Pennant Hills Road

Pennant Hills Road is a major highway located in Sydney, New South Wales. It runs from the suburb of Wahroonga, in the north, to the major central business district of Parramatta.

History

Pennant Hills Road began its life in 1820 as a bullock track used by timbermen. It was surveyed by government surveyor James Meehan in order to provide a route from Ermington Wharf to the Pennant Hills sawmill established by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1816. Subsequently it joined the Lane Cove Road (now the Pacific Highway) further north and was sometimes considered the same road.

Route

The road begins in the northern suburb of Wahroonga at Pearce's Corner, the intersection with the Pacific Highway, north-west of the Sydney CBD, and south-east of Hornsby. The Sydney-Newcastle Freeway (F3) ends a few hundred metres south of Pearce's Corner at an intersection with Pennant Hills Road. From here, the road passes through the Hornsby Shire suburbs of Normanhurst, Thornleigh and Pennant Hills. In Thornleigh there is a major intersection with The Comenarra Parkway, an arterial road which begins as Yanko Road in West Pymble. In the evening this intersection can get quite busy, and is often characterised by bumper to bumper traffic on the Comenarra Parkway, as motorists attempt to turn either left or right onto Pennant Hills Road. The Parkway is has become somewhat of a through route from the North Shore Line suburbs as well as the City, with some motorists choosing to avoid Epping Road and The M2 Motorway and travel west through the Parkway.

At Pennant Hills, the highway crosses the Northern Railway Line, intersects with Yarrara Road and New Line Road,heading west, after which is located a major intersection with Beecroft Road. The highway then heads west, and then south-west towards Thompson's Corner, in West Pennant Hills, where there is a major intersection with Castle Hill Road. In the mid 1990s, a tunnel was built beneath the intersection which allows traffic from Castle Hill Road to turn onto Pennant Hills Road, going southbound, without negotiating the traffic lights. This also means that southbound traffic already on Pennant Hills Road rarely has to stop at the Thompson's Corner intersection, only if pedestrians are crossing.

The highway continues south to the M2 Hills Motorway intersection. Traffic can enter the motorway from Pennant Hills Road to drive either eastbound (towards the City) or westbound (towards Blacktown) - as well, motorway traffic is able to exit onto Pennant Hills Road from both directions.

Pennant Hills Road continues south from the M2 intersection through Carlingford and the intersection with North Rocks Road and then onto the intersection with Carlingford Road. South of the Carlingford Road intersection lies the intersection with Marsden Road, and the highway then continues south-west towards Parramatta, crossing the Carlingford Railway Line, and through the suburbs of Telopea and North Parramatta, where the major intersection with James Ruse Drive lies. It should be noted that Pennant Hills Road forms part of the Cumberland Highway until the intersection with James Ruse Drive where it relinquishes that designation to the latter road. [" [http://www.ozroads.com.au/NSW/RouteNumbering/Metroads/7/metroad7.htm NSW METROAD 7 Hornsby to Carlingford"] , " [http://www.ozroads.com.au/ OZROADS: The Australian Roads Website] " Accessed 26 September 2006]

The highway then continues south-west into Parramatta where it meets Church Street.

The highway is a Convert|60|km/h|mph|abbr=on four-lane road from Pearce's Corner for the short distance to the F3 intersection. From the F3 intersection the highway is a Convert|70|km/h|mph|abbr=on six-lane highway for the entire distance to the M2 Motorway intersection. From here, the road goes back to being a Convert|60|km/h|mph|abbr=on four-lane road for the rest of the distance to Parramatta, with short third lanes at various points in each direction. There are numerous Convert|40|km/h|mph|abbr=on "school zones" (8:00 am - 9.30 am and 2.30 pm - 4:00 pm) and there are two fixed speed cameras, between Evans Road and Coleman Avenue in Carlingford and between Castle Street and Bellevue Street in North Parramatta. Both are Convert|60|km/h|mph|abbr=on zones. [" [http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/speedandspeedcameras/fixeddigitalspeedcameras/fixedspeedcameralocations/index.html Speed camera locations - List of fixed speed camera locations in NSW"] , " [http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/ Roads and Traffic Authority, NSW] " Accessed 28 September 2006]

Pennant Hills Road frontage is a mix of businesses, schools and homes. The biggest concentration of businesses are at Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, West Pennant Hills (Thompson's Corner) and Carlingford, with the Carlingford area being the biggest.

Traffic congestion

Pennant Hills Road has always been the main road north from Parramatta to Hornsby, but with traffic from major arterial roads of James Ruse Drive, Marsden Road, Carlingford Road, North Rocks Road, Castle Hill Road, Beecroft Road, The Commenara Parkway and the Pacific Highway adding to that, plus the relatively recent additions of the M2 Motorway and the F3 Freeway extension to Wahroonga, the highway can get quite congested during the morning and afternoon peaks and is often characterised by the heavy population of trucks and other logistic vehicles. Unfortunately Pennant Hills Road is the only direct road linking the F3 and the M2, forcing interstate commercial traffic, travellers and commuters to all compete for passage with local Hornsby Shire traffic.

Plans to link the F3 Freeway with a planned North West Freeway were shelved in the late 20th century. Recently the Government has been examining a number of options to link the F3 with the M2 motorway as part of a freeway standard Sydney Bypass.

As of 2006, the proposal for a freeway tunnel under Pennant Hills Road is being re-examined. As the area between the F3 and the M2 is quite established, it would be difficult to construct a link without the use of a tunnel. However, as there are many homes and schools along the proposed route, the issue of tunnel exhaust stacks is of major concern.

External links

* [http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectssydney/f3tosydneyorbitallinkstudy.html F3 to Sydney Orbital Link Study]
* [http://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/planningdevelopment/index.cfm?NavigationID=4&ArticleID=6940 Hornsby Shire Council - Planning and Development - Pennant Hills Road: the options]

References