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State Highway 25
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length	231 km (144 mi)
Major junctions
West end	SH 2 near Mangatarata
Major intersections	SH 26 (Paeroa Kopu Road) at Kopu
East end	SH 2 (Rosemont Road) at Waihi
Location
Country	New Zealand
Primary destinations	Thames, Coromandel, Whitianga, Tairua, Whangamatā
Highway system
New Zealand state highways Motorways and expressways List
← SH 24 → SH 26

State Highway 25 (SH 25) is a New Zealand state highway that runs eastwards across the Hauraki Plains then northwards up the western side of Coromandel Peninsula and down the eastern side to Waihi. The route is very scenic and provides access to idyllic beach holiday locations. It is a major road for holidaymakers and tourists, with the summer period around Christmas and New Year's Eve a particularly busy time. It is single carriageway for the entire route. The road is windy in many parts and prone to accidents. It is New Zealand's third longest two-digit state highway, after SH 35 and SH 94. It is part of the Pacific Coast Highway. There is one spur road, SH 25A, which cuts across the peninsula west to east, almost intersecting SH 25 at both ends.

Route

SH 25 diverges from SH 2 at a roundabout 3 km north of Mangatarata and 11 km south-east of Maramarua, and runs eastwards across the northern end of the Hauraki Plains. It crosses the Waihou River on the new Kopu Bridge to the junction with SH 26 and turns northwards through the township of Thames. The road continues north on the western side of Coromandel Peninsula, skirting the Firth of Thames, into the small township of Coromandel before travelling eastwards across the peninsula to Kūaotunu on the Bay of Plenty side. There it turns south to Whitianga, running through the outskirts of the town on the Whitianga Bypass, and on through Coroglen and Whenuakite, then over windy hill roads into Tairua, where Pauanui is accessible on a side road. SH 25 continues southwards through the intersection with the spur highway SH 25A just south of Hikuai and on towards Whangamatā. The road bypasses Whangamatā on the west side and continues southbound until it terminates in Waihi at the intersection of Kenny Street & Rosemont Road.

Spurs

State Highway 25A
Location	Kopu–Hikuai
Length	28.2 km (17.5 mi)

State Highway 25A (SH 25A) traverses Coromandel Peninsula west to east directly from Kopu to Hikuai. This 28.2 km road, opened on 23 March 1967 and sealed in 1973, begins at an intersection with SH26 just 400m away from the SH 25/SH 26 intersection. It terminates at SH 25 just south of Hikuai. In January 2023 a large landslide destroyed a section of the highway, effectively closing the highway. A bridge had to be built across the landslide, and the highway reopened in December 2023.

Route changes

SH 25 once went through the town centres of Whitianga and Whangamatā. In Whitianga, the bypass was constructed carrying traffic away from the original route via Buffalo Beach Road, Albert Street, and South Highway. In Whangamatā, SH 25 bypasses the town via Tairua Road instead of using Harry Watt Drive, Hetherington Road and Port Road.

In the early 2000s the last sections of the highway were sealed, mainly on the northern part between Coromandel township and Whitianga. In 2011 NZTA completed the new Kopu Bridge, a two-lane structure, across the Waihou River. It replaced the previous one-lane bridge, where at times holidaymakers had to queue for hours to cross. The old bridge, which was built in 1928, is scheduled to be deconstructed although a key part of its history will be preserved.

Major junctions

Territorial authority	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Hauraki District	Mangatarata	0	0.0	SH 2 south – Paeroa, Tauranga SH 2 north – Auckland	SH 25 begins
Thames-Coromandel District	Kopu	23	14	New Kopu Bridge (Waihou River)
		24	15	SH 26 – Paeroa, Hamilton	SH 25A begins just south of this junction
	Hikuai	180	110	SH 25A – Thames
Hauraki District	Waihi	231	144	SH 2 south (Rosemont Road) – Katikati, Tauranga SH 2 north (Rosemont Road) – Paeroa, Auckland	SH 25 ends

See also

• List of New Zealand state highways

References

1. "SH2/25 Intersection Improvement". New Zealand Transport Agency. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
2. State Highway 25 on Google Maps
3. "SH25A history". www.nzta.govt.nz. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
4. "Scale of damage to SH25A a 'revelation' - Coromandel mayor". Radio New Zealand. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
5. "SH25A Taparahi Bridge to open by Christmas". SunLive. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
6. "Revoking a Section of State Highway and Declaring a Section of State Highway-State Highway 25, Thames-Coromandel District". NZ Gazette. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
7. "Regions on the road to safer driving". New Zealand Herald. 30 June 2000.
8. "Kopu Bridge replacement". New Zealand Transport Agency. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
9. "The future of old Kopu Bridge". New Zealand Transport Agency. 11 July 2013.

v t e New Zealand state highways
List of New Zealand state highways List of motorways and expressways in New Zealand
National	SH 1 (incl. SH 1B, SH 1C) SH 2 SH 3 (incl. SH 3A) SH 4 SH 5 SH 6 (incl. SH 6A) SH 7 (incl. SH 7A) SH 8 (incl. SH 8A, SH 8B)
North Island	SH 10 SH 11 SH 12 SH 14 SH 15 SH 16 SH 18 SH 19 SH 20 (incl. SH 20A, SH 20B) SH 21 SH 22 SH 23 SH 24 SH 25 (incl. SH 25A) SH 26 SH 27 SH 28 SH 29 (incl. SH 29A) SH 30 (incl. SH 30A) SH 31 SH 32 SH 33 SH 34 SH 35 SH 36 SH 37 SH 38 SH 39 SH 41 SH 43 SH 44 SH 45 SH 46 SH 47 SH 48 SH 49 SH 50 SH 51 SH 53 SH 54 SH 56 SH 57 SH 58 SH 59
South Island	SH 60 SH 62 SH 63 SH 65 SH 67 (incl. SH 67A) SH 69 SH 71 SH 73 SH 74 (incl. SH 74A) SH 75 SH 76 SH 77 SH 78 SH 79 SH 80 SH 82 SH 83 SH 84 SH 85 SH 86 SH 87 SH 88 SH 90 SH 93 SH 94 SH 95 SH 96 SH 97 SH 98 SH 99
Former state highways	SH 1A SH 1F SH 2A SH 2B SH 15 SH 15A SH 17 SH 36 SH 40 SH 47A SH 49A SH 50A SH 52 SH 57A SH 61 SH 70 SH 72 SH 73A SH 89 SH 91 SH 92
Touring routes	Twin Coast Discovery Highway Thermal Explorer Highway Pacific Coast Highway Classic New Zealand Wine Trail Alpine Pacific Triangle Great Alpine Highway Foothills Scenic Route Inland Scenic Route Central Otago Touring Route Southern Scenic Route

• State highways in New Zealand
• Coromandel Peninsula
• Transport in Waikato
• Firth of Thames