. ...

, to the

New Zealand state highway network The New Zealand state highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Nearly 100 roads in the North Island, North and South Islands are state highways. All state highways are administered by the NZ Transport Agency. The ...

and forms an alternative route to SH 1 and SH 3 between the

North Island Volcanic Plateau The North Island Volcanic Plateau (often called the Central Plateau and occasionally the Waimarino Plateau) is a volcanic plateau covering much of central North Island of New Zealand with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes. It contains t ...

and Palmerston North.

Route

SH 54 begins at a junction with near the locality of Vinegar Hill, east-north-east of

. It steeply descends to cross the

Rangitīkei River The Rangitīkei River is one of New Zealand's longest rivers, long. Its headwaters are to the southeast of Lake Taupō in the Kaimanawa Ranges. It flows from the Central Plateau south past Taihape, Mangaweka, Hunterville, Marton, and B ...

before proceeding generally southwards, winding along the eastern side of the Rangitīkei Valley. The route then exits the valley and heads via Rewa, Waituna West, and Beaconsfield villages to

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, where it meets Kimbolton Road at a three-way junction shortly after crossing the Kiwitea Stream. From Cheltenham, the route turns south-west onto Kimbolton Road, reaching

shortly after again crossing the Kiwitea Stream; it crosses the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

railway then turns left at a roundabout in the central business district and parallels the railway line for a short distance along Aorangi Street and Waughs Road (crossing the Oroua River). It then leaves Waughs Road and travels south-west along Camerons Line and south-east along Milson Line, before turning south-west along Kairanga-Bunnythorpe Road. The SH 54 designation ends at the junction of Kairanga-Bunnythorpe Road with near the settlement of Newbury, north-west of central

Route changes

SH 54 previously began further north at Mangaweka, leaving on Ruahine Road and travelling via

Rangiwahia Rangiwahia is a small, elevated, farming settlement in the North Island, New Zealand, northeast of Kimbolton, New Zealand, Kimbolton in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. It is in the Kiwitea valley, near the Whanahuia Range of the Ruahine Range ...

to Kimbolton, where it travelled along Kimbolton Road to

before continuing along its current route to

and beyond. The north end of SH 54 was shifted to the Cheltenham-Hunterville Road (its current route between SH 1 and Cheltenham) in the 1990s.

References

*''Kiwimaps, Wellington, 2008'', pages 47, 104, and 108 - published by New Zealand Minimaps Ltd

External links

New Zealand Transport Agency
54 Manawatū District Transport in Manawatū-Whanganui {{NewZealand-road-stub

Route

Route changes

See also

References

External links