# State Highway 76 (New Zealand)

State Highway 76 (SH 76) is a state highway in Christchurch, New Zealand. This highway was gazetted in 2012 after stage 1 of the Christchurch Southern Motorway was completed. Beforehand, much of SH 76 was part of SH 73 and included the former two-lane Christchurch Arterial Motorway, which was upgraded to four lanes. SH 76 includes the entire length of the Christchurch Southern Motorway and forms the most direct route from the south of Christchurch to the city centre and Lyttelton.

## History

As part of the Fifth National Government's Roads of National Significance, stage 2 of the Christchurch Southern Motorway commenced construction in October 2016. This extended SH 76 to terminate with SH 1 further west near the intersection of Robinsons Road.
In early February 2025, the Sixth National Government prioritised the section of SH 76 along Brougham Street a "Road of Regional Significance" and confirmed it would invest between NZ$100-150 million in upgrading it. The upgrades include an overbridge between Collins and Simeon Streets.

## Route

The highway currently begins at a grade separated intersection with SH 74 on the northern approach to the Lyttelton road tunnel. It travels east to west through suburban Christchurch via Port Hills Road, Opawa Road and Brougham Street. This section of road used to be part of SH 73 and the speed limit is mostly 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). At the western end of Brougham Street at the Collins Street/Simeon Street lights, the Christchurch Southern Motorway commences. The speed limit here is 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). Midway up the motorway is the Curletts Road interchange, a major interchange where two state highways commence: SH 75 to Akaroa via Banks Peninsula and SH 73 to the West Coast via Arthur's Pass.
The motorway continues west for 7.5 kilometres, passing under the Halswell Junction Road and Shands Road interchanges, eventually terminating at SH 1 just north of Rolleston.

## Major junctions

| Territorial authority | Location | km | mi | Destinations | Notes |
| Christchurch City | Ferrymead | 0– 0.2 | 0.0– 0.12 | SH 74 south (Christchurch-Lyttelton Motorway) – Lyttelton SH 74 north (Christchurch-Lyttelton Motorway) – Woolston, Linwood | SH 76 begins Access to/from SH 74 southbound via Scruttons Road |
| Christchurch City | Waltham | 3 | 1.9 | SH 74A (Garlands Road) – Woolston, New Brighton | SH 76/Christchurch Ring Road concurrency begins |
| Christchurch City | Sydenham | 6 | 3.7 | Colombo Street – Beckenham, Cashmere, City Centre | |
| Christchurch City | Addington | 8 | 5.0 | Barrington Street – Addington, Cashmere | SH 76 becomes Christchurch Southern Motorway |
| Christchurch City | Middleton-Hillmorton-Wigram tripoint | 11 | 6.8 | SH 75 (Curletts Road) – Halswell, Akaroa SH 73 (Curletts Road) – Upper Riccarton, Airport, West Coast | SH 76/Christchurch Ring Road concurrency ends |
| Selwyn District | Rolleston | 23 | 14 | SH 1 south (Main South Road) – Rolleston, Ashburton, Timaru SH 1 north (Main South Road) – Templeton, Picton | SH 76 ends Christchurch Southern Motorway merges onto SH 1 (southbound) |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Route transition ||||||