Graham Farmer Freeway
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| Graham Farmer Freeway | |
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| Entering eastern end under Lord Street | |
| Length | 7 km |
| General direction | West-East |
| From |  Mitchell Freeway, Northbridge, Perth |
| via | East Perth |
| To |  Orrong Road, Burswood, Perth |
| Established | 2000 |
| Allocation | part of State Route 8 |
| Major Junctions |  Lord Street East Parade  Great Eastern Highway
for full list see |
The Graham Farmer Freeway is a major part of the metropolitan road infrastructure in Perth, Western Australia. It is 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) long and links Rivervale and East Perth with West Perth, bypassing Perth's central business district. It was named after the Australian rules footballer, Graham "Polly" Farmer, who played between 1953 and 1971 in both the WAFL and VFL leagues.
When it was built, between 1996 and 2000, the freeway incorporated Western Australia's first freeway tunnel, the Northbridge Tunnel. In a reference to Graham "Polly" Farmer, the Northbridge Tunnel section is colloquially known as the "Polly Pipe".[1] The six lanes of the tunnel are divided into twin tube three lane tunnels stretching for 1.6 kilometres (1.0 mi), with the leftmost lane reserved as an emergency stopping lane. Additionally the 406 metre, six lane Windan Bridge crossing the Swan River was constructed as were nine traffic and pedestrian bridge structures. Unlike many large scale engineering projects it finished three months early and within budget, costing $313 million. It has been designed to have a 150 year lifespan, following the Main Roads WA specification.
Stage 1 was a finalist for the 2001 Australian Construction Achievement Award.[2]
The freeway bridges construction stage also won an award from Austroads, the Association of Australian and New Zealand Road Transport and Traffic Authorities.[3]
Over 180,000 cubic metres of concrete were used in its construction.
Art work was commissioned for both ends of the tunnel. At the western end there is a pictorial history of Northbridge, and at the eastern end the Aboriginal artist Ron Corbett created images based on indigenous artwork.
Unsurprisingly, given the expense and scale of the project there is a permanent restriction on dangerous goods or explosives being transported through the Northbridge tunnel.[4]
[edit] Junctions
| Allocation | Junction | Suburb |
|---|---|---|
 |
Mitchell Freeway South[5] | Northbridge |
| Old Aberdeen Place[6] | Northbridge | |
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Loftus Street[7] | Northbridge & West Leederville |
| James Street[7] | Northbridge & West Leederville | |
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Lord Street[8] | East Perth |
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East Parade[9] | East Perth |
| Victoria Park Drive[9] | Burswood | |
  |
Great Eastern Highway[10] | Rivervale & Lathlain |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes & References
- ^ Hyde, John; Hansard; 2002-05-08
- ^ Graham Farmer Freeway Stage One Retrieved 13 August 2006.
- ^ Graham Farmer Freeway Bridges - Winner category 2 Austroads PDF. Retrieved 13 August 2006.
- ^ Explosay Issue Number 25 (Sept 2000) ISSN 1038 - 7099 (PDF) Retrieved 13 August 2006.
- ^ Modified trumpet interchange; Graham Farmer Freeway merges with Mitchell Freeway North after terminating
- ^ Eastbound entry
- ^ a b Westbound exit
- ^ West & Eastbound entry
- ^ a b Diamond interchange
- ^ Modified parclo interchange; Graham Farmer Freeway continues as Orrong Road (State Route 8) after this point
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