Low Bridge Map — New Zealand

There are 862 recorded height restrictions on roads in New Zealand — bridges, tunnels, underpasses and height barriers. The lowest clearance a road vehicle could pass is 2.00 m — anything tagged lower is a gate or a barrier — and 262 restrictions are under 2.5 m. This map shows all of them, and the data behind it is rebuilt every week.

Updated October 25, 2026
862Restrictions
262under 2.5 m
2.00 mLowest
159height unknown

Where to stop in New Zealand

The map

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under 2.5 m2.5–3.2 m3.2–4.0 mover 4.0 mheight unknown

The lowest clearances in New Zealand

The 100 lowest signed restrictions, lowest first. Every one of the 862 is on the map above.

LocationHeightTypeRoadRegion
Moray Place Car Park · Dunedin2.00 mrestriction—Otago
Garden Place Car Park Building · Hamilton City2.00 mrestriction—Waikato
Great South Road · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Great South Road · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Main Highway · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Albert Street · Auckland2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Kitchener Street · Auckland2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
High Street · Auckland2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Apollo Drive · Upper Harbour2.00 mbarrier—Auckland
Durham Street West · Auckland2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Moray Place · Dunedin2.00 mrestriction—Otago
Staff · Auckland2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Main Highway · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Grand Millennium Hotel Tunnel · Auckland2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Vincent Street · Auckland2.00 mbarrier—Auckland
Denton Park · Wellington2.00 mrestriction—Wellington
Wellington2.00 mrestriction—Wellington
Cobham Dr to Rongotai Cycleway · Wellington2.00 mrestriction—Wellington
Onepu Cycleway · Wellington2.00 mrestriction—Wellington
Onepu Cycleway · Wellington2.00 mbarrier—Wellington
Apollo Drive · Upper Harbour2.00 mbarrier—Auckland
Mercury Lane · Auckland2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Cross Street · Auckland2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Courtenay Street · New Plymouth2.00 mrestriction—Taranaki
Gloucester Street · Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community2.00 mrestriction—Canterbury
Onepu Cycleway · Wellington2.00 mrestriction—Wellington
Albert Street · Auckland2.00 mrestriction—Auckland
Leftbank Carpark · Wellington2.00 mrestriction—Wellington
Poynton Terrace · Auckland2.00 mtunnel—Auckland
Coatesville-Riverhead Highway · Rodney2.00 mbridge—Auckland
P6 · Auckland2.05 mrestriction—Auckland
Myers Street · Auckland2.08 mrestriction—Auckland
The Morrow Street Carpark · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Ophir Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Symonds Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Lichfield Street · Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community2.10 mrestriction—Canterbury
Courthouse Lane · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Stewart Duff Drive · Wellington2.10 mrestriction—Wellington
Quay Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Federal Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Nelson Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Vincent Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Hopetoun Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Lombard Street · Wellington2.10 mrestriction—Wellington
Tiffen Lower Public Carpark · Napier2.10 mrestriction—Hawke's Bay
Burleigh Street · Auckland2.10 mbarrier—Auckland
Garfield Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Bourke Street · Auckland2.10 mbarrier—Auckland
Fort Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Vogel Lane · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Burleigh Street · Auckland2.10 mbarrier—Auckland
Devon Street · Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community2.10 mtunnel—Canterbury
Parkzone Building · Invercargill City2.10 mrestriction—Southland
Main North Road · Papanui-Innes Community2.10 mrestriction—Canterbury
Main North Road · Papanui-Innes Community2.10 mrestriction—Canterbury
Papanui-Innes Community2.10 mrestriction—Canterbury
Quay Street · Auckland2.10 mtunnel—Auckland
Quay Street · Auckland2.10 mtunnel—Auckland
Waverley Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Garfield Street · Auckland2.10 mrestriction—Auckland
Papanui-Innes Community2.10 mrestriction—Canterbury
Nelson Street · Auckland2.11 mrestriction—Auckland
Tongaporutu Road · Ōhura2.13 mrestriction—Manawatū-Whanganui
Museum Circuit · Auckland2.15 mrestriction—Auckland
Maxwell Street · Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community2.15 mtunnel—Canterbury
Matipo Street · Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community2.15 mtunnel—Canterbury
Matipo Street · Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community2.15 mtunnel—Canterbury
Maxwell Street · Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community2.15 mtunnel—Canterbury
Cable Street · Wellington2.20 mrestriction—Wellington
Te Oranui Way · Henderson-Massey2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
Sel Peacock Drive · Henderson-Massey2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
Hereford Street · Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community2.20 mrestriction—Canterbury
Riccarton Road · Christchurch2.20 mrestriction—Canterbury
Leach Street · New Plymouth2.20 mrestriction—Taranaki
Leach Street · New Plymouth2.20 mrestriction—Taranaki
Hereford Street · Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community2.20 mrestriction—Canterbury
Cornwallis Street · Albert-Eden2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
West Coast Road · Waitākere Ranges2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
Mortimer Pass · Auckland2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
Wellington2.20 mrestriction—Wellington
Nelson Street · Auckland2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
Mountain Road · Auckland2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
Nelson Street Cycleway · Auckland2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
Te Ahoterangi Rise · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Auckland2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Auckland2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Park Road · Auckland2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Park Road · Auckland2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Domain Drive · Auckland2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
South Eastern Highway · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Severn Street · Auckland2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
Severn Street · Auckland2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
Glenfield Road · Kaipātiki2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Bentley Avenue · Kaipātiki2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Gladstone Road · Auckland2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Auckland Southern Motorway · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Auckland Southern Motorway · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki2.20 mbarrier—Auckland
Mount Wellington Highway · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki2.20 mrestriction—Auckland
Auckland Southern Motorway · Maungakiekie-Tāmaki2.20 mrestriction—Auckland

By region

Where the 862 restrictions in New Zealand are, across 15 regions.

RegionRestrictionsLowest
Auckland4722.00 m
Wellington1132.00 m
Canterbury762.00 m
Manawatu-Wanganui482.13 m
Waikato362.00 m
Bay of Plenty322.60 m
Otago292.00 m
Taranaki142.00 m
Northland113.44 m
Tasman District82.70 m
West Coast82.30 m
Southland72.10 m
Marlborough District32.30 m
Nelson City35.00 m
Hawke's Bay22.10 m

How to read this data

Every point on this map comes from open map data, where a height restriction is recorded against the road, the bridge or the barrier it applies to. We rebuild our copy of New Zealand once a week, so a clearance corrected on Monday is here by the following weekend. The table lists the 100 lowest restrictions in the country; the map shows every one of them.

Of the 862 restrictions in New Zealand, 159 carry no height at all. That does not mean the road is clear. It means somebody recorded that a limit exists without recording the number — an unsigned height barrier, a sign nobody has read closely, or a tag that says only "lower than the usual limit". Treat those as unknown obstacles, not as open road. The rest break down as 262 under 2.5 m, 58 between 2.5 and 3.2 m, 47 between 3.2 and 4.0 m, and 336 above 4.0 m, with a median stated clearance of 3.70 m.

Coverage is uneven, and honestly so

This data is surveyed by people, and people survey what they drive. Motorways and trunk roads in New Zealand are close to complete; farm tracks, private yards and small village underpasses are not. Auckland alone accounts for 472 of the country's restrictions, which says as much about who maps there as about where the low bridges are. A road with no marker on this map has probably never been surveyed for clearance — it is not a guarantee of headroom.

How tall is your vehicle

VehicleTypical height
Small campervan (VW California, Transit Custom)2.0–2.2 m
Panel van conversion with a roof vent2.6–2.9 m
Coachbuilt motorhome3.0–3.5 m
Motorhome with a roof box or satellite domeup to 3.6 m
Box truck / lorry4.0 m

Measure yours rather than trusting the brochure: an air conditioner, a solar panel or a roof rack routinely adds 20 cm to a figure that was measured empty, and a loaded suspension does not give it back. Write the number on a sticker on the dashboard — it is the only figure that matters at the moment you are looking at a bridge and a queue of traffic behind you.

Before you drive

Restrictions cluster where old railways cross old roads, and those are exactly the routes a satnav picks to avoid a motorway toll. If your vehicle is over 3 m, plan the route before you start rather than trusting the shortest line on a phone screen.

Questions

How do I find the low bridges on my route in New Zealand?

Open the map above and look along your route before you leave: all 862 recorded restrictions in New Zealand are on it, coloured by clearance, and the table lists the 100 lowest with the town and road each one is on. On the road itself you want something watching ahead for you — a plan made at the kitchen table does not help at a junction you have already reached.

What is the maximum vehicle height allowed in New Zealand?

The general limit is 4.30 m, and anything lower than that has to be signed. That is exactly what makes the 862 restrictions on this page worth reading: they are the places where the ordinary limit does not apply.

How many low bridges are there in New Zealand?

Recorded here are 862 height restrictions of every kind — railway bridges, tunnels, underpasses and height barriers. 262 of them are under 2.5 m and 58 are between 2.5 and 3.2 m — the band that stops an ordinary campervan — while 336 are above 4.0 m.

What is the lowest bridge in New Zealand?

The lowest clearance a road vehicle could pass is 2.00 m; anything tagged lower is a gate or a barrier rather than a road. The median stated clearance is 3.70 m, and the table above starts at the lowest and works up.

A restriction on the map has no height. Does that mean the road is clear?

No. 159 of the 862 restrictions in New Zealand carry no number at all: somebody recorded that a limit exists without recording what it is — an unsigned barrier, a sign nobody read closely. Treat those as unknown obstacles, not as open road.

Where does this data come from, and how current is it?

From OpenStreetMap, rebuilt weekly; these figures were last measured on October 25, 2026. Coverage is uneven and this page says so: Auckland alone accounts for 472 of the restrictions, which is as much about where people survey as about where the low bridges are.

Nearby countries

On the road

This map is a planning tool. On the road, ilovay warns you about height restrictions ahead based on the height of your vehicle, and can route around them. Free on Android.

Get it on Google Play