Tonkin Highway

Infobox Australian Road
road_name = Tonkin Highway
route_

---

photo = TonkinHighway.jpg
caption = A freeway standard section of Tonkin Highway, south of Great Eastern Highway
length = 45
direction = North-South
start =
finish =
est = 1980
through = Bayswater, Perth Airport, Forrestfield, Maddington, Brookdale
route = State Route 4
exits = Morley Drive, Guildford Road, Great Eastern Highway, Leach Highway, Roe Highway, Albany Highway, Armadale Road

"for full list see
Major intersections"

Tonkin Highway, at convert|45|km|lk=on, is a limited access dual carriageway in Perth, Western Australia, connecting Reid Highway in the north with Thomas Road in the south. Mostly a 4 lane highway, some sections of the highway are to a 4 to 6 lane freeway standard; the remainder of the highway has been designed to allow for sections that are not to freeway standard to be upgraded later if required. Some intersections briefly increase the highway's capacity from 4 to 6 lanes. Tonkin Highway's speed limit varies from 80 to 100 km/h.

One of only three limited access roads to cross the Swan River (the other two being Kwinana Freeway & Graham Farmer Freeway), Tonkin Highway is also one of three connecting access roads for Perth Airport (the other two being Great Eastern Highway Bypass & Kalamunda Road). It is also an important heavy vehicle route for the Perth metropolitan area, connecting Perth's northeastern and southeastern suburbs with Welshpool, a major industrial area for the city, the highway is likely to play a key transportation role for Perth's future development.

History

A proposal for an highway along a similar alignment was first proposed in 1955, as part of a network of arterial roads under a metropolitan-wide plan produced for the Western Australian government by Gordon Stephenson and Alastair Hepburn. The road reservation was formally gazetted in the 1963 Metropolitan Region Scheme.

Like most Perth arterial road projects it has been built in stages. It was first named the Beechboro-Gosnells Highway, the name coming from the two suburbs it was originally planned to link. The highway's first construction stage was from Welshpool Road to Hardey Road, and it opened in 1980. The second stage south from Welshpool Road to Albany Highway was completed in 1981. Stage 3 was a north-of-the-river section from Railway Parade to Morley Drive completed in 1984. Stage 4 linked Hardey Road and Great Eastern Highway, and included the construction of four bridges over the Forrestfield railway marshalling yards, the first bridges in Australia to be constructed using the incremental launch technique. On opening of this stage in 1985, the Beechboro-Gosnells Highway was renamed Tonkin Highway in honour of former West Australian premier John Tonkin.

In 1988, the northern and southern sections were linked with the opening of the Redcliffe Bridge. Following minor extensions northwards, Tonkin Highway spent a decade remaining largely unchanged, linking Reid Highway in Malaga with Albany Highway in Gosnells. Then in 2003, a new southern extension was commenced, and it was completed through to Thomas Road on December 16 2005. The new extension improves links with the localities of Kwinana, Armadale, Rockingham and Byford. It also provides a new important freight route, relieving Nicholson Road, Albany Highway and South Western Highway of large quantities of heavy vehicle traffic.

Future extensions

Tonkin Highway reaches past the edge of suburbia at its southern extent. Planning provides for it to be extended when required. In the south, the planned route takes it through many undeveloped or semi-rural areas such as Mundijong, Cardup & Jarrahdale. South of Mundijong, the planned route deviates east so as to terminate at South Western Highway near Jarrahdale Road. In the future, the major junction with Roe Highway could possibly be upgraded to a parclo, cloverleaf or modified stack interchange if required, though such a proposal is unfunded and a low priority at present.

Planning is also in place for a future extension north. Such an extension would bring it to Beach Road/Marshall Road, and then link it up with a similarly planned extension of Hepburn Avenue. This could eventually see the Tonkin Highway terminating at Wanneroo Road. If built to the same limited access dual carriageway standard as present, it would greatly improve access to new urban areas such as Darch, Landsdale and Madeley. However such as proposal is not currently funded or warranted.

Junctions

Notes

ee also

*Highways in Australia
*Highways in Western Australia
*Freeways in Australia
*Freeways in Western Australia

References

* [http://www.landonline.com.au/skyviewwa/content/asp/skyviewwa_index.asp?product_group_id=78 Skyview WA - Department of Land Information, Western Australia]
*Various Perth metropolitan street directories - 1970s-1990s
* [http://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/ Main Roads WA]
*cite book | first=Leigh | last=Edmonds | title=The vital link: a history of Main Roads Western Australia 1926-1996 | publisher=University of Western Australia Press | location=Nedlands, Western Australia | year=1997 | id=ISBN 1-875560-87-4