State Highway 38 (New Zealand)

State Highway 38
Route information
Maintained by NZ Transport Agency
Length	120.3 km (74.8 mi)
Waiotapu—Murupara section
Length	36.4 km (22.6 mi)
West end	SH 5 at Waiotapu
East end	Rangitaiki River at Murupara
Āniwaniwa—Wairoa section
Length	63.9 km (39.7 mi)
North end	Āniwaniwa Stream at Āniwaniwa
South end	SH 2 (Bridge Street) at Wairoa
Location
Country	New Zealand
Highway system
New Zealand state highways Motorways and expressways List
← SH 37 → SH 39

State Highway 38 (SH 38) is a road in the North Island of New Zealand that starts from SH 5 near Waiotapu, and ends at Wairoa, where it connects to SH 2. It is the shortest connection from the central North Island (Rotorua) to the East Coast (Gisborne), but it is not often used as such. Large parts of the road are narrow and winding, and about 74 kilometres (46 mi) of the road is unsealed. Travel on this highway takes roughly four hours.^{[1][unreliable source?][when?]}

Part of this unsealed section (between Te Whaiti and Aniwaniwa) is not designated a state highway and instead holds the names Ruatahuna Road and Waikaremoana Road. The administration of this middle section of highway is split between Whakatane District and Wairoa District Councils. NZTA still maintains control over the road and, in 2017, was working on a business case for tar sealing.^[2]

Circa 1990, the length of SH 38 was 198 km from Wairoa to Waiotapu before the middle section designation was revoked. Due to its narrow and twisty nature, trucks are not permitted to tow heavy trailers on the unsealed section of the route.^{[citation needed]}