Hepburn Avenue, Perth

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Hepburn Avenue

Length	14 km
General direction	West-East
From	Whitfords Avenue, Hillarys
via	Sorrento, Padbury, Duncraig, Kingsley, Greenwood, Marangaroo
To	Alexander Drive, Alexander Heights
Allocation	State Route 82
Major Junctions	Marmion Avenue, Mitchell Freeway, Wanneroo Road, Alexander Drive

Hepburn Avenue is an arterial east-west road in Perth, Australia. It is located within the northern suburbs of Perth, from Sorrento in the west, to Alexander Heights in the east. Hepburn Avenue begins in a roundabout intersection, joining with West Coast Drive, Whitfords Avenue and Hillarys Boat Harbour carpark, and ends at a traffic light controlled intersection with Alexander Drive. Hepburn Avenue provides direct access to Kingsway Shopping Centre in Madeley and St Stephen's School in Duncraig, as well as the Greenwood railway station, which was constructed at the Mitchell Freeway intersection in late 2004. Hepburn Avenue is a dual carriageway west of Wanneroo Road and a two-way road east of Wanneroo Road. State Route 82 starts at the roundabout where Hepburn Avenue begins, but only extends eastwards to Wanneroo Road.

[edit] History

The road was built in the 1980s to meet suburban demand and was originally proposed on the Metropolitan Region Scheme as a freeway. It was named after Alistair Hepburn, one of the drafters of the Scheme together with Professor Gordon Stephenson. Subsequent additions east of Wanneroo Road have been built in stages - for many years its terminus was Wanneroo Road but in the late 1990s it was extended further east, reaching Alexander Drive in 2005.

[edit] Future constructions

Hepburn Avenue will undergo two stages of extension in the near future, the first extending between Alexander Drive and Marshall Road, the second extending further south to Reid Highway. However, benefits to the local residents and road users can be maximised if both stages are constructed together as one large project. The project has been delayed because a portion of land between Marshall Road and Reid Highway contained a significant wetland, therefore a formal Environmental Impact Assessment requiring a Public Environmental Review must be met before the construction to commence. However, there are also problems if the extension terminated at Marshall Road. Traffic benefits would only be realised if Hepburn Avenue was extended to Reid Highway to further spread the traffic. The traffic on Hepburn Avenue would then increase the traffic along Marshall and Beechboro Roads, which would then create problems for communities adjacent to these roads.