Burns Beach Road, Perth

Infobox Australian Road
road_name = Burns Beach Road
route_

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route_

route_

photo = Burns_Beach_Road_Railway.jpg
caption = Burns Beach Road - near Currambine Railway Station.
length = 5
direction = East-West
start = Joondalup Drive, Joondalup
finish = Ocean Parade, Burns Beach
est =
through = Neerabup, Kinross, Currambine & Iluka
route =
exits = Joondalup Drive, Marmion Avenue

Burns Beach Road is a major road in Perth, Australia. The road provides the only road route to the small coastal village in Burns Beach.

The road begins at a large roundabout joining with Joondalup Drive, and ends just outside of the coastal village at Burns Beach, where the road continues into the village as Ocean Parade. The road passes by the northern residential areas of Joondalup and cuts through the boundary between Currambine and Kinross. Burns Beach Road is a two-way road for its entire length and is designated State Route 87. Its speed limit is 80 km/h for most of its length, decreasing to 70 km/h when approaching Marmion Avenue from the east, decreasing further to 60 km/h when approaching Ocean Parade. Burns Beach Road provides direct access to Currambine railway station, located east of Connolly Drive. In addition to the main road, a short road extending from Silver Sands Drive to Shenton Avenue in Iluka is also called Burns Beach Road, and it is proposed that this portion will be joined with the main road to the north.

History

Up to around the 1970's Burns Beach Road was unmade along its entire length [Perth Environs Shell Motoring and Boating Guide 1961] . Prior to around 1984 (prior to Joondalup) the road ran continuously without any intersections between Wanneroo Road and the suburb of Burns [UBD 1984 Perth Street Directory - 24th Edition.] . Then around 1988 the course of the road was moved very slightly north between intersections Connolly Drive and Joondalup Drive to accommodate the new suburb of Joondalup (North) [UBD Perth Street Directory - 30th Edition] . In 1989 Marmion Avenue was built to access Mindarie [UBD Perth Street Directory - 31st Edition] . Currambine and Kinross were built either side of the road around 1992 [UBD Perth Street Directory - 34th Edition] , and Marmion Avenue southbound was also added. In the following year just prior to the suburb of Burns Beach Road was modified to bend left to allow for future plans where Burns Beach Road will run south of Burns and link up with Shenton Avenue running along the coast at Iluka. The original stretch into Burns was renamed as Ocean Parade [UBD Perth Street Directory - 35th Edition] , which will eventually be a right hand turn from Burns Beach Road into Burns.

The final phase of the roads' relocation northwards (at Blue Mountain Drive) was not completed until around 1996. You can still see this path today where the road had a 90 degrees bend at Blue Mountain Drive, then along parts of Shinji Court, Windermere Circuit and Ohrid Place across the other side of Joondalup Drive, and into Drovers Place.

Around 1996 Joondalup Drive underwent major construction, linking Joondalup to Wanneroo Road with safer roads. Therefore, Burns Beach Road was cut shorter, joining with Joondalup Drive at a large roundabout a few hundred metres west of Wanneroo Road. At the same time the old stretch of Burns Beach Road alongside Joondalup Drive was renamed as Drovers Place and Burns Beach Road was also straightened out at Blue Mountain Drive. In the late 1990s, a large roundabout was also constructed to replace a stop-controlled intersection at Connolly Drive, in response to the growing community in Kinross and Currambine, and the heavier traffic. In the early 2000s, major work was done to improve the quality of the road west of Marmion Avenue, due to the growing residential area in Iluka.

The road was known as Road No. 3883 on plans and maps. The original path of Burns Beach Road, prior to 1988, is depicted on the following map [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=974286&t=k&om=1] .

Current/Future Works

The Mitchell Freeway is currently being extended to connect with Burns Beach Road either side of the railway bridge north of Currambine Station. This is expected to be completed end 2008/2009. Due to this work, Burns Beach Road is currently being made into a dual-carriageway road from Joondalup Drive to Marmion Avenue. This is intended to be opened at the same time as the Mitchell Freeway extension, although this may be completed prior.

Major Intersections

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* Connolly Drive - Currambine, Kinross
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References