Mackays Crossing

Mackays Crossing is a locality in the Kāpiti Coast District of New Zealand's North Island, located between Paekākāriki to the south and Raumati South to the north.

In 1859, Alexander Mackay was granted land in the area; the earliest references to the name "Mackays Crossing" are when the Wellington–Manawatu Line was constructed through this land and when SH 1 was later constructed (at the time via the Paekākāriki Hill Road), crossing the railway line at a level crossing on the land owned by the Mackay family.

[5] The level crossing at Mackays Crossing between SH 1 and the North Island Main Trunk was one of the last remaining level crossings on the SH 1 route between Wellington and Auckland until 2005, when a four lane overbridge and a 2 km (1.2 mi) realignment of SH 1 was constructed to provide grade separation.

[6] The level crossing still exists to provide access to Queen Elizabeth Park, and the Mackays Crossing Interchange is now the southern terminus of the Kāpiti Expressway and the northern terminus of the Transmission Gully Motorway.

The double track was extended from Mackays Crossing to the Waikanae River in 2011.

The level crossing for which Mackays Crossing is named, pictured in 2007.
The North Island Main Trunk at Mackays Crossing, pictured in 2010 during construction to duplicate the line. The new track is the one at left. In the background is the SH 1 overbridge.