Roe Highway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Roe Highway at the Nicholson Road Exit. | |
| Length | 40 km |
| General direction | Northeast-Southwest |
| From | Middle Swan |
| via | Cannington, Kenwick, Midland, Perth Airport, Canning Vale, Leeming |
| To | Leeming |
| Established | 1980s |
| Allocation | Part of State Route 3, National Highway 94 & National Highway 95 |
| Major Junctions | Great Northern Highway, Great Eastern Highway, Great Eastern Highway Bypass, Tonkin Highway, Kenwick Link, Nicholson Road, Kwinana Freeway |
Roe Highway is a limited access dual carriageway linking Great Northern Highway and Middle Swan Road with Kwinana Freeway. It is one of the key heavy vehicle routes in the Perth metropolitan area. Aside from intersections, the speed limit is 100 km/h for most of its length. South of Orrong Road and Welshpool Road, the highway is a freeway standard, with no traffic lights and grade separation. The northern half is the standard of Perth's major highways; limited access, with few grade separations and traffic lights.
Roe Highway, together with Reid Highway, is allocated State Route 3 and is part of National Highway 94 between Great Eastern Highway Bypass and Great Eastern Highway, and also part of National Highway 95 between Great Northern Highway and Great Eastern Highway.
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[edit] History
Roe Highway was first proposed in 1955 by Gordon Stephenson as part of what was to become the Metropolitan Region Planning Scheme. It is named in honour of John Septimus Roe, first Surveyor General of Western Australia.
Work began in 1981, with the first section between the Beechboro-Gosnells Highway and Bushmead Road opening in 1983. The next section, from Bushmead Road to Great Eastern Highway was opened in 1984. The third stage, linking Great Eastern Highway and Great Northern Highway opened in 1988, at the same time as the Great Eastern Highway Bypass opened. The new roads provided a limited access dual carriageway bypass of the historical Guildford and Midland districts which was much needed at the time.
In 1994, the highway was extended 2 km further southwards from Tonkin Highway to Welshpool Road. Following 7 years in hiatus, work recommenced, and in 2001 a new 4 km southwestern extension known as stage 4 was completed from Welshpool Road to the purpose-built Kenwick Link (an Albany Highway bypass built in 1998) - most of which replaced the overtaxed William Street in Beckenham. Work on the 3 km long stage 5 was undertaken simultaneously with stage 4, bringing the highway to Nicholson Road in 2002.
Stage 6, a 5 km extension from Nicholson Road to South Street was completed in 2004, with stage 7 being announced shortly afterwards. The 5 km stage 7 extension from South Street to Kwinana Freeway was completed in 2006, and represents the southwestern terminus of Roe Highway for the foreseeable future.
The 19km of road built since 1994 between Tonkin Highway and Kwinana Freeway, is to a freeway standard, and is arguably Perth's best driving road. It may in the future be upgraded to a freeway classification.
[edit] Stage 8 / the Fremantle Eastern Bypass
In the 1950s, Stephenson planned for Roe Highway to continue westwards from its present terminus at Kwinana Freeway towards Fremantle, through South Fremantle along Marine Terrace and then north to connect with Stirling Highway and the Port of Fremantle. As part of the plan, in 1974 Stirling Highway was extended from its then terminus north of the Swan River southwards to Canning Highway.
A narrow 4 km strip of land immediately south of this intersection was proclaimed for further road construction, but as it was not part of the original Stephenson Plan it was occupied by housing built before the time of Stephenson. Over a period of approximately 20 years, Main Roads Western Australia procured most of the land in question for the future road. In 1985, the first kilometre of this road was constructed, which extended Stirling Highway southwards from Canning Highway to Leach Highway (known as High Street west of Carrington Street). The remaining 3 km strip of land south of High Street then became known as the Fremantle Eastern Bypass.
At the southern end of the proposed Fremantle Eastern Bypass, an 8 km east-west road reservation was proclaimed. This became known as Roe Highway stage 8. This land however was lightly built up and much of it remained as urban bushland throughout the late 20th century. The Roe Highway stage 8 reservation was intended to be the final link of a major urban ring-road, as originally envisioned by Stephenson.
However, there were problems with the proposed link, a product of the changes made by governments since Stephenson's original plan. This included the deletion of the original inner Fremantle section and the proclaiming of the Fremantle Eastern Bypass. Some residents of Fremantle strongly objected to the proposed 4-lane dual carriageway Fremantle Eastern Bypass, claiming it would divide the area, damage urban woodland and impact on 3 nearby schools. Also, the proposed Roe Highway stage 8 would cut between North Lake and Bibra Lake, a location considered of high environmental value as a wetlands. The Environmental Protection Authority in its report on the proposed Roe Highway Stage 8 confirmed the high conservation status of the Beeliar Wetlands and the negative impacts a highway would have on the wetlands.
With a change of state governments in 2001, the planned Fremantle Eastern Bypass / Roe Highway stage 8 was cancelled, with a commitment by the government to sell the land reserved for the Fremantle Eastern Bypass. In doing this, the government put forward a '6-point plan' to cope with the anticipated growth of heavy vehicle traffic in and out of the Port of Fremantle, which included plans for better usage of rail, more efficient usage of trucks and a new deepwater container port near Rockingham. As promised, the Fremantle Eastern Bypass land was sold for a total of $17 million. These funds are in turn being spent on a new grade separated interchange at the intersection of Leach Highway and Orrong Road in Welshpool.
During the period for public submissions on the planned cancellation and sell-off, the plan garnered almost 100% opposition[1] from residents in the City of Melville, as the proposed Fremantle Eastern Bypass / Roe Highway stage 8 would have removed most trucks from Leach Highway, which although classified as a state highway, is a more urban road. On the other hand the move was generally supported by Fremantle residents including the local sitting member, and also those concerned by the potential negative impact the proposed road would have on Bibra Lake.
However, as part of the funding arrangement for Roe Highway stages 6 and 7, the federal government which provided some of the funding for those two stages has stipulated that the Roe Highway stage 8 reservation is not to be rezoned, and instead retained as an 8 km strip of urban bushland for the foreseeable future.
[edit] Junctions
Allocated  |
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| Allocation | Junction | Suburb |
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Great Northern Highway[1][2] | Middle Swan |
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Toodyay Road[1] | Middle Swan & Stratton |
| Morrison Road[1] | Midvale | |
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Great Eastern Highway[1] | Bellevue & Midvale |
| Allocated |
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| Allocation | Junction | Suburb |
| Clayton Street[3] | Bellevue | |
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Great Eastern Highway Bypass[1] | Hazelmere |
| Allocated |
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| Allocation | Junction | Suburb |
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Kalamunda Road[1] | High Wycombe & Maida Vale |
| Maida Vale Road[3] | High Wycombe & Maida Vale | |
| Berkshire Road[4] | Forrestfield | |
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Tonkin Highway[5] | Forrestfield & Welshpool |
| Chrisholm Crescent[6] | Welshpool | |
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Orrong Road/Welshpool Road East[7] | Welshpool & East Cannington |
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Kenwick Link[7] | Kenwick & Beckenham |
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Nicholson Road[7] | Lynwood, Langford, Thornlie & Canning Vale |
| Willeri Drive[7] | Parkwood & Willetton | |
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South Street[7] | Willetton & Leeming |
| Karel Avenue[7] | Kenwick & Beckenham | |
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Kwinana Freeway[8] | North Lake & Jandakot |
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Controlled intersection
- ^ Middle Swan Road is the 2 lane continuation of Roe Highway to the west
- ^ a b Grade separated; northbound exit & southbound entry
- ^ Berkshire Road West controlled, Berkshire Road East uncontrolled
- ^ Diamond interchange for Tonkin Highway
- ^ Uncontrolled intersection, northbound exit & entry
- ^ a b c d e f Diamond interchange for Roe Highway
- ^ Trumpet interchange; terminal
[edit] References
- Hepburn, J.A. & Stephenson, G. 1955, Plan for the metropolitan region, Perth and Fremantle, Western Australia, 1955: a report prepared for the Government of Western Australia, Government Printing Office, Perth.
- Edmonds, Leigh (1997). The vital link: a history of Main Roads Western Austrlaia 1926-1996. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 1-875560-87-4.
[edit] External links
 Freeways and highways in Perth, Western Australia |
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| Freeways: | Graham Farmer Freeway · Kwinana Freeway · Mitchell Freeway |
| Highways: | Albany Highway · Brookton Highway · Canning Highway · Great Eastern Highway (Bypass) · Great Northern Highway · Leach Highway · Reid Highway · Roe Highway · South Western Highway · Stirling Highway · Tonkin Highway · West Coast Highway |
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