| Albany Highway | |
| Albany Highway at Cannington | |
| Length | 410 km (255 mi) |
| Direction | Northwest-Southeast |
| From | The Causeway, Victoria Park |
| Major settlements | East Victoria Park, Cannington, Gosnells, Kelmscott, Armadale, North Bannister, Williams, Arthur River, Kojonup, Cranbrook, Mount Barker, Narrikup, Orana |
| To | Middleton Road, Albany, Western Australia |
| Allocation | State Route 30 |
| Major junctions | Shepperton Road, Leach Highway, Manning Road, Nicholson Road, Roe Highway, Tonkin Highway, Brookton Highway, Armadale Road/South Western Highway, Coalfields Road, Great Southern Highway, Muirs Highway, South Coast Highway
for full list see |
Albany Highway is a generally northwest-southeast highway in the south of Western Australia which links the state's capital Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany. The highway is approximately 410 kilometres (250 mi) in length, is designated State Route 30 and separates Western Australia's Great Southern region from its South West region. Outside of Perth the highway is a sealed single carriageway with regular overtaking lanes in some undulating areas.
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It was originally called Albany Road and was first proposed in 1853 by Lt William Crossman of the Royal Engineers, who examined and reported on various possible Perth-Albany routes. The road was originally built of wood block and limestone by convicts in the 1850s, and was later sealed.
Departing Perth, the highway commences at the Causeway interchange in Victoria Park and for its first 4 km is a two-lane high street serving Victoria Park's town centre, while nearby four-lane Shepperton Road serves as the area's main conduit of traffic (it also carries the Route 30).
At Welshpool Road, the two roads merge and for 26 km Albany Highway serves as the main route for Perth's southeastern region, varying between a four- and six-lane mostly undivided carriageway. Due to the highway's evolution, this part of the highway is dominated by commercial shopping precincts in Bentley, Cannington, Maddington, Gosnells and Kelmscott and drivers must negotiate countless sets of traffic lights. One of Perth's most infamous stretches of roads is Albany Highway in Cannington. Due to the high volume of commuters making their way to Westfield Carousel, this section has become frequently gridlocked since its redevelopment in the late nineties. It is recommended that this section be bypassed via the Kenwick Link, the Tonkin & Leach Highways, and Welshpool Road (East), Orrong Road, and Manning Road. In the Perth section of the highway, Tonkin Highway to the east carries most of the north-south heavy vehicle traffic, and Albany Highway is used mostly by light vehicles.
At Armadale the highway doglegs east (the road that continues straight ahead is South Western Highway). As one keeps heading south-south-east, signs of human activity becomes more sparse as the highway crosses the Darling Scarp, and the scenery transitions to native forest. Further south it transitions again to pastureland, with farming activities being mostly livestock rearing and some orchards. Albany Highway serves as something of an express route, with the service towns in the region being located approximately 30 km to the east along Great Southern Highway - in particular Narrogin, Wagin and Katanning.
Closer to Albany, there are large tracts of blue gum eucalypt plantations. In terms of safety, the road is generally free of hazards caused by straying farm animals, though as with most rural and remote Australian roads, kangaroos are an everpresent danger.
The only major towns on the road between Perth and Albany are Williams, Kojonup and Mount Barker, with roadhouses at North Bannister, Crossman and Arthur River.
For its first 4 km, Albany Highway is a two-lane high street serving Victoria Park's town centre, while nearby four-lane Shepperton Road serves as the area's main conduit of traffic (it also carries the Route 30).
As Albany Highway is not limited access, a large number of the roads that Albany Highway are connected to are not controlled. The major interchanges are at-grade and controlled.
Signed as :
Albany Highway then doglegs east, and continues to leave the Perth metropolitan area.
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